Nice of the league organisers to help out their leading club.
Leinster may be forced to rest several of their leading players for this Sunday’s Guinness PRO12 clash with Newport Gwent Dragons.
The league champions are scheduled to play three matches in 12 days as the season reaches must-win territory. Matt O’Connor’s men are fifth in the PRO12, four points back from Ospreys and facing three away matches in their final four matches.
Leinster will play Toulon at Stade Vélodrome on Sunday, April 19, before facing a five-day turnaround. They play Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on Friday, April 24.
Speaking after his side’s 18-15 win over Bath at the weekend, Leinster fullback Rob Kearney said, ‘We are big time into the business end of the season now. We are in an unusual position where we really have to fight to get back into the top four of the Pro12. We won’t be losing any focus in terms of that because making those knockout stages is something that is really important to the group. Dragons away is going to be another huge game.
‘The timing of it isn’t ideal in terms of what will be coming especially a Sunday kick-off, six days later. You will be travelling. That is not ideal but that is why you need a strong squad to front up on big days.’ He added:
‘[With a] Sunday afternoon kick-off, you have to travel home Sunday night, recover Monday, travel again the following Friday. Is it necessaries to put a huge amount of front line players out next Sunday? I don’t know, probably not, but that will be for the coaches to decide.’
Leinster captain Jamie Heaslip had a slightly more positive take on the upcoming glut of games.
‘It’s great at this time of year; it’s just big game after big game,’ he said. ‘We’re chasing top four so the Dragons game is huge and the game after it is huge in terms of the club and the group that we have.
‘We’re just going to rest up now. A lot of us were just saying that, that [Bath victory] was one of fastest, toughest games we’ve played all season. That was right up there including internationals.’
If O’Connor does opt to rest senior players – or place them on the bench – the likely lads would be Kearney, Sean O’Brien, Mike Ross, Devin Toner and Cian Healy.
