Leinster Announce Squad For Connacht Trip

The Leinster squad for their Magners League derby clash with Connacht at the Sportsground (kick-off 6pm) on Sunday has been named.

Stephen Keogh, Gary Brown, summer signing Simon Keogh, Felix Jones and Fergus McFadden are all included in the squad after a series of impressive outings for the Leinster ‘A’ side recently.

They are joined in the 23-man panel by Rocky Elsom and CJ Van Der Linde, who both made their debuts last weekend.

They feature in a squad that includes the likes of Ireland internationals Leo Cullen, Luke Fitzgerald, Trevor Hogan, Shane Horgan and Rob Kearney as well as Argentina’s Felipe Contepomi.

Speaking ahead of the Galway game, Leinster coach Michael Cheika said that the province’s squad is determined to get back to winning ways against a team he rates highly.

“The conditions were difficult last year and I think over the last three years we have gotten better against them (Connacht) down there. The Sportsground is a tough place to play no matter what the weather is like,” he said.

“We will take nothing for granted. We will tackle each game on its own merits and make sure that we play a good, structured, smart game against Connacht.

“It’s a very important game for us in terms of how we are going to manage these next four weeks.

“We’re going to look to use our whole squad over the next four weeks and we’ll have to make sure that everyone makes a contribution to the team.

“Some guys are going to get an opportunity to get selected for Europe. So it’s a big game, in all respects for us, because we know how tough it is to win down there.

“Connacht will be looking to bounce back from getting beaten away from home last weekend (against Cardiff), so we’ve got to be ready to fight for everything, but we’ve also got to play smart football.

“Some guys from the ‘A’ squad have put their hand up for selection so we’ll see what happens there. Cian Healy picked up a knock in the ‘A’ game (against Munster) so we’ll wait and see how he comes up when we pick the side.”

LEINSTER Squad (v Connacht): Backs (11) – Chris Keane, Chris Whitaker, Felipe Contepomi, Jonathan Sexton, Simon Keogh, Fergus McFadden, Luke Fitzgerald, Gary Brown, Shane Horgan, Felix Jones, Rob Kearney.

Forwards (12) – Cian Healy, Stan Wright, Brian Blaney, John Fogarty, CJ Van Der Linde, Leo Cullen, Trevor Hogan, Cameron Jowitt, Devin Toner, Rocky Elsom, Sean O’Brien, Stephen Keogh.