Hugo Keenan to miss Leinster's URC semi-final with Glasgow

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Leinster will be without four Lions for their URC semi-final with Glasgow at The Aviva.That equates to three changes from the quarter-final as Josh van der Flier picked up a knock last Saturday, Hugo Keenan has a calf niggle while Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher rotate.Jimmy O'Brien switches to full-back allowing Tommy O'Brien come onto the right-wing, Scott Penny, who came on for Van der Flier last week, retains the open-side slot, Sheehan is the starting hooker.Tadhg Furlong, who has not played since the Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton in early March, remains on the injury list."The game is coming a little bit too soon for Josh," said Leo Cullen. "We swapped the hookers as well, Dan and Ronan, but there is quality there in both of them."Hugo we didn't think was that significant he trained on Tuesday but then he started to flag and at that point Tommy was coming back into training,"So we moved Jimmy to no15 and Tommy in on the wing. Listen Tommy has been excellent for the team all year so I don't think he drops the overall group anyway."Then with the moving parts at the backs, obviously Josh dropping out as well, we've gone back to a 5-3 on the bench because Ciaran came on at 15 for Hugo at the weekend, and he can cover 12 and 15, Ross has been excellent all year for us as well."I know he finishes up at the end of the season, we've got him back in the mix in these games."Interestingly, and given penalty shootouts are on everyone's mind following last week's events in Durban, this means Byrne and Frawley will most likely be on the field at the close if needed."I don't know was it about the fact that there was a penalty shoot out in one of the games last week, does that play on our minds as well, stacking the bench with kickers? It is a possibility, it is definitely something that needs to be considered."Overall Ross has been excellent all year, he's been unlucky to miss out on some of the games the last few weeks because we'd opted to have a 6-2 split prior to that."I think both teams are probably missing a few players, that's just the nature of the season, we think there is a good group and we're excited to get going again.Meanwhile former Scotland captain and Premier Sport TV commentator John Barclay suggests there is too much outside when it comes to assessing the game - it is a one-off URC semi-final in Dublin.'There's a lot of talk about a vulnerability to Leinster after what Saints did to them in the Champions Cup but it feels a bit daft, given they finished top of the league, we may be losing sight of that," says Barclay.'There's a template of how to beat Leinster from the Scarlets and Northampton games, the key message being that Leinster are not unbeatable, but you have to be disruptive, really go after them. "There's lots to admire and learn from what the Scarlets did last weekend, they were brave, they attacked well and they didn't just sit back.'If you are Leinster you are probably quite liking people writing you off as well. They topped the URC, got to the semi-finals of Europe. Yes there will be bits of their game they will be wanting to sharpen up – but I think they will also be pretty confident.The Scots need to be able to consistently shut down Leinster's playmakers.'For Glasgow, it's about disrupting the flow of the game that quality players like Jamison Gibson-Park, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe dictate, the guys that determine where and how they play the game.'The up front battle will also be huge but how good will that contest be between the likes of Tom Jordan, Sione Tuipulotu and Jordie Barrett? "Tom Jordan will be even more motivated with the prospect that it could be his last game for the club.'Warriors finished fourth in the league-proper and come to the game as outsiders to make the final but they shouldn't be written off.Continues Barclay: "Glasgow are looking good, looking sharp and are peaking at the right time, I think they will be confident going over there.'They dominated the Stormers up front last weekend which surprised a few people given the size of them, but the Warriors are so well coached now, they know how to do that. 'If you look at the coaching ticket that Glasgow have, the way they evolve and have a plan for every week, I think they'll be pretty comfortable in what they have to do as a team on Saturday.' It's fascinating that a Glasgow team that can get beaten 52-0 points over there a few weeks ago and actually people say they have a reasonable chance."Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien, Tommy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe, Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Scott Penny, Jack Conan (CAPT)Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Ciarán FrawleyGlasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn (CAPT), Sione Tuipulotu, Tom Jordan, Kyle Rowe, Adam Hastings, George Horne, Jamie Bhatti, Gregor Hiddleston, Fin Richardson, Alex Samuel, Scott Cummings, Euan Ferrie, Rory Darge, Henco VenterReplacements: Johnny Matthews, Rory Sutherland, Sam Talakai, Max Williamson, Jack Mann, Macenzzie Duncan, Stafford McDowall, Jamie DobieReferee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 54th league game)