Leinster finished the regular season with 14 wins and 70 points last April, and already have 14 victories and 68 points in the bag this year with a full five rounds remaining. They can secure top spot in Conference B and a home semi-final with a first ever triumph over the Toyota Cheetahs at the RDS.
GUINNESS PRO14: Friday, March 1
LEINSTER (1st, Con B) v TOYOTA CHEETAHS (6th, Con A), the RDS, 7.35pm (live eir Sport 1&2/Premier Sports 1/SuperSport 1/highlights TG4)
Team News: Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made nine personnel changes and two positional switches to the team to play the Toyota Cheetahs in the GUINNESS PRO14 at the RDS on Friday night.
Rhys Ruddock has returned to full fitness from a hamstring injury to captain the province from the back row, with Max Deegan and Caelan Doris again completing the loose forwards. Australian international Scott Fardy, who has signed a one-year contract extension, rejoins Ross Molony in the second row.
There is a completely new front row with Peter Dooley, Bryan Byrne and Michael Bent all starting, while Jamison Gibson-Park, Rory O’Loughlin, Adam Byrne and Dave Kearney have been added to the back-line. Kill native Byrne comes in on the right wing for his 50th Leinster cap.
Byrne’s inclusion sees Fergus McFadden swap across to the left wing, with in-form Mullingar man Conor O’Brien moving to inside centre to accommodate the return of O’Loughlin, the scorer of the ninth and final try against the Isuzu Southern Kings, in the number 13 jersey.
Clontarf lock Mick Kearney has recovered from the shoulder knock he picked up last week to take his place in the matchday 23. Tickets for Friday’s game are on sale at leinsterrugby.ie or from the Ticketmaster office at the RDS which will be open from 6pm on match night.
Meanwhile, Toyota Cheetahs boss Franco Smith has made two personnel changes to the side that lost 43-21 to the Scarlets in Llanelli. Tian Meyer will lead the team from scrum half with Shaun Venter dropping to the bench, and Reinach Venter replaces Marnus van der Merwe at hooker.
Leinster will be wary of the attacking threat posed by winger Sibahle Maxwane, the Championship’s top try scorer this season with 12 tries, and out-half Tian Schoeman (92 points) is fifth on the list of top points scorers. The Cheetahs won the sides’ only previous encounter last season, triumphing 38-19 in Bloemfontein.
Gerhard Oliver, Abongile Nonkontwana and Junior Pokomela, the PRO14’s leading lineout stealer this year, swap places in the back row, with the latter now stationed at number 8. Charles Marais has recovered from a bout of food poisoning to fill one of the replacement prop slots.
LEINSTER: Dave Kearney; Adam Byrne, Rory O’Loughlin, Conor O’Brien, Fergus McFadden; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Peter Dooley, Bryan Byrne, Michael Bent, Ross Molony, Scott Fardy, Rhys Ruddock (capt), Max Deegan, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: James Tracy, Ed Byrne, Andrew Porter, Mick Kearney, Josh Murphy, Hugh O’Sullivan, Noel Reid, Barry Daly.
TOYOTA CHEETAHS: Louis Fouche; William Small-Smith, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Dries Swanepoel, Sibahle Maxwane; Tian Schoeman, Tian Meyer (capt); Ox Nche, Reinach Venter, Aranos Coetzee, Walt Steenkamp, JP du Preez, Gerhard Olivier, Abongile Nonkontwana, Junior Pokomela.
Replacements: Jacques du Toit, Charles Marais, Luan de Bruin, Sintu Manjezi, Marnus van der Merwe, Henco Venter, Rudy Paige, Shaun Venter.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Wayne Davies (Wales)
Television Match Official: Colin Stanley (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Leinster to win: 1/33; Draw: 50/1; Toyota Cheetahs to win: 12/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Rory O’Loughlin (Leinster) –
I’m looking forward to the game. Last weekend against the Kings was good fun out there, I came on for the last 30 minutes and we were probably in our full flow at that stage, scored some nice tries. So it’s a good time to come onto the pitch. People are playing with confidence and throwing the ball around.
It’s a nice way to finish this block (of games). There’s been a smaller group around here (Leinster HQ) for the last month. A lot of Academy lads have gotten to train with us on a consistent basis and a good few of them have gotten to play – the likes of Paddy Patterson, Ronan Kelleher and Jack Dunne – so hopefully they’ll get another shot this weekend.
I’m looking forward to hopefully getting a good crack in front of the home crowd and putting in a bit of a performance. You have to take it one game at a time but you also need to have a goal to work towards and that Ulster (Champions Cup) game is definitely one of mine. They’re the games you really want to play in and I played in a couple of big games towards the end of last season which I absolutely loved.”
Top Scorers – 2018/19 GUINNESS PRO14: Leinster – Points: Ross Byrne 82; Tries: Max Deegan 6; Toyota Cheetahs – Points: Tian Schoeman 92; Tries: Sibahle Maxwane 12
2018/19 TEAM FORM: Leinster – Played 16, Won 14, Lost 2, 68 Points; W 33-32 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 23-21 v Scarlets (away), W 52-10 v Dragons (home), W 31-7 v Edinburgh (home), W 20-3 v Connacht (away), W 30-22 v Munster (home), W 31-3 v Benetton Rugby (away), W 38-31 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), W 52-7 v Ospreys (home), W 59-10 v Dragons (away), W 33-29 v Connacht (home), L 26-17 v Munster (away), W 40-7 v Ulster (home), W 22-17 v Scarlets (home), W 40-24 v Zebre (away), W 59-19 v Isuzu Southern Kings (home); Toyota Cheetahs – Played 16, Won 6, Drawn 1, Lost 9, 36 Points; L 38-0 v Munster (away), L 46-14 v Ospreys (away), L 52-24 v Glasgow Warriors (home), D 39-39 v Ulster (home), L 24-21 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 37-21 v Edinburgh (away), W 21-10 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 30-26 v Munster (home), W 31-25 v Benetton Rugby (home), L 21-17 v Connacht (home), W 27-12 v Zebre (away), W 24-17 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), W 61-28 v Zebre (home), W 40-36 v Isuzu Southern Kings (home), L 25-17 v Connacht (away), L 43-21 v Scarlets (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, September 22, 2017 – Toyota Cheetahs 38 Leinster 19, Toyota Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– Leinster’s only two defeats in the GUINNESS PRO14 this season were both on the road, at the Scarlets in round 2 and at Munster in round 12
– Leinster’s only loss in their last 26 home games in all tournaments was 17-15 to Benetton Rugby at the RDS in the PRO14 in April of last year
– The Toyota Cheetahs have lost their last two matches, at Connacht and at the Scarlets, since they beat the Isuzu Southern Kings in Bloemfontein a month ago
– The Cheetahs’ record on visits to Ireland is played five and lost five
– The two sides have met just once before, in Bloemfontein in September 2017 where the home side won 38-19