When Leinster lifted the Heineken Cup this year, it will be a day that I will never forget, a few tears were shed for different reasons, 1) I was sitting in a bar where nobody except for myself and Ruth Melody were remotely interested in the match, 2) I was studying for my pharmacy pre-registration exam and I was an emotional and hormonal wreck and 3) I wasn't in Cardiff when I should of been (stupid exam getting in my way!) Nevertheless it was a great day and I went home to my books with a spring in my step.
Now its starting all over again and by no means will Leinster have it easy, Montpellier are the runners up to Stade de France in the Top 14, from watching French teams in the past I've noticed that they are opportunists, they take advantage of every penalty that goes their way, nothing is wasted, I remember being at the Aviva watching Leinster play Toulouse in the HC semi-final, a penalty given to Toulouse, it hits the post and bounces back, a lovely take by Florian Fritz and he pops it over the line for a try while Leinster stand there with their pants around their ankles. A lucky bounce for them some might say but in my opinion there is no such thing as a lucky bounce for those prepared to chase.
Last week's clash with Munster showed that there was still a stale smell of RWC hangover off the boys, the rustiness and the mistakes need to be ironed out or Montpellier will punish us, our scrum set seems mildly weakened by the absence of Nathan Hines, he was such a great asset to Leinster and Devin Toner has some very big boots (or possibly small, the guy is 6ft10!) to fill if he wants to partake in the second row. Damian Browne comes into the side instead of Toner so let's hope he has something to say in the scrum tomorrow.
With Drico out with a shoulder injury until April (that is a very bitter pill to swallow), it looks like McFadden has claimed the centre spot, he partners D'Arcy again with Sexton and Boss acting as 10 and 9 respectively.
Another blow came when Cian Healy gained an injury during training this week, as a caution the Leinster management decided to play Heinke van der Merwe alongside Richardt Strauss and Mike Ross. Final change sees Kevin McLaughlin starting instead of Shane Jennings, with all other players from last week's Pro12 game remaining unchanged.
The other provinces go head to head also with Connacht kicking off their campaign against Harlequins tonight, lets hope the luck of 11-11-11 is with them! Ulster take on Clermont at Ravenhill while Munster take on finalists Northampton Saints at Thomand Park.
So fingers crossed it'll be a positive weekend for the four proud provinces of Ireland and to anyone who speaks fluent French... J'espère que vous apportez votre jeu parce que le Leinster va vous apporter leur bande idiote de grenouilles...ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!! ;)
LEINSTER:
15: Rob Kearney
14: Isa Nacewa
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Luke Fitzgerald
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Isaac Boss
1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Damian Browne
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip
REPLACEMENTS:
16; Sean Cronin
17: Jack McGrath
18: Nathan White
19: Devin Toner
20: Shane Jennings
21: Eoin Reddan
22: Ian Madigan
23: Eoin O'Malley
Montpellier:
1.Naama Leleimalefaga - 2.Agustin Creevy - 3.Maximiliano Bustos - 4.Mickael De Marco - 5.Thibaut Privat - 6.Fulgence Ouedraogo (capitaine) - 7.Mamuka Gorgodze - 8.Masi Matadigo - 9.Benoit Paillaugue - 10.François Trinh-Duc - 11.Yoan Audrin - 12.Santiago Fernandez - 13.Geoffrey Doumayrou - 14.Timoci Nagusa - 15.Lucas Amorosino
Replacements:
16.Rassie Van Vuuren - 17.Mikheil Nariashvili - 18.Giorgi Jgenti - 19.Drikus Hancke - 20.Rémy Martin - 21.Julien Tomas - 22.Paul Bosch - 23.Martin Bustos Moyano
REFEREE: Dave Pearson (RFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: David Rose, Paul Dix (both RFU), 4th OFFICIAL: Arnaud Blondel (FFR), 5th OFFICIAL: C. Clave (FFR), TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
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