Trials/Probables 45 Possibles 14: The Probables lived up to their billing with a seven-try display in the Leinster schools final trial at Templeville Road yesterday.
Despite a few Possible players putting their hands up for inclusion on the forthcoming tour to England, the Probables' dominance sorted out most pre-match conundrums.
Blackrock and St Michael's look set to fill the bones of the starting 15. The Blackrock centre pairing of James Power and Luke Fitzgerald proved effective with three tries between them.
Up front, Marc Lynch was effective at the breakdown, Royce Burke Flynn proved a ground-breaking target man, while St Mary's lock and captain Conor McInerney got through a bucket load of work.
Despite this, it was the Possibles who went in front after seven minutes when Brian Collins finished off a good move down the left flank.
However, the deficit was soon overturned with Gonzaga wing Shane Hanratty picking up the first of his two tries, before a break by outhalf Andrew Cummiskey allowed Fitzgerald a clean run in.
In the second of three 25-minute periods, Lynch and Fitzgerald both crossed the try-line with St Mary's Robert Gannon replying for the Possibles. In the final third, wingers Hanratty and Vasya Artemiev were allowed to stretch their legs, but only after sustained pressure from the Possibles was alleviated.
A Leinster reserves side will face Ulster reserves on October 21st and Connacht on November 5th.
In the interim, a 24-man squad will travel to England to play Leicester under-18s and Yorkshire schools over the Halloween break.
The Interprovincial series proper starts on November 17th when Leinster travel to Limerick to face Munster before playing Ulster seven days later at Donnybrook.
SCORERS - PROBABLES: S Hanratty, L Fitzgerald 2 tries each; J Power try, 2 cons; A Cummiskey 3 cons; V Artemiev, M Lynch try each. POSSIBLES: B Collins try, conv; R Gannon try; P Durcan conv.
PROBABLES: S Durkin (Terenure); S Hanratty (Gonzaga), L Fitzgerald (Blackrock), J Power (Blackrock), V Artemiev (Blackrock); A Cummiskey (St Michael's), D Moore (Blackrock); D Mahoney (St Michael's), C Culliton (Blackrock), R Burke-Flynn (St Michael's); C McInerney (St Mary's, capt), S Dunlop (Terenure); B Coyle (Clongowes), M Lynch (Blackrock), R Connor (Kilkenny).
POSSIBLES: R Gannon (St Mary's); K Stafford (Clongowes), G Boland (Roscrea), G Coffey (Terenure), D Fanning (St Mary's); B Collins (Castleknock), S Cranley (Pres Bray); C Healy (Belvedere), D Gilchrist (Belvedere), D Hegarty (St Paul's); G O'Rourke (Belvedere), E Sherlock (St Michael's); M Mellotte (Terenure), K Sheahan (St Michael's, capt), K Douglas (Terenure).
RESERVES: P Donovan (King's Hospital), L Power (Belvedere), P Nolan (CBC Monkstown), S Mackey (Castleknock), J Verling (Roscrea), P Durcan (Roscrea), C Byrne (Terenure), D Rowan (St Michael's), C Moffat (Terenure), B O'Reilly (Terenure), E Mulligan (Blackrock), R Sweeney (St Mary's), P Grehan (CBC Monkstown), K Young (Kings Hospital), M Staunton (Roscrea), R Carson (Belvedere), S Page (Terenure)
LEINSTER TOURING SQUAD: V Artemiev (Blackrock), R Burke-Flynn (St Michael's), C Byrne, G Coffey (both Terenure), R Connor (Kilkenny), B Coyle (Clongowes), C Culliton (Blackrock), A Cummiskey (St Michael's), S Dunlop (Terenure), L Fitzgerald (Blackrock), R Gannon (St Mary's), S Hanratty (Gonzaga), C Healy (Belvedere), M Lynch (Blackrock), C McInerney (St Mary's, capt), D Mahoney (St Michael's), D Moore, D O'Reilly, J Power (all Blackrock), K Sheahan (St Michael's), R Sweeney (St Mary's), R Vij (Terenure), AN Other.
LEINSTER RESERVES (V Ulster reserves): R Gannon; K Stafford, G Boland, P Burke, D Fanning; B Collins, S Cranley; D Mahoney, AN Other, R Sweeney; R Connor, G O'Rourke; M Mellotte, R Carson, K Douglas.
