Investec European Champions Cup
Leinster v Clermont Auvergne
SAT, 5:30pm, Aviva Stadium
There are few sides that can boast a three-game head-to-head winning streak against Leinster. Clermont Auvergne happen to be one of them, even if the sides haven’t exactly been stepping on each other’s toes in recent times.
The latest was a semi-final win seven and a half years ago, with Aurelien Rougerie and Benjamin Kayser among the French stars on show.
Lock Persili Yato and number eight Fritz Lee do survive from that side however, with Leinster’s centre partnership of Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose all that remains consistent in terms of their starting XV.
A 27-22 win for Clermont that day marked a third European Cup final in six years, but it has been a struggle since, despite a 2019 success in the second tier Challenge Cup.
Players such as France star Damien Penaud have slipped through the net, while the aforementioned Lee, club captain, is due to face aggravated assault charges next spring having been internally disciplined by the club.
On the domestic scene, 2017 also marks their last Top 14 victory. That was just a second ever title and a long way off Toulouse’s record of 23.
Head coach Christophe Urios had a famous touchline spat with Ronan O’Gara in 2022, as a fiery exchange led to the then-Bordeaux coach slapping the ex-Ireland out-half in the face.
Urios’ men are unbeaten at home this season, and sit third in the Top 14, but a visit to Dublin poses huge questions of their European credentials.
For Leinster, Jordie Barrett makes his first start, wearing 15 as Ciarán Frawley misses out with injury. Tadhg Furlong has yet to return, with recent Ireland debutant Thomas Clarkson at tighthead.
Sam Prendergast looks to have cemented his status as first choice out-half after international duty, while his captain in green and blue - Caelan Doris - returns to the starting side at number eight.
In a backline featuring the imposing Barrett, Henshaw and Jimmy O’Brien, the variation of front door and back door options looks encouraging for the 21-year-old at number ten.
If that backline ticks early doors, with a bench featuring the likes of RG Snyman, Leinster will win by 30 plus.