Leinster welcome Cardiff to the RDS

One stat that jumps out at you ahead of Saturday evening’s showdown at the RDS is that Leinster have made the most entries to the 22 this season (127) and their guests Cardiff the fewest (73). The table-topping Irish outfit have also made more metres in contact than any other team (1,146) and scored the most tries in the league (54).

So Cardiff will have to be on their mettle defensively and a vital man there will be skipper Josh Turnbull. He is second-highest tackler (131) in the BKT URC this season, with only his sidelined back-row colleague Thomas Young ahead of him.

When it comes to the Welsh team’s attacking game, much hinges on the creativity of their fly-half Jarrod Evans, who has made more miss-passes than any other player (42) in the league, with his passing also directly leading to eight clean breaks and four tries.

A continuing concern for Cardiff is their lineout. It’s the least successful in the BKT URC (79%) and was an Achilles heel once again during last weekend’s Challenge Cup defeat out in Brive.