LEO CULLEN wants Leinster to kick on to the URC final — and he is ready for kicks to decide it if it comes to that.
Leinster host Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon looking to make their first URC final in four seasons.
And while favourites for victory, Cullen is taking no chances as he admitted Munster’s penalties defeat to the Sharks in last week’s quarter-final has played on his mind.
He said: “I don’t know was the fact there was a penalty shootout in one of the games last week, does that play on our minds, stacking the bench with kickers?
“It is a possibility and it is definitely something that needs to be considered.”
What it means is that, as well as Ciarán Frawley, Ross Byrne is named in a 23 for the first time since the Champions Cup semi-final defeat by Northampton.
Frawley normally covers No 10 when he is on the bench but will now cover midfield and full-back.
And, along with Prendergast, it gives Leinster three quality kickers in their panel as the Blues head into their fifth knockout game of the season between the Champions Cup and the URC.
Shootouts are a rarity in rugby and Leinster have never been in one. But Cullen’s men have been preparing for that eventuality over the past two months.
Cullen continued: “It has been there. This is play-off game five.
“Extra-time has been in the mix for a while now so it’s one of those scenarios that we would talk about and practice for the kickers.”
But while Leinster prepare for all eventualities as they bid to get to the final, Cullen is confident that motivation is one area that does not need addressing.
Ever since that agonising 37-34 loss to Northampton, a cloud has hung over the province.
But a URC final and victory would end a four-year trophy drought.
And Cullen believes that is the driving force this week — warning his side against complacency having watched Paris Saint-Germain thump Inter Milan 5-0 in last weekend’s European Cup final.
He said: “I was watching the Champions League and a lot of the pundits were saying the other team was going to win. They lost.
“We think we might know what’s going to happen but it’s two teams going at it and we’ll wait and see.
“There’s enough going on to be motivated to get through this game at the weekend. If you put on and get a performance, lots of things will fall into place.”
Cullen’s troops are near full strength but Lions quartet Garry Ringrose (calf), Tadhg Furlong (calf), Josh van der Flier (hamstring) and Hugo Keenan (calf) will not be risked as they near returns.
Their absences open the door for Jimmy O’Brien at full-back and Scott Penny — overlooked by Ireland for the upcoming games against Georgia and Portugal this week — on the flank, while Jamie Osborne starts in midfield.
Osborne, 23, has played in all five backline slots this season but Cullen admits midfield may be his best position.
He said: “We have had that conversation with Jamie.
“He’s played 15 for Ireland, on the wing in the Six Nations and has featured in the centre. He’s more of a midfielder or No 15. I don’t think we see him on the wing anyway.
“He can do a job on the wing, but we don’t see him as a winger, he’s a midfielder who plays 15 or a 15 that plays midfield.
“He’s still very young at 23. If he’s nailed down a position as a 25-year-old, you’d hope he’d have ten years left in his career.”
LEINSTER: J O’Brien, T O’Brien, J Osborne, J Barrett, J Lowe, S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheenan, T Clarkson, J McCarthy, J Ryan, R Baird, S Penny, J Conan. Reps: R Kelleher, J Boyle, R Slimani, RG Snyman, M Deegan, L McGrath, R Byrne, C Frawley.
