An even tougher test awaits the inexperienced Leinster on the South African safari against the Stormers

Leinster’s second string is set for even more intensive training on her South Africa safari.

If anything, this is an even ruder outfit and Ciarán Frawley in particular gets the nod in the second half, in contrast to Harry Byrne, whose steady rise to become the next big thing in Irish rugby seems to have landed somewhat.

“The challenge is trying to motivate them to play another game, so we’re preparing for a different kind of team with the preparation and work we’ve done in Cape Town this week,” said coach Leo Cullen, who has invested heavily throughout the week, is mulling over a lack of composure in last week’s loss.

“The Stormers are a different type of team, a lot more offensive threat in terms of the way they play.

“It also has something to do with the conditions at the time, because when you play against the Sharks in Durban, the humidity is very high and it rained quite a bit here. It was a lot harder for them to play, so they have a lot more of a power play and a kick play.

“Whereas the Stormers are throwing the ball around a lot, keeping the ball alive and dumping it without contact the whole time. You’re more like a Toulouse trying to keep the ball off the ground and less inclined to pack up. They are a good team to watch. If you watched their game against Glasgow and some of the tries they scored, they are a very dangerous team.

They are able to blitz a team in a quarter; Leinster’s job is to stop them building steam, but with so many unknowns in their lineup, it’s hard to see how they could do that.

Cormac Foley will make his Scrum halftime debut at DHL Stadium, while Michael Milne and Seán O’Brien could also be making their first appearances of the season from the bench.

Verdict: Leinster

striker – W Gelling agent; S. Senatla, R. Nel, D. Willemse, L. Zas; M Libbok, H Jantjies; S Kitshoff (Captain), JJ Kotze, F Malherbe; A Smith, M Orie; Fourie D, Dayimani H, Roos E. Representatives: Arnoldi W, Harris B, Fouche N, Moerat S, Pokomela J, Dixon BJ, de Wet P, de Jongh J.

Leinster – M O’Reilly; A Byrne, J Osborne, R O’Loughlin, R Russell; C Frawley, C Foley; E Byrne, J McKee, T Clarkson; B. Deeny, J. Murphy; A Soroka, S Penny, R Ruddock (Captain). Representatives: L Barron, M Milne, V Abdaladze, J Dunne, S O’Brien, N McCarthy, H Byrne, M Moloney.

ref – C Evans (WRU)

Stormers vs Leinster,
Live, RTÉ2/Premier Sports, 6:15 p.m