EUROPEAN RUGBY CHAMPIONS CUP SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: LEINSTER V CLERMONT AUVERGNE
Leinster’s season comes to the crunch in France
By Daire Walsh
ALL eyes will be on the Matmut Stadium de Gerland in Lyon on Sunday afternoon (4pm kick-off, local time), when Leinster face Clermont Auvergne in an eagerly-anticipated European Rugby Champions Cup semi-final.
The Blues are hoping to reach their first top-tier European final since 2012, and will undoubtedly be galvanised by their impressive knockout record against the Top 14 outfit. With two tries from Naas’ Jamie Heaslip, they secured a 29-28 success over Clermont in a 2010 Heineken Cup quarter-final at the RDS, and they also squeezed through with four points to spare (19-15) in a last-four encounter in Bordeaux two years later.
Yet, The Vulcans claimed a double victory over Leinster in the 2012-13 pool stages of the Heineken Cup, and with two final appearances under their belts in recent seasons (the 2013 and 2015 losses to French rivals Toulon), Franck Azéma’s side will be eager to book their place in the May 13 decider at BT Murrayfield.
Both sides have returned to the penultimate rounds on the back of disappointing campaigns last season. Leinster finished bottom of their 2015/16 group with just one win (against Bath) from six, and while Clermont were just one point adrift of Pool 2 pace-setters Exeter Chiefs, they also ended on the foot of the table.
17 win from 20 outings has helped the rejuvenated Blues to book a home Guinness PRO12 semi-final, and although their Champions Cup quarter-final with Wasps in the Aviva Stadium at the beginning of this month was a potential banana skin, they past the test with flying colours.
The past eight months has seen Athy youngster Joey Carbery establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with in the professional game, and his performance in the last-eight against the English Premiership side was arguably his most impressive one to date.
An injury to Rob Kearney meant that the 21-year-old was selected at full-back, and he delivered a man-of-the-match display as Leinster put Dai Young’s charges to the sword. It is expected that he will once again feature in the back-three on Sunday, and with Jonathan Sexton also set for an out-half role, there will be no shortage of creativity in the Blues’ back line.
The Wasps game was something of a disappointment for Adam Byrne, as a hamstring complaint meant that the Kill winger was replaced 22 minutes into the action. However, he made a scoring return in last weekend’s PRO12 success over Connacht, and will be aiming to add to his 10 tries in 17 appearances this term.
The continued absence of Jamie Heaslip will be felt against a side that currently occupy second position in their league table, but Jack Conan is another player who has stepped up to the plate in recent weeks.
He was on the scoresheet in the win over Wasps along with Suncroft man Fergus McFadden – who crossed over late on after deputising for Byrne in the opening half.
Injuries have limited McFadden to just seven appearances this season, but with three European titles in his list of honours (including the 2013 Amlin Challenge Cup), he could be a valuable option for Cullen in this do-or-die fixture.
James Tracy is another player (like his fellow Kill native, Byrne) who has come on in leaps and bounds in the past year, and while Sean Cronin will more than likely be selected to start in the front-row, the former Newbridge College may well get a chance to show his worth in the closing stages of what should be an absorbing contest.