Leinster vs Exeter Sat 16-12-17@3.15PM - BT Sport

[Peg Leg]

Injury update:

Ireland and Leinster flanker Rhys Ruddock will see a surgeon later this week following the hamstring injury he suffered against Exeter at Sandy Park last Sunday.

There was no prognosis on Tuesday from Leinster management about how long the Irish flanker could be sidelined for until further medical examination.

However it was reiterated that Leinster outhalf Johnny Sexton, who left the pitch before the end of the Champions Cup win with a quad injury, will be available for selection in Saturday’s return leg.

Adam Byrne, who earned his first Irish cap on the wing and in the centre during the November Series, has been suffering knee pain since he came back from Irish duty and has not been able to train fully with the province. Leinster are hopeful that Byrne will return to training this week.

There was good news for Irish centre Robbie Henshaw and forward James Ryan, who both came through last weekend without incident. Both players were recent returns from injury.

Joey Carberry (arm fracture), Barry Daly (ankle), Jamie Heaslip (lower back) and Tom Daly (Knee) remain on the longer term injury list and are unavailable for selection.

Lock Ross Molony will return to on-field training this week. The 23-year-old has recovered from a knee injury and will be assessed during training as the week progresses.

Well that's the first inkling that Plumber picked Isa and Ferg on the wings because Byrne was injured.

[riocard911]

Not so. It was mentioned somewhere in the dispatches last week.

[brotheroffrank]

Leinster register James Lowe ahead of Saturday showdown with Exeter Chiefs....but will he be selected?

[paddyor]

Leinster register James Lowe ahead of Saturday showdown with Exeter Chiefs....but will he be selected?

Did they?

[cormac]

https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ ... 01569.html

[Peg Leg]

Not so. It was mentioned somewhere in the dispatches last week.

Replace "the" with "my", so.

[wixfjord]

Sexton fit for the weekend according to RTE. Fogarty didn’t quite say that, but hinted strongly towards it.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2017/121 ... he-chiefs/

[Ruckedtobits]

Lest we forget

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... eport.html

14th December 2013 and taken from the Torygraph for added emphasis, the night of our great horror and a reminder of how sport laughs at predictions.

Just compare the euphoria that was around after the first leg in Franklin Gardens, here's the Leinster Rugby match report of 7th Dec 2013:

https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/report/nor ... -leinster/

So many comparables and parallels, but lightening can strike twice. So I will keep reminding myself, we must win this match first, the manner is unimportant. As Gervaise reminded everybody in his IT piece today, only 4 out of 10 fixtures last year were back-to-back victories. They are as rare as Hen's Teeth.

[Edna Kenny]

In the last two years only one team has failed to do the double after winning the away fixture first. Bordeaux V's .......................Exeter

[Lar]

Lest we forget

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... eport.html

14th December 2013 and taken from the Torygraph for added emphasis, the night of our great horror and a reminder of how sport laughs at predictions.

Just compare the euphoria that was around after the first leg in Franklin Gardens, here's the Leinster Rugby match report of 7th Dec 2013:

https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/report/nor ... -leinster/

So many comparables and parallels, but lightening can strike twice. So I will keep reminding myself, we must win this match first, the manner is unimportant. As Gervaise reminded everybody in his IT piece today, only 4 out of 10 fixtures last year were back-to-back victories. They are as rare as Hen's Teeth.

Seriously rtb - do 40% of hen's have teeth?

[desperado]

Leinster register James Lowe ahead of Saturday showdown with Exeter Chiefs....but will he be selected?

Did they?

in place of JGP??

[harblstuff]

Leinster register James Lowe ahead of Saturday showdown with Exeter Chiefs....but will he be selected?

Did they?

in place of JGP??

The update only said Ruddock was deregistered - maybe this frees up a slot in the squad, but not necessarily the match day team?

[johng]

No. Ruddock. I told yiz they were waiting on injury.

Probably not good news on Heaslip though

[johng]

The update only said Ruddock was deregistered - maybe this frees up a slot in the squad, but not necessarily the match day team?

If a playeris ruled out until after the pool stages then it makes it easy to know who to deregister.

They obviously feel they have enough cover in the back row

[Oldschool]

Leinster register James Lowe ahead of Saturday showdown with Exeter Chiefs....but will he be selected?

Guessing!
Means Adam Byrne isn't going to be fit and another one of our back three is injured.

[CiaranIrl]

Lest we forget

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... eport.html

14th December 2013 and taken from the Torygraph for added emphasis, the night of our great horror and a reminder of how sport laughs at predictions.

Just compare the euphoria that was around after the first leg in Franklin Gardens, here's the Leinster Rugby match report of 7th Dec 2013:

https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/report/nor ... -leinster/

So many comparables and parallels, but lightening can strike twice. So I will keep reminding myself, we must win this match first, the manner is unimportant. As Gervaise reminded everybody in his IT piece today, only 4 out of 10 fixtures last year were back-to-back victories. They are as rare as Hen's Teeth.

Given how well we played, it's easy to forget the number of unforced errors they made. Dropped balls, bad passes etc. It was uncharacteristic, and if they hadn't happened, it would have been a different game. Exeter are still a massive threat. They have more than enough juice to win the return game if we don't play at our best.

[COYBIB]

I'd mix it up for the return fixture

1. Healy 2. Cronin 3. Furlong 4. Fardy 5. Toner 6. O'Brien 7. VDF 8. Conan
9. McGrath (c) 10. Sexton 11. Lowe 12. Henshaw 13. Ringrose 14. Byrne 15. Kearney
16. Tracy 17. McGrath 18. Bent 19. Ryan 20. Leavy (if fit) / Murphy 21. McCarthy 22. Byrne 23. Nacewa

Harsh on McFadden, but I think the attacking threat of Lowe and Byrne on the wings will be needed and the arial bombardment down the right to Byrne has been a great weapon for us this season.

Nacewa is a great bench option, hard to imagine him dropped, it's also tough to lose Larmours impact off the bench, but I think that might be the best side for the assignment. It wont be the same game that played out in Exeter.

[wixfjord]

I really don't think we'll see Lowe this week at all. He's only in because of Ruddock's injury.

[fourthirtythree]

I really don't think we'll see Lowe this week at all. He's only in because of Ruddock's injury.

Dunno. McF had a great second half but he was being played as if he were Byrne chasing high balls in the first half and it wasn't working. Lowe showed he had some of the terrier like appetite for work that McFadden has but with more attacking prowess.

I'd have no problem with Ferg starting after how he played last week but Lowe is a seriously tempting option.

[desperado]

Can't see Nacewa not being selected to start. I'd say we'll see Lowe in the 23. Mood music around Byrne doesn't seem overly positive. It would be harsh on Ferg not to feature; but Larmour has to bench IMO for the X factor.