1. Ross Molony captains Leinster
“He is a young leader. In his role in the team, in terms of the direction he gives on the field, it’s quite a natural progression for him. He’s done it with a number of other teams. He’s young in years but I think in terms of the way he has led the group at various stages during the year, his relationship I suppose with the likes of Isa (Nacewa), Luke McGrath, and Johnny (Sexton), all those guys, it’s a pretty natural step for him. We’ve been impressed with the way he has led the team in the other windows. He might not necessarily be captain but when other players have gone off he quite often is the one who will take [over the captaincy].”
2. Glasgow’s quality
“It’s going to be a tough challenge; Glasgow are a formidable team. A lot of experience in their squad as well, a well-coached team. It hasn’t necessarily gone for them this year at various stages, but I think they’ve shown glimpses in a lot of big games: away against Leicester, away against Racing. They’ve had glimpses, they just haven’t probably strung a run of games together. A very, very dangerous team, Glasgow. If you look at the line-up, they have a strong starting XV but they have a lot of quality on the bench to come on as well. It should be a fast, open game, two teams that like to play.”
TEAMSHEET | Your Warriors squad which will take on @leinsterrugby in Dublin tomorrow (kick-off 7.35pm). Follow the action right here. pic.twitter.com/Pe8avDvRQ0
— Glasgow Warriors 🏉 (@GlasgowWarriors) April 27, 2017
3. Mike Ross
“The resilience that Mike has shown – it’s one of, if not the toughest positions on the rugby field – 61 caps for Ireland, over 150 caps for Leinster and you think of the age he arrived here at the club. He’s been a mainstay in the team for six, seven, eight years. Obviously I’ve been aware of Mike for so long, played a lot of games with Mike. We’ve had some great times together. I hope we go out on a high, because he’s been a huge part of the success of this team. That’s the beauty of the game, we rely on so many different facets, so many different types of people, and Mike has been a huge contributor to that.”
4. Nick McCarthy makes his first start
“Luke McGrath and Jamison (Gibson-Park) have started all the games so far this year and they’ve stayed injury free. Nick has had to stay incredibly patient. He’s been really unlucky on a few occasions this year. He’s fully deserving of a chance to start. I hope he goes well because he’s had to work hard for it.”
5. What does Tom Daly bring to the team?
“Tom brings a good physical edge. He came on in the game against Connacht a couple of weeks ago and you can see the impact he makes, some of the tackles, coming hard and aggressive off the line. Hopefully we’ll see him feature tomorrow with strong carries and be really abrasive defensively, because he’s a big strong man, Tom.”
Leinster Rugby face Glasgow Warriors at the RDS Arena on Friday night (KO 7.35pm). Tickets are on sale now from €20.
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