Next five fixtures: Dragons (A), Harlequins (H, Champions Cup), Leicester (A, Champions Cup), Ulster (H), Munster (A)
Perhaps the big Leinster push is upon us. After a stuttering start to the season that yielded defeats by the Stormers, Bulls and Munster, the URC holders are tasked with reversing their fortunes with another Investec Champions Cup campaign beckoning.
And a growing injury list is not what Leo Cullen needed before Friday’s contest with the Dragons at Rodney Parade (19:45 GMT).
Already without scrum-half Cormac Foley and Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan, Leinster confirmed long-term injuries for Ryan Baird and Jamie Osborne earlier this week, both of whom are doubts for the start of the Six Nations.
James Culhane is also out “for the next few months” with a knee issue while Will Connors is recovering from an arm injury, while Tommy O’Brien and Robbie Henshaw are also currently out.
Joe McCarthy looks set to be fit next week’s Champions Cup opener against Harlequins, which will be the lock’s first action of the season.
And there is naturally a great deal of intrigue over Rieko Ioane’s arrival. The hugely experienced All Blacks star has joined the province until the end of the season and hopes to replicate his fellow countryman Jordie Barrett’s impact for the Blues during the 2024-25 campaign.
It is an unexpected new chapter for Ioane, who cemented himself as one of the most unpopular figures in Irish rugby after clashing with Johnny Sexton.
If he can go one better than Barrett and propel Leinster to their first Champions Cup title since 2018, it would complete a remarkable turnaround for the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year nominee.
