LEINSTER coach Leo Cullen expects some of his players will be taking on opponents not on the pitch today – but that is fine by him.
Cullen’s men are in La Rochelle for what has become an annual Champions Cup meeting with Ronan O’Gara’s side – with this being the sixth meeting in five seasons.
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Leinster boss Leo Cullen has backed his players to shine ahead of the Six Nations announcement next week
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Leinster face La Rochelle on Sunday afternoon in a vital clash
A seventh is also still a possibility with both sides expected to progress to the knockout stages with Cullen keen to win to ensure Leinster are seeded as high as possible.
But with interim Ireland coach Simon Easterby set to name his Six Nations panel on Wednesday, Cullen knows that is a big thing for a lot of his players.
His starting XV today has 14 Irishmen that would expect to be included.
It would have been 15 Irish men but the luckless Tommy O’Brien – who missed the Emerging Ireland tour in October through injury – was forced to withdraw yesterday.
That meant a reshuffle of the back three with All Black Jordie Barrett promoted from the bench to play full back, Jamie Osborne moving to left wing, and Jimmy O’Brien switching to the right.
The bench also has Six Nations hopefuls and expectants with Gus McCarthy, Andrew Porter, Jack Conan, Ciaran Frawley, and Ross Byrne.
But rather than think of it as a distraction, Cullen believes it can be a good thing for his side today.
He said: “The lads know there is a squad being picked at some stage next week so they can lay down a marker this weekend.
“Because they’re not just competing against their opponent but also competing for their own personal interest against whoever is playing for one of the other provinces in European action the same weekend.
“It’s a nice time to get into good form.”
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Tadhg Furlong’s return from calf and hamstring problems that have kept him out since October is timely – both for Leinster and Ireland.
And Cullen revealed that James Lowe – injured since the Australia game at the end of November – is on the road to recovery though Jordan Larmour picked up an injury this week.
Similarly Hugo Keenan is close to a return but was not considered for today’s game, with Frawley in the same position until yesterday when Tommy O’Brien’s injury forced a change..
And Cullen stressed that Leinster’s need for a win today had to take priority this week with his team selection.
He said: “You’ve a 23, training is set up that you want to invest some time into a group of players.
“Everyone in the group needs to understand the role they are going to play and we try to give everyone an early indication of what it is going to look like in terms of the week.
“Hopefully you see a big performance from the 23, but it’s not just about them, it’s about the wider squad as well.
Leinster: J Barrett, J O’Brien, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Osborne, S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; C Healy, R Kelleher, T Furlong, J McCarthy, J Ryan, R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris.
Replacements: G McCarthy, A Porter, R Slimani, RG Snyman, J Conan, L McGrath, R Byrne, .C Frawley
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