After their travel nightmare, Leinster must be close to their best against Racing in France today:
Garry Ringrose captains Leinster today. Image: Billy Stickland/INPHO IT WAS SUPPOSED to be a handy skip across to France yesterday. It turned into a travel nightmare for Leinster and their fans.
Leinster’s flight was delayed by five hours and after they finally got into the air, they had to circle Le Havre before being diverted to Aéroport Paris-Beauvais. With bus transfers an issue, some of the Leinster group ended up having to hop into taxis to make the two-and-a-half hour journey back to Le Havre, arriving after 9pm, tired and fed up after a very frustrating day.
None of this was ideal before an early game against a dangerous Racing 92 team [KO 1pm Irish time, BT Sport]. There’s simply no time for Leinster to feel sorry for themselves and the rest of us who made it over should get to witness a brilliant rugby match. The juice should be worth yesterday’s laborious squeeze.
Being without captain Johnny Sexton and tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong today isn’t ideal but Leinster can back their depth with some confidence. The clever Ross Byrne would start for most European teams anyway, while Michael Ala’alatoa is experienced in the front row. It’s interesting to see Leinster name Healy as their back-up tighthead again.
The Parisians can look forward to the arrival of Stuart Lancaster next summer but Laurent Travers’ side have been tipping along nicely, rising to second in the Top 14 thanks to consecutive wins over Montpellier, Brive, Perpignan, Clermont, and Toulon. Juan Imhoff is as hard-working a winger as you’ll find but finishes with finesse too, while former Munster man Francis Saili can be impactful with his strike-running in midfield and 21-year-old fullback Max Spring is classy. Captain Gaël Fickou, one of the best defenders in the game, is the backline glue.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Leinster without 'dinosaur' Sexton but Racing set for huge test'Yes, he's a dinosaur! 'I'm not really surprised because I know he's a big leader and the chief orchestrator.'
Read more »
Champions Cup: Why Leinster aren't Racing certainties as Munster have nothing to loseThe 42′s rugby writers separate the contenders from the pretenders as European rugby’s showpiece event returns for another year.
Read more »
Champions Cup: Garry Ringrose to captain Leinster team to play Racing 92Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park form the halfback partnership for second weekend in a row
Read more »
Byrne starts at 10 for Leinster as Sexton and Furlong miss Racing clashHere's the Leinster team for tomorrow's big Champions Cup clash with Racing 92:
Read more »
Leinster hoping to take flight on the pitch against Racing after late arrival in Le HavreLeo Cullen’s side endured a five-hour delay at Dublin Airport ahead of taking on in-form French side
Read more »
Cold weather: Snow forecast for parts of Leinster tonight, with some lying snow possibleA yellow low temperature and ice warning is in place across the country on Thursday with temperatures set to drop to minus five degrees overnight
Read more »