Leo Cullen<\/a> was asked about the extent of the damage. \u201cHe will be out for a while. I will probably get a full report out next week. Unfortunately, he is going to miss a while. It is different from his other leg [ACL, left knee] that he would have injured previously. He could be out for a while.\u201d<\/p>\nIs the season in doubt? \u201cYeah,\u201d Cullen responded. Would you be surprised if he played again this season? \u201cYeah.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tough blow for the Springbok and denies Leinster his game-changing impact, especially when summoned from the bench. <\/p>\n
Cullen continued: \u201cI\u2019m more worried about what we do now, than what we don\u2019t have, as you know. So [we] just move on. There\u2019s still plenty of experience there, which is good. No choice but to absorb the blow.\u201d Snyman has another year on his contract with Leinster.<\/p>\n
James Lowe is still four to six weeks away from a return having damaged his groin while playing for Ireland in the Six Nations.<\/p>\n
On the good news side of the ledger, James Ryan and Ryan Baird are edging closer to fitness. Cullen confirmed that Ryan, in superb form for Ireland before picking up a calf issue in the win over Wales, is back running, albeit not taking part in the team dynamic at training just yet. The Scarlets game has come too early, and he will be further assessed next week.<\/p>\n
While Baird won\u2019t make Friday night\u2019s game, he is on the cusp of a return from a broken leg. Cullen explained: \u201cRyan coming back would be useful for the team because he hasn\u2019t played since November. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s back to team training, which is encouraging. He\u2019s looking in great shape, similar to Andrew Porter. Hats off to the two [players] but also the [strength and conditioning team], from a physio and rehab point of view. They\u2019ve done a great job because the two of them are in good nick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two defeats on the road, in and around the Six Nations window, against Cardiff and Glasgow, has stalled the Leinster juggernaut following 11 straight wins in all competitions. Victory over the Scarlets would be timely and a confidence boost in building towards the Champions Cup match with Edinburgh on Easter Sunday.<\/p>\n
![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/R6THUEPKNN3WZ7UG7MILEO4JBA.jpg\")
Andrew Porter returns to the Leinster frontrow for the first time since the start of January. Photograph: Grace Halton\/Inpho <\/p>\n
To that end, Cullen has made 12 alterations to the team that lost to Glasgow, one that conceded fistfuls of points when short-handed due to yellow cards in the game: 26 points is a lot to claw back. Do the swingeing changes offer a hint of displeasure? Definitely. Some didn\u2019t do enough.<\/p>\n
Porter\u2019s return is timely, his first appearance since the Connacht game in the first week in January. He is joined by Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong in the frontrow. The last time all three played together was the final two Tests for the Lions in Australia last summer.<\/p>\n
A quartet of Irish internationals return to the back five in the pack, Joe McCarthy, Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier and captain Caelan Doris. The number eight has played 80 minutes in each of his six appearances for Leinster this season. <\/p>\n
Jamison Gibson-Park returns at scrumhalf, where his halfback partner is Harry Byrne, with Sam Prendergast on the bench. Byrne gets first crack at making a down payment on the 10 jersey for the Edinburgh match. Jamie Osborne demonstrates his versatility in switching from fullback with Ireland to inside centre. <\/p>\n
Garry Ringrose and Tommy O\u2019Brien are named in the starting team which necessitates a couple of switches for Joshua Kenny, who moves to the left wing, and Jimmy O\u2019Brien to fullback.<\/p>\n
Cullen conceded that Leinster looked a little clunky against Glasgow as befits a side that lacked game time in a match environment together. The priority now is to look forward. \u201cWe\u2019re in fourth [in the league] so we need to get points. There are five games left. We have a strong team on paper. What does that mean? It doesn\u2019t mean anything really. It just means it looks impressive.<\/p>\n
\u201c[In Glasgow] we just looked like a team that hadn\u2019t played together in a long time. Then you lose a couple of guys to yellow cards. Glasgow are in a similar situation to us but they just managed a hell of a lot better. They made hay during that 15-minute period, where they scored 26 points. We didn\u2019t properly recover from it. We weren\u2019t clinical enough in those 15-20 minutes after half-time.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the challenge against the Scarlets. Be better, more cohesive. Translate the quality of the team sheet to the pitch. And then it\u2019ll be back to winning ways.<\/p>\n
LEINSTER:<\/b> J O\u2019Brien; T O\u2019Brien, G Ringrose, J Osborne, J Kenny; H Byrne, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong; J McCarthy, B Deeny; M Deegan, J van der Flier, C Doris (capt). <\/p>\n
Replacements:<\/b> G McCarthy, J Cahir, R Slimani, C O\u2019Tighearnaigh, A Soroka, F Gunne, S Prendergast, R Henshaw.<\/p>\n
SCARLETS:<\/b> B Murray; T Rogers, J Roberts, J Williams, E Mee; J Hawkins, D Blacker; K Mathias, H Thomas, A Holtz; S Lousi, M Douglas; J Taylor, D Davis, F Anderson (capt). <\/p>\n
Replacements:<\/b> G Roberts, S O\u2019Connor, H Thomas, J Ball, T Davies, A Hughes, I Jones, M Page. <\/p>\n
Referee: <\/b>Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"URC: Leinster v Scarlets, Aviva Stadium, Friday, 7.45pm \u2013 Live on Premier Sports Leinster have suffered a huge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[76],"tags":[18,19,17,132,59006],"class_list":["post-406142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports","tag-urc"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116299259295006413","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}