Leinster set to bring back Irish stars for Bulls showdown

Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White called it a “test match” and the reaction to the top-of-the-table Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash from Irish log leaders Leinster has confirmed the importance of Friday’s showdown in Dublin.

Leinster provided 19 of the 32-man squad for Ireland’s back-to-back Six Nations titles, and while some may have expected a bit more rest ahead of resuming URC action, the importance of the Bulls game means that a lot of the Irish test stars will be stacked in the Leinster side for the big home game.

According to reports from Ireland, Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Jordan Lamour and Garry Ringrose have all been cleared to play against the Bulls, but the likelihood is that several other Irish test players will be part of the matchday 23 as well.

While that hasn’t been confirmed yet, assistant coach Robin McBryde has confirmed that Leinster expect to put out a very strong side against the team just behind them on the log. And because of that, there will be no long rest periods for those who did battle in the Six Nations.

“It’s just a case of sitting down and discussing how players feel, but we are getting to the business end of the season, so nobody can expect to have too long a lay-off because we have got to hit the ground running. That starts on Friday against a strong Bulls team. They are up there competing, they are probably pushing to get a home draw further down the line. So, we are going to have to get everybody reintegrated and build that cohesion in a very short space of time.”

'TYPICAL SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM'

Leinster are still smarting from their semifinal loss to the Bulls two years ago at the RDS Stadium in Dublin, one of the great shocks of the first season of URC and McBryde believes this will be used for motivation going into this weekend.

“I’m sure they will still take confidence out of that, albeit it’s two years down the road,” said McBryde.

“They’re a quality team. They look to dominate up front. They have got a strong scrum, strong maul, typical South African team, really. A number of threats behind and in broken play, so we are going to have to be at our best.

“I think everyone is aware of it. In fairness to the Irish boys, they came today and the energy during the training session was great. I have always been amazed with the amount of information they are able to take in in a short space of time.

“With the week being pretty heavily loaded today and tomorrow, there is no other way of getting around it. You just have to roll your sleeves up and get on with it.

“It will be a good test in its own right, really. They’re going to be tough to beat, a tough nut to crack. They’ve got that cohesion of having been together for quite a bit of time, so it just makes our work a little bit harder.”

While their side will only be named on Friday, it is clear that the top-of-the-table clash will get just that - a top-of-the-table billing with both sides putting out their strongest available sides in the process.