Racing in Le Harve

[wixfjord]

Tasty Racing side.

6/2 split with three big lock/back rows there. Our lineout will be very tested.

No real 9 on the bench for them, albeit Gibert plays there.

Loads of attacking options in that back three, but you'd have to think we'll fancy a crack attacking Saili/Wade positionally.

[LeinsterLeader]

Looking at both teams I'd fancy Racing. With losing Sexton, Furlong and Henshaw it' gonna be a big ask to get a win. R92 sound very confident too.

A LBP might not be a bad result so. We'll see!

[wixfjord]

They've gone for an awful lot of mobility in their forward selection. Woki/Sanconnie is a relatively small second row pairing and there's certainly nobody in that side akin to a Skelton/Willemse figure.

For once in Jenkins we'll have the biggest beast on the field with Big Mike also locking down that side.

I'd fancy our starting front 5 in scrum/maul and the addition of Baird will also help here.

I also think that in Ngatai/Lowe we have basically got extra backrowers in our backline. Think it's first time they've played together which should be interesting as both add a lot of power in carry.

I think our attacking kicking game has been a big feature of the season so far and would fancy us to test Wade/Spring.

Ringer in this form against Saili is a good matchup.

Racing lineout is a big worry though, hopefully Ryan & Sheehan get this right.

Nyakane against Ed Byrne would be a bit of a worry also.

Overall though, plenty there for us to go after imo.

[Flash Gordon]

Yeesh, no J10 or Furlong.

Healy benching as TH really shows we don't trust Vakh/Clarkson yet.

Other than that side looks great. Bench impact takes a little bit of a hit but still loads of experience there too.

Ngatai being available is a big plus.

Baird gets the nod at 6.

J10 and Furlong missing is big. I'd have had Rhys in there but Baird has been excellent. Bench is a bit light....was Larmour not fit or not picked I wonder?

[wixfjord]

Yeesh, no J10 or Furlong.

Healy benching as TH really shows we don't trust Vakh/Clarkson yet.

Other than that side looks great. Bench impact takes a little bit of a hit but still loads of experience there too.

Ngatai being available is a big plus.

Baird gets the nod at 6.

J10 and Furlong missing is big. I'd have had Rhys in there but Baird has been excellent. Bench is a bit light....was Larmour not fit or not picked I wonder?

Osborne ahead of Larmour is a very interesting call.

It seems JL is fit but just not picked.

Osborne's versatility has been excellent and I wonder is he there due to a slight concern over Ngatai's fitness?

[curates_egg]

If Furlong is injured, I wonder will we see him as the tighthead sub?
I thought that experiment was a failure but we returned to it this season. Clarkson also doesn’t look ready at this level.
Either way, we would be hoping for a big shift from Big Mike.

Ha. Two weeks in a row. Eggstradamus.
I really should play Euromillions today.

[pangurban1]

If we receive kicks well I would say Leinster have a good chance, as it is scrum and lineout could be tough.
How has Imhoff been playing/form.

[pangurban1]

4 degrees C at 1pm Le Havre tomorrow.

[Twist]

If Furlong is injured, I wonder will we see him as the tighthead sub?
I thought that experiment was a failure but we returned to it this season. Clarkson also doesn’t look ready at this level.
Either way, we would be hoping for a big shift from Big Mike.

Ha. Two weeks in a row. Eggstradamus.
I really should play Euromillions today.

Well observed. But whats the crakh with Vakh?

[ronk]

Saili is only 31? Seems so long ago that Munster signed him.

[Dave Cahill]

Leinster currently stuck in Dublin Airport due to delays caused by the weather

[Dundalk 1]

Leinster currently stuck in Dublin Airport due to delays caused by the weather

Hopefully not much longer
The plane is now on the runway

[Flash Gordon]

Yeesh, no J10 or Furlong.

Healy benching as TH really shows we don't trust Vakh/Clarkson yet.

Other than that side looks great. Bench impact takes a little bit of a hit but still loads of experience there too.

Ngatai being available is a big plus.

Baird gets the nod at 6.

J10 and Furlong missing is big. I'd have had Rhys in there but Baird has been excellent. Bench is a bit light....was Larmour not fit or not picked I wonder?

Osborne ahead of Larmour is a very interesting call.

It seems JL is fit but just not picked.

Osborne's versatility has been excellent and I wonder is he there due to a slight concern over Ngatai's fitness?

Osborne has been excellent and deserves his place. That being said, if we needed to score I'd prefer to spring Jordan from the bench. When he plays, he usually scores.

[ronk]

Larmour hasn't played in 2 months.

[riocard911]

Fingers crossed Harry survives the captain's run/warm-up.........

[brotheroffrank]

Leinster currently stuck in Dublin Airport due to delays caused by the weather

Hopefully not much longer
The plane is now on the runway

Dublin Delay(s) Dew 2 Dee-Icing...

[hugonaut]

Yeesh, no J10 or Furlong.

Healy benching as TH really shows we don't trust Vakh/Clarkson yet.

Other than that side looks great. Bench impact takes a little bit of a hit but still loads of experience there too.

Ngatai being available is a big plus.

Baird gets the nod at 6.

J10 and Furlong missing is big. I'd have had Rhys in there but Baird has been excellent. Bench is a bit light....was Larmour not fit or not picked I wonder?

Osborne ahead of Larmour is a very interesting call.

It seems JL is fit but just not picked.

Osborne's versatility has been excellent and I wonder is he there due to a slight concern over Ngatai's fitness?

Osborne provides everything you want in a No23. He can play all the three-quarter positions and fullback, he's big and strong, he has a huge left-footed kick. Added to the facts that Larmour hasn't played in months and [as you have pointed out] Ngatai might have a carry-over from his injury, I think that is an understandable call.

[Oldschool]

Leinster currently stuck in Dublin Airport due to delays caused by the weather

Hopefully not much longer
The plane is now on the runway

Dublin Delay(s) Dew 2 Dee-Icing...

Where's the plane now, anybody?

[wixfjord]

https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/sta ... 5077745671

Leinster finally got away on their flight to France.

Long old wait in Dublin but en route for what should be a cracking game against Racing tomorrow.

This was at just before 4pm.

So looks like no captains run and early kick off.

Not great prep...

[Cigogne]

Flightradar24 data suggests that the flight diverted to Beauvais after circling Deauville airport for 20 minutes