{"id":485979,"date":"2026-06-06T10:19:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T10:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/485979\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T10:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T10:19:14","slug":"leinster-face-stormers-test-as-scrutiny-lingers-after-european-disappointment-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/485979\/","title":{"rendered":"Leinster face Stormers test as scrutiny lingers after European disappointment \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

URC semi-final: Leinster v Stormers, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 5.30pm (Live on TG4, Premier Sports)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a whiff of Hobson\u2019s choice to Leinster<\/a>\u2019s predicament in the likelihood that they will be damned in victory or defeat, one with faint praise, or they\u2019ll face the prospect of being dunked in vitriol if the outcome goes south. Two sides of the same coin. <\/p>\n

Thomas Hobson, a Cambridge livery stable owner born in the 16th century, offered customers the choice of taking the horse nearest the stall door or none. It was to prevent the best horses from being used all the time. The expression he gave his name to is in essence, a free choice but only one thing is offered. <\/p>\n

Irrespective of the outcome, Leinster won\u2019t be able to sway the naysayers. On that note why bother? As URC champions, there is a title to defend, a chance to show character and pride, for the players to endorse the work of the coaching staff by actions, not words in some chat room. <\/p>\n

Last weekend they stepped from beneath the pall cast by the Champions Cup final defeat by Bordeaux-B\u00e8gles<\/a> and back into the sunlight with an upbeat display against an admittedly docile Lions team. The Stormers will be in a different stratosphere in posing a challenge worthy of the occasion. <\/p>\n

Title winners in 2022, they are coached by the hugely likeable. and accomplished John Dobson, and have a playing roster replete with power, pace, a formidable set piece and a decent kicking game. <\/p>\n

The absence of thoroughbreds outhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, a rare talent, quicksilver wing Seabelo Senatla and secondrow Ruben van Heerden is a blow, but their replacements are hardly pit ponies. Leolin Zas is seriously rapid while Connor Evans is athletic and mobile. <\/p>\n

\"LeolinLeolin Zas of DHL Stormers tackled by Ryan Baird of Leinster last year. Photograph: Steve Haag Sports\/EJ Langner\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Leinster know all about the quality of outhalf Jurie Matthee, who helped himself to 20 points in the game between the sides on the opening day of the season. The Irish province received a proper trimming in a 35-0 defeat. Jimmy O\u2019Brien and Sam Prendergast are the only survivors from the run-on team back in September.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Matt Williams: Why are Leinster being held to higher standards? Because they\u2019re that goodOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Leinster too have their personnel issues, Tommy O\u2019Brien, arguably their player of the year, Robbie Henshaw, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are sidelined by injuries of more recent vintage. Head coach Leo Cullen said the right things in the build-up, about taking nothing for granted, about the spirit within the camp while offering context and clarity in defending Jacques Nienaber and comments that might have been misconstrued.<\/p>\n

As in his wont, he extolled the qualities of the opposition in depth and tried to move the narrative forward from a post, post, post, postscript to the Bordeaux defeat. He was unsuccessful in the latter regard. The flagellation process has a bit to run, certainly in the eyes of others. A title might just about cauterise the bleeding. <\/p>\n

Cullen\u2019s selection has been informed by injury, but he\u2019s had to make some tough calls. Prendergast gets the 10 jersey, Harry Byrne the understudy role, while Ciar\u00e1n Frawley is arguably the unluckiest of all those excluded. Max Deegan is rewarded for last week\u2019s excellence.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Prendergast at Leinster Rugby training. Photograph: Tom O\u2019Hanlon <\/p>\n

Leinster are aware of what\u2019s brewing. The Stormers will go after them in the scrum, but Thomas Clarkson has coped admirably against South African sides in that respect before, so too Andrew Porter if the contest is not weighted by pre-existing opinion. Hollie Davidson will demand pristine pictures and unflexed elbows. <\/p>\n

Joe McCarthy is in tip-top form, so too James Ryan, the battle of the backrows should be a doozy, while a game like this might go a long way to convincing all and sundry that Jamie Osborne\u2019s permanent home is at inside centre, having acquitted himself capably elsewhere in the backline. <\/p>\n

The home side are 15-point favourites but to justify that faith they\u2019ll have to elevate their performance again from last week. One crucial aspect is being able to convert opportunities, a bugbear against Bordeaux. Good teams punish opponents who don\u2019t convert chances. The Stormers are a good team but Leinster should win.<\/p>\n

Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O\u2019Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, R\u00f3nan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt). Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Rabah Slimani, Diarmuid Mangan, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne, Garry Ringrose.<\/p>\n

DHL Stormers: Damian Willemse, Wandisile Simelane, Ruhan Nel (capt), Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas; Jurie Matthee, Imad Khan; Ntuthuko Mchunu, Andr\u00e9-Hugo Venter, Neethling Fouch\u00e9; Adr\u00e9 Smith, Connor Evans; Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos. Replacements: JJ Kotz\u00e9, Vernon Matongo, Zachary Porthen, Salmaan Moerat, Ruan Ackermann, Marcel Theunissen, Stefan Ungerer, Warrick Gelant.<\/p>\n

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland).<\/p>\n

[\u00a0James Ryan urges Leinster to move on from Champions Cup heartbreak ahead of Stormers clashOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"URC semi-final: Leinster v Stormers, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 5.30pm (Live on TG4, Premier Sports) There\u2019s a whiff of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,21457,11287,28577,85221,112,14881],"class_list":["post-485979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-joe-mccarthy","tag-leinster-rugby","tag-leo-cullen","tag-sacha-feinberg-mngomezulu","tag-sports","tag-united-rugby-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}