Champions Cup final team Brian O’Driscoll wants Leinster to pick.
Champions Cup final team Brian O’Driscoll wants Leinster to pick; Brian O’Driscoll has recommended three changes to his XV for this Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup final from the side selected for their semi-final win over Northampton – including the benching of Josh van der Flier, 2022 World Rugby. Player of the Year.
With Irish Province beating Saints 20-17 in Croke Park on May 4 and Leo Cullen set to confirm his cup final squad on Friday afternoon, Irish legend O’Driscoll has told .
Hugo Kenan, James Ryan, and Will Connors made their Ulster return in the United Rugby Championship last Saturday after various recent injuries and O’Driscoll believes they should now be named in the XV to face Toulouse in the Champions Final at Tottenham.
Keenan has had knee problems since the first round of 16 win over Leicester in April. Ryan was ruled out of the Guinness Six Nations against England in early March due to “bad” training ground injuries, including a torn bicep against Ireland. Meanwhile, Connors withdrew from this month’s league win over Ospreys, crying as a warning.
Brian O’Driscoll suggested replacing Leinster full-back Ciaran Frawley with their French rivals, with Ryan Ross taking over from Moloney and Connors after the semi-final and van der Flair getting the openside nod. Against Northampton.
Asked if Ryan should start in the engine room, O’Driscoll explained: “Yes, he starts. He does what he does. When he came to the final last year (La Rochelle) you saw the importance of beating him.
Champions Cup final team Brian O’Driscoll wants Leinster to pick.
“I just think there’s a comfort that comes with someone who’s been around a long time. He may not have the physicality but he has that nasty edge that I think if he’s fit and the engine is good enough, I think you’d want him for 55, 60 minutes as a starter.”
So name your ideal XV. “The front row picks itself (Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, and Tadhg Furlong). You have a second row (Ryan with Joe McCarthy). I think you’ll see Will Connors at seven because of a big body pack; It worked really well against La Rochelle (in the quarter-finals).
“I know Josh won’t like it but the luxury of bringing him on for 35 minutes, you know, playing the game he can bring, I just think that chop game will be important for Leinster.
Champions Cup final team Brian O’Driscoll wants Leinster to pick.
“I watched the semi-final last year (against Toulouse) and (Jacques) Conan was very good, but it doesn’t make sense to put (Kelan) Dorris in the eight and put him in the six, so I think Dorris will do. Karan will play eight and (Ryan) Baird will play six. .
“The half-backs pick themselves (Jamison Gibson-Park and Ross Byrne). In the center will be (Jamie) Osborne and (Robbie) Henshaw, if (Gary) Ringrose is not fit.
“And then I think you’ve got (Jordan) Larmour and (James) Lowe at full-back with Hugo Keanan. I don’t know if Jimmy O’Brien has come back from injury and done enough to displace Jordan.
Leinster beat Toulouse 41-22 in last year’s semi-final in Dublin, 12 months after beating them 40-17 in another semi-final game at the same Aviva Stadium.
Watch Leinster vs Toulouse in the Investec Champions Cup Final, live exclusively on TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+ from 1:30pm on Saturday. Visit tntsports.com for more information