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Andy Farrell left sweating as Leinster lose two more Lions for semi-final
By Josh Raisey
Leinster have lost both Josh van der Flier and Hugo Keenan for the United Rugby Championship semi-final against Glasgow Warriors, with the British and Irish Lions duo being two of three changes from the side that beat Scarlets in the quarter-final.
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Lions boss Andy Farrell would have been put on red alert as soon as he saw van der Flier limp from the field after 30 minutes of play in the victory over the Scarlets, and while Leinster hoped that the former World Rugby player of the year would be fit to take on the reigning champions this week, he has failed to recover from a hamstring injury. Scott Penny, who replaced van der Flier in the quarter-finals, will start in the back-row.
Keenan, meanwhile, who was the recipient of a yellow-carded high tackle from Vaea Fifita later in the match, has been ruled out of this weekend with a calf injury. Jimmy O’Brien will shift to full-back from the wing, with Tommy O’Brien taking his place out wide.
Already without Tadhg Furlong and Garry Ringrose, Leinster’s contingent of injured Lions appears to be growing rapidly.
The final change to the starting XV from Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber sees the return of Dan Sheehan, who has been rewarded for his heroic cameo from the bench last week. He will swap roles with Ronan Kelleher.
With Penny now in the starting XV, Leinster have opted not to fill his place with another forward and instead have reverted back to a 5-3 split on the bench, with Ross Byrne joining the substitutes.
Leinster XV
15. Jimmy O’Brien (100)
14. Tommy O’Brien (45)
13. Jamie Osborne (63)
12. Jordie Barrett (13)
11. James Lowe (90)
10. Sam Prendergast (32)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (156)
1. Andrew Porter (138)
2. Dan Sheehan (71)
3. Thomas Clarkson (57)
4. Joe McCarthy (48)
5. James Ryan (95)
6. Ryan Baird (83)
7. Scott Penny (86)
8. Jack Conan (164) (c)
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Replacements
16. Rónan Kelleher (77)
17. Jack Boyle (26)
18. Rabah Slimani (21)
19. RG Snyman (20)
20. Max Deegan (134)
21. Luke McGrath (232)
22. Ross Byrne (184)
23. Ciarán Frawley (102)
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Im a leinzter fan and i think glasgow could well beat us,leinsters self belief seems to have abandoned them since that saints loss,how a team who have pretty much steam rolled all other teams in champions cup and urc have turned into such a mess is bewildering,glasgow in winning may well do us a favour,as a loss would make cullens job redundant and about time,his constant tinkering with team selection,and arrogance and pure spoofery is madening,we need a fresh set of eyes,we have the talent.rant over,hoping for a good game with no cards or injuries to either side.
Glasgow have this one in the bag - go Warriors!
Let's hope so. :)