Leinster looking to end season on a high
RUGBY
By Daire Walsh
The RDS will be the venue on Friday evening, when Leinster face the Scarlets in their second competitive semi-final of the current season.
The Blues will play host to their Welsh counterparts in the Guinness PRO12 play-offs, and following their Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Clermont Auvergne on 23 April, they will eager to end 2016/17 with some silverware to show for their efforts.
Since the Grand Final system was re-introduced to the competition in 2009/10, Leinster have contested seven deciders from a possible eight. The exception in this sequence was two years ago – when the Blues finished outside of the top-four – but that was after they had claimed back-to-back successes under the guidance of Joe Schmidt and Matt O’Connor.
The sole championship win for the Scarlets was in 2003/04, and this is their first time reaching the PRO12 play-offs since 2013. However, with 17 victories from 22 games in the regular season, they have shown that they are a forced to be reckoned with.
They have already secured a major scalp on Irish soil in this calendar year, as they defeated Munster on a scoreline of 30-21 at Thomond Park at the end of February – which ended a nine-game winning streak for the southern province in the PRO12.
Yet, they were brought crashing down to earth with a 45-9 reversal against Leinster in the RDS on 4 March, and will be aiming to avoid a repeat of this encounter when they return to the Ballsbridge venue. Scarlets have since bounced back with five wins on the bounce, but despite coming up short away to Ulster last Saturday week, Leinster are still expected to progress from this final-four encounter.
Injuries to Rob Kearney and Naas’ Jamie Heaslip robs them of valuable experience, but this has been a season when the younger members of the Blues’ squad have stepped up to the mark when required.
Jack Conan has proven to be an able deputy for Heaslip in the back-row, while Luke McGrath has established himself as first-choice scrum-half under the stewardship of Leo Cullen. It has been a very profitable campaign for the Kill duo of Adam Byrne and James Tracy, but the real revelation for Leinster has been Athy youngster Joey Carbery.
His memorable displays at both provincial and international levels led to him being named as Young Player of the Season at the Guinness PRO12 Awards in Dublin recently, and having filled in for Jonathan Sexton at out-half in the Ulster game, it is anticipated that he will join club captain Isa Nacewa in the back-three on Friday.
Fergus McFadden (a native of Suncroft) also appears to be in a good position to feature on the night, and with Eadestown’s Tadhg Beirne – who made four first-team appearances for Leinster before his summer move to Llanelli – now a key member of the Scarlets pack, it should prove to be a perfect showcase for Kildare rugby.