Another Aviva ambush on cards as Glasgow look to inflict more knockout misery on Leinster

Extra.ie​

9 hours ago

A lot has changed in the past eight weeks.
Rewind back to April 11 and Leinster were cruising to a 52-0 win against Glasgow at Aviva Stadium in another utterly and almost farcically one-sided Champions Cup knockout game. A week after a cricket score had been inflicted on Harlequins, the Blues made light work of another foe on their home turf.
Leo Cullen's stellar squad were on an unstoppable charge to European glory. Then Northampton rocked up in Dublin and derailed the province's title ambitions in the most dramatic of fashions. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
The vibe, optics and noise around this Leinster squad has altered spectacularly since the Saints stormed the capital.
All the energy and enthusiasm has seemingly drained out of this playing group since that ill-fated Champions Cup semi-final. They have not looked like themselves of late. Leinster look flat at the moment.
The URC is still there to win but, so far, it hasn't exactly stoked the fires in Camp Leinster. This hunt for a first league title since 2021 has felt a bit like the third day of a stag. Everyone involved seems to be going through the motions – making all the right noises – until the event reaches its conclusion, they can go their separate ways and focus on the hangover recovery.
The fanbase certainly seem to feel that way. There were less than 13,000 spectators through the turnstiles for last weekend's nervy and error-strewn quarter-final win against Scarlets and another sparse crowd is expected this afternoon. There is no bank holiday weekend to blame this time around.
A lot of the supporters have tuned out. Once the quest for the fifth star crashed and burned, many fans voted with their feet. The worry for Cullen and his coaching team is if a lot of the players – even subconsciously – have checked out, too. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Leinster find themselves in a weird, end-of-season limbo at the moment. They are trying to fire themselves up emotionally to win a trophy which has been an afterthought for a long, long time.
And even if they succeed, they won't get much kudos. Thing is, if they slip up today against an in-form Glasgow outfit, the fallout will be brutal. Leinster will face fresh taunts about their inability to win big knockout games, while staring down the barrel at a fourth consecutive campaign without silverware.
The only way the home side can silence all those doubters and exorcise a few European demons is by laying down a marker against the visitors.
The big question is whether Leinster have the ability to deliver a big display at this point in time. There hasn't been a lot of compelling evidence recently.
Much has been said and written about the psychological state of the players at the moment but Cullen's squad is also beginning to show signs of wear and tear.
The hosts were already without captain Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw for this playoff charge. Tadhg Furlong and Garry Ringrose joined that international pair on the sidelines recently.
And now Hugo Keenan and Josh van der Flier have been sidelined. That's a lot of quality to lose in a short space of time.
Yes, Cullen has depth which is the envy of coaches across the globe. Jimmy O'Brien – another Ireland international – has filled the void left by Keenan while Scott Penny, a talented openside who would arguably start for any of the other provinces, steps in for Van der Flier.
Cullen was able to swap Ronan Kelleher for Dan Sheehan, he can still field a backline featuring Jamison Gibson-Park, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe, Jamie Osborne and Tommy O'Brien.
He has a pack featuring Andrew Porter, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird and Jack Conan. Heck, he has Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman and Max Deegan in reserve as well three Test-calibre outside backs. When it comes to injuries, Leinster can't really play the Béal Bocht.
On paper, this team looks as fierce as ever. Glasgow themselves felt the full wrath of this Leinster side in full flow barely two months ago.
But things have changed. Leinster have been suffering an existential crisis while Glasgow have gone from strength to strength.
Franco Smith's troops – who are defending their title – have timed their end-of-season run perfectly. They put a strong Stormers outfit to the sword at Scotstoun seven days ago, the Scots cruising to a 36-18 win to book their place in today's semi-final.
They are the polar opposite of Leinster at the moment. Glasgow look tight, united and hungry to land a brace of URC titles.
The home side look like a group who are still trying to make sense of what happened against Northampton. This squad – for all its talent and resources – is in danger of becoming rugby's equivalent of the Buffalo Bills, the NFL side which infamously lost four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s. There is a lot of emotional scar tissue in the Blues ranks and a URC title isn't going to flush out all the recent disappointment.
Has it left them vulnerable? Glasgow will be sensing a glorious opportunity. They have long forgotten about the 50-point shellacking they suffered at this venue not along ago. They will be taking heart from their most recent visit last month when Leinster ground out a hard-fought 13-5 win.
The visitors will look at a Leinster pack without Furlong, Van der Flier and Doris and sense opportunity. They will look at Sam Prendergast's defensive issues and believe they can exploit that avenue, especially with Sione Tuipulotu, their outstanding Scotland and Lions centre, back on the beat and ready to lay down an early marker to Andy Farrell ahead of the series Down Under.
In Scotland openside Rory Darge and South African No8 Henco Venter, they have a pair of tough customers who will look to disrupt Leinster's supply lines and make this a real dogfight.
Rain is forecast and if this descends into a bit of a slugfest, then an out-of-sorts Leinster could really struggle. Consider that Leinster have failed at this stage of the competition for three consecutive seasons and you get a sense of the challenge ahead.
'Whatever it takes' is the mantra of this Glasgow team. That's what Leinster are facing today. Another Aviva ambush might be on the cards.