Leinster face near-empty stadium for Dragons clash
27/01/2005 - 11:27:26There is bound to be an eerie atmosphere at Lansdowne Road on Sunday when the Newport-Gwent Dragons and Leinster will run out to a largely empty stadium on the last Celtic League weekend before the Six Nations takes over the rugby calendar.
The eleven Leinster-contracted players involved with Ireland reported to base yesterday afternoon and Declan Kidney will go with most of them in a bid to make up for last week’s loss to The Borders.
Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy will need time to gel on the pitch. For all the hullabaloo about their chemistry, they have spent precious little playing time together.
Argentinean Felipe Contepomi and tight head prop Ricky Nebbett will look to pressurise Girvan Dempsey and Emmet Byrne. Malcolm O’Kelly, Reggie Corrigan and Shane Byrne should all be in the mix.
Leinster are dropping off the blistering pace set by The Ospreys and Munster. In fact, The Dragons are two points behind them, having played one less match. The Ireland squad members will want to go into the Six Nations with a win under their belts to put them in the correct frame of mind.
Ronan O’Gara will make his return from three weeks of injury in Munster’s assignment at Llanelli tomorrow.
Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan will take a keen interest as O’Gara seeks to recover his match sharpness and reconnect with his partner Peter Stringer.
Rugby league convert Paul Devlin and inside centre Jason Holland will get their chances to make an impression on coach Alan Gaffney, who must be desperate for one of the fringe backs to make a push for inclusion in the Heineken Cup quarter-final.
Munster are five points behind The Ospreys with a game in hand on the leaders. The substance of an all-international pack of forwards will give them plenty of ball at Stradey Park. They just have to figure out what to do with it.
Connacht have been forewarned about any complacency by The Borders upset of Leinster last Saturday as Michael Bradley’s men travel across to Netherdale tonight.
The Westerners have slumped to four successive losses, while The Borders have won their last two against Edinburgh and Declan Kidney’s side. If anything, the Scottish franchise will be slight favourites.
Eric Elwood (deep bruising), Michael Swift (leg) and James Downey (collar bone) have all been heaped onto the injury list. Prop Peter Bracken and Ireland Under-21 wing forward Brendan O’Connor have been added to the squad.
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