Leinster's Loosehead Crisis: Porter Fitness Update Before Sale Clash

Leinster will sweat on the fitness of Andrew Porter deep into the week as a bruising Investec Champions Cup quarter-final with Sale Sharks looms at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The Ireland loosehead was withdrawn at half-time of Sunday’s 49-31 win over Edinburgh, with Leo Cullen indicating the 30-year-old had suffered a shoulder or pectoral issue. The province’s medical update on Tuesday confirmed only that Porter “is due to be further assessed and a decision on his availability will be made later in the week.”

Hope, but no clarity.

Cullen had sounded reasonably upbeat immediately after the Edinburgh game, suggesting the damage was “not too bad”. By Tuesday, the tone had tightened. Scrum and forwards coach Robin McBryde offered nothing more than a straight bat.

No, he’s being assessed.

came the response when asked if there was any fresh information on Porter’s chances.

Was he confident Porter would make it?

We’ll see how he is after he’s been assessed.

Leinster thin at loosehead

The timing could hardly be worse. With Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle both likely sidelined for the remainder of the season, Leinster are already light at loosehead. If Porter fails to make it, the province will walk into a Champions Cup quarter-final with just Alex Usanov and Jerry Cahir as recognised options in the No 1 jersey.

It would be a leap into the deep end.

Usanov, only 20, has already begun that journey. The Russian-born loosehead has featured five times in his debut season and earned his first Champions Cup minutes off the bench in the Edinburgh win. Cahir, brought in this season from AIL outfit Lansdowne, has 10 appearances under his belt and has quickly adjusted to the professional grind.

McBryde insists both are ready if the call comes.

Alex, his development has rocketed really. It's always interesting to see young men of that age, when they're given an opportunity, how quickly they accelerate and Alex has developed really well.

So has Jerry. He's been great to have in the environment, a breath of fresh air coming from a different background.

So I've enjoyed working with both of them, they've really become part of the squad. If their services are needed, I've got the utmost confidence in both of them.

Sale’s own front-row headache

Leinster are not alone in counting bodies in the front row.

Sale arrive in Dublin shorn of two Test-quality forwards. British and Irish Lion hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and England loosehead Bevan Rodd both picked up serious injuries in Saturday’s 26-17 win away to Harlequins and are expected to miss the rest of the club season.

Cowan-Dickie will undergo surgery on a broken arm. Rodd’s campaign is over after a dislocated shoulder.

Even the man likely to step in for Cowan-Dickie, Nathan Jibulu, may not be available. The 23-year-old has been cited for an alleged bite on Quins prop Will Hobson in a ruck in the 69th minute at The Stoop and faces an independent disciplinary hearing today.

Yet McBryde does not expect Sale to drift from their core identity up front.

I don't think it's going to change their DNA.

he said.

I think they've gone on record with regards to being comfortable with their DNA, so listen, it's going to be setpiece orientated, they've got a very strong scrum, a very strong maul.

They showed that against the Harlequins last weekend. So I think they're definitely going to try and test us out in those areas.

From chaos to control

Leinster’s round-of-16 victory over Edinburgh turned into a wild, open contest, littered with intercepts and momentum swings. The quarter-final should carry a very different feel.

When you've got nothing to lose, you tend to chance your arm a little bit more, so they [Edinburgh] definitely did that and they had a benefit from it as well with the intercepts, tries, etc.

I think it'll be different this week, as we saw against Harlequins, that [Sale] mentality, that championship mentality with George Ford, kicking the points; three, six, nine.

Our discipline is going to be very important. But there were plenty of positives from last week,

McBryde said.

Sale will look to squeeze. Ford will happily nudge the scoreboard along. Leinster know they cannot offer cheap entries into their own half or soft penalties in the shadow of their posts.

Key men still in the balance

Porter is not the only major figure under the microscope.

Second row James Ryan and centre Garry Ringrose are also being monitored as they push to return in time for Saturday. Ryan has missed the last four games for club and country with a calf problem, while Ringrose picked up a knock late in the win over Scarlets at the end of March.

Leinster’s depth has carried them through many a spring before. This weekend, with a Champions Cup semi-final on the line and both front rows patched up, it may be the understudies who decide whether their season stays on a collision course with Europe’s elite or takes a sudden, brutal turn.