Rugby:Ireland outhalf Jonathan Sexton is in contention to win his 50th Leinster cap on Sunday, eight days after his man-of the-match display helped Ireland to a resounding Six Nations win over England.
Sexton is one of three players from last week’s matchday squad returning to provincial duty this week, with Eoin Reddan and Leo Cullen also in the running to feature against the Dragons at Rodney Parade in the Magners League on Sunday (2.30pm).
“Any decision on their availability will be made at Friday’s team announcement,” a Leinster statement read this afternoon.
Backs Fergus McFadden and Shane Horgan, along with prop Stan Wright, may also make the trip, but Shane Jennings (ankle), Andrew Conway (ankle) and Shaun Berne (Achilles) are unlikely to feature.
With the frontline Irish international forwards, such as Jamie Heaslip, Seán O’Brien and Mike Ross, being afforded time to recover from a gruelling campaign, opportunities remain for younger players to stake their claim ahead of the Heineken Cup quarter final against Leicester on April 9th.
Flanker Dominic Ryan is among them. Despite his age he already has enough experience to realise a trip to Rodney Parade is no picnic.
“The Dragons are a very good team and though we actually beat them over here, they’re different at home and you saw it with Ireland at the weekend,” he said today. “I personally made my debut (for Leinster) against the Dragons last year and we were absolutely thumped over there in Rodney Parade, so it’s coming to the business end of the season now and we have to win every game in the Magners League.
“You can’t really afford to slip up, so it’s going to be a big game. In the past there might have been an impression that it was one of the easier games, but our approach is that it’s one of our toughest games.”
The Gonzaga College graduate, who will turn 21 on Monday, says the whole squad got a huge lift from Ireland’s performance against England last Saturday.
“It was magical to watch the Ireland game at the weekend and seeing how they beat England and you do take inspiration from that, especially when you see an Irish team bringing that kind of physicality to a game.
“That Irish spirit, which people talk about, it’s always there and has to be drawn on so when we have the internationals back we’ll see the kind of strength that we have.
“At the moment with Jamie (Heaslip) and Seanie (O’Brien) out and Rhys (Ruddock) involved with the Ireland set-up as well, you have three quality internationals there. And with Kev (McLaughlin) and Jenno (Shane Jennings) as well, the competition is huge at the moment and you have to fight for your place.”
