Leinster look to claim prized scalp

Ordinarily a run of 14 matches unbeaten spanning three seasons would be considered quite an achievement. It is but one suspects that the Leinster Schools would happily give it up if they could have just one scalp, a victory over the Australian Schools' side.

They have that opportunity at Donnybrook tonight (7.0) but to do so would require them to become the first Irish side to beat the Australian schoolboys in Ireland.

It is quite an ask for any team all the more so considering the present tourists' unbeaten run through Japan, Wales and Scotland. In the latter two countries they faced and beat the national under-19 sides to boot.

The Australians will be typically well coached, six months older than the Irish counterparts, strong physically and with the skills that one would expect from a Southern Hemisphere side.

Leinster will draw upon this 14-match unbeaten run - it stretches back to November 1999 and incorporates victories over Yorkshire Schools (2), Leicester Academy (2), five interprovincial successes during that period and an unbeaten five-match tour of Argentina during the summer.

The province also just recently won the interprovincial championship, beating Ulster 9-0 and Munster 15-3. They are without captain and outhalf Conor Sharpe who is nursing an injury but may be fit for the final match of this leg of the tour when Australia face Ireland at Temple Hill on Saturday (2 p.m.).

Castleknock's Greg Stafford will now partner David Connellan (Clongowes) at halfback.

Leinster's coaching team of Paul Barr and Lorcan Balfe, ably assisted by manager Father Joe Gough, will be aware of the magnitude of the task they face. A simple comparison can be gleaned from the fact that Leinster beat Ulster by nine points while Australia travelled to Ravenhill at the weekend and won 25-0 against an Ulster side that tackled themselves to a standstill.

Belvedere's David O'Brien takes over the captaincy and will emphasise to his team-mates the need to compete physically as well as mentally against the tourists.

LEINSTER

R McCarron (Gonzaga); S Grissing (St Marys), J Hearty (Blackrock), K Copeland (Blackrock), M Hewitt (Belvedere); G Stafford (Castleknock), D Connellan (Clongowes); C O'Byrne (St. Marys), D Gavin (St Michaels), K Doyle (CBC Monkstown); K McLaughlin (Gonzaga), A Houlihan (Clongowes); C Treston (Blackrock), J Rockett (St Michael's), D O'Brien (Belvedere, capt). Replacements: D Foran (High School), G Byron (St Michael's), S Morrissey (Gonzaga), J Mannion (Blackrock), E O'Meara (Belvedere), M Hayes (Belvedere), O Cullen (Blackrock), R Burns (High School).