Guinness Pro12 League
Leinster v Ulster
RDS, Friday, 7.35pm
TG4, BBC NI
It’s almost remarkable to think that these two were contesting the European Cup final only four seasons ago, and the league final 12 months later.
They each look to be a long way from scaling those dizzy heights now, as this latest match-up finds them both looking for a timely pick-me-up under newly installed head coaches after salutary Euro jousts.
Although Leinster stand one place above Ulster in fourth, their need is arguably the greater.
Not alone are they at home but after those two European Cup defeats, this is the third game in a daunting mid-season schedule, to be followed by the Pro12 champions Glasgow away, Toulon back to back, the Munster and Connacht derbies, Ospreys away and then the concluding Euro pool games against Bath and Wasps.
Ulster look to have a couple more winnable fixtures in what is, admittedly, an equally busy schedule which also has to accommodate a re-arranged midweek European Cup game away to Oyannax.
Accordingly, Leo Cullen has shuffled his cards, recalling the fit again Rob Kearney and Zane Kirchner while shifting Luke Fitzgerald to left wing in a revamped back three as leading try scorer Isa Nacewa, Fergus McFadden and Dave Kearney are all rested.
Ian Madigan, having worn the jerseys 10, 15 and 22 (when unused) since the World Cup, is restored at 12 this week, while Luke McGrath is handed a start after his impressive cameo off the bench last week.
Ditto Josh van der Flier after scoring a try within five minutes of his European debut last week, with Jack McGrath, Tadhg Furlong and Mike McCarthy are also recalled to the tight five.
The 21-year-old Academy pair, prop Peter Dooley and lock Ross Molony, are recalled to the bench along with Eoin Reddan, Noel Reid and Garry Ringrose.
Les Kiss has brought in fullback Peter Nelson in an otherwise unchanged backline, and recalled loosehead Kyle McCall as well as flankers Robbie Diack and Sean Reidy, while moving Iain Henderson to secondrow.
Speculation mounts
As speculation mounts over the futures of Ian Madigan and Seán O’Brien, with Cian Healy and Ben Te’o also out of contract at the end of the season, encouragingly for Ulster their talismanic hooker Rory Best – one of Ireland’s best performers at the World Cup – has signed another two-year international contract with the IRFU to remain with his native province.
Mindful that every place is potentially precious come the season’s final reckoning, both in terms of the play-offs and the seeding for next season’s European Cup, conceivably this derby could be very significant.
Certainly this clash between the teams in fourth and fifth place will have ramifications in the short-term.
Not alone will the winner here gain ground on Munster or Connacht, but the two outfits either side of them and seventh-placed Edinburgh are at home to Italian opposition and the Dragons, so the table most probably won’t be pleasant viewing for the loser come the end of the weekend.
They’re both in a mean mood as it is. Kearney has described training in Leinster this week as “interesting”, adding: “We’ve lost two weeks in a row so we came in on Monday and it wasn’t a particularly nice place to be, people are pissed off with each other.
“Everyone wants to get back on track and when you lose games like that it hurts, you can’t go out onto the training field on Monday morning and pretend everything’s hunky dory because it’s not.”
There’s also a return to the comforts of home, albeit with a sense of debt. During a dip in form and results, Kearney says the response is stark enough.
“You just need to have a massive amount of hunger and pride in the next performance that you put out.
“ I think it’s probably very good for us that we’re back in the RDS in front of our supporters where this place has been very good to us and we’ve made it a ground that’s a tough place for away teams to come and get a win.
“We didn’t do that two weeks ago and we’ve a responsibility to right those wrongs.”
Limp nature
Indeed, despite the limp nature of their eclipse by Wasps here a fortnight ago, Leinster have won all four home league games to date, while Ulster’s 22-18 win here in 2013 remains their only success over Leinster in Dublin since 1999.
Leinster had won the subsequent five meetings before Ulster's 26-10 victory at the Kingspan Stadium in April, when Leinster were at a low ebb after their European Cup semi-final defeat away to Toulon.
The performance in Bath was significantly better than against Wasps, whereas Ulster looked more impotent in conceding a bonus-point win to Saracens at the Kingspan Stadium last weekend, and are coming from a lower ebb.
That Johnny Sexton is starting his fourth game in a row reflects his and the team’s desire to rediscover their form and their winning ways.
Eleven of this starting 15 finished off the World Cup with Ireland, as did Kirchner with South Africa, but it really is time to overcome the after effects.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; Z Kirchner, B Te'o, I Madigan, L Fitzgerald, J Sexton, L McGrath; J McGrath, S Cronin, T Furlong, D Toner, M McCarthy, R Ruddock, J van der Flier, J Heaslip (capt). Replacements: J Tracy, P Dooley, M Moore, R Molony, D Ryan, E Reddan, N Reid, G Ringrose.
ULSTER: P Nelson: A Trimble, D Cave, S McCloskey, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar; K McCall, R Best (captain), W Herbst, I Henderson, D Tuohy, R Diack, S Reidy, N Williams. Replacements: R Herring, A Warwick, R Lutton, R Wilson, C Henry, P Marshall, I Humphreys, L Ludik.
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU).
Last five meetings: (2012/'13, final) Leinster 24 Ulster 18. (2013/'14) Leinster 19 Ulster 6; Ulster 20 Leinster 22; (semi-final) Leinster 13 Ulster 9. (2014/'15) Leinster 24 Ulster 11; Ulster 26 Leinster 10.
Betting (Paddy Powers): Leinster, 16/1 Draw, 9/5 Ulster. Handicap odds (Ulster +5pts) 10/11 Leinster, 25/1 Draw, 10/11 Ulster.
Forecast: Ulster to win.
