Leinster look to 'incredible athlete' from academy as injury cover for Croke Park clash with Munster
The 22 year-old has made two Leinster appearances to date, both as a sub, but was a regular right-winger on the 2021/22 Ireland U20s
Leinster will look to select an almost full-strength side for Saturday's clash with Munster at Croke Park although there are two positions, hooker and right-wing, where they face disruption.
At hooker Danny Sheehan (ACL) remains on the long-term injury list while Ronan Kelleher (ankle) will undergo a fitness test late in the week.
The right-wing is also problematic as Tommy O'Brien (ankle) and Rob Russell (hand) are on the long term list, Jordan Larmour (hamstring) was unavailable last week and Jimmy O'Brien (hamstring), who had to be replaced last week, is also doubtful.
READ MORE: Munster boss Graham Rowntree addresses injury worries as Peter O'Mahony added to casualty list
READ MORE: URC Irish Team of the Week: Conan, Casey and Forde lead the way for the provinces
As far as the front-row goes Ireland prop Andrew Porter says both alternative squad hookers Lee Barron and Gus McCarthy have proven their worth in the senior team already.
Says Porter: "Gus has got his first couple of caps recently. Lee has done incredibly well, he is throwing well, scrumming well. It’s paying off for him. It is great to see him do so well and challenge the lads for the starting spot."
"They have grown so much being in this environment because it is an environment where coaches put a lot of pressure on you to play the Leinster way. They want you to adapt as fast as you can and I think they have.
"They have been given great opportunities in the past and they have done incredibly well with them. Gus is quite young, Lee isn’t too far ahead of him in terms of age either. They have come on in leaps and bounds from first coming on the scene.
"It is all well and good being able to train well, show the coaches what you can do in training but it is putting the performances out on the pitch and they have earned their spots."
Leinster have six senior back-three players in the senior squad with, as it stands, four of them either unavailable or doubtful and leaving Hugo Keenan and James Lowe as almost certain starters at full-back and left-wing respectively.
There is the option to switch a centre to the right-wing and while most might think Garry Ringrose it should be noted he hasn't started a game on either wing for Leinster since October 2015. He has never been selected on the wing for Ireland.
Notes James Lowe of that kind of shuffle: "You've seen Garry on the wing and people like that as well, Hugo on the weekend on the wing when Jamie Osbourne popped to fullback and Ross Byrne came on at no12 and Ciaran Frawley went to no12. There's a lot of chopping and changing, ways you can get people in good positions."
Other options include Jamie Osbourne could be a contender to fill in having started there twice, against Connacht in February 2024 and against Munster in October 2022 from his total of 42 starts.
Liam Turner who has made 22 starts albeit only two of those have been on the wing, against Stormers in April 2024, Cardiff in February 2023 and Connacht in October 2022.
"Turner had an incredible pre-season and he had a game a couple of weeks ago against the Dragons, him and Tector in midfield," continues Lowe. "He has played a couple of times on the wing too."
All of which suggests Academy winger Aitzol King, who scored against Dragons in URC round two, may come into the mix. The 22 year-old has made two Leinster appearances to date, both as a sub, but was a regular right-winger on the 2021/22 Ireland U20s.
"Aitzol is an incredible athlete, I have to tell him to chill out a few times because he's always going 100 miles an hour. Great athlete, physically he's in great shape, runs like the wind.
"There's obviously scope to improve in certain areas but he's young and willing to learn. He's a good kid as well, that's half the battle, making sure they're good people.
"Those boys, when they get their opportunity, they take it so fair play to them and who knows who's going to be on the wings this weekend.
"Whoever it is, we'll hug them when they need to be hugged and make sure they get across it because at the end of the day, we all need a performance and Saturday is the day."
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