Leinster vs Connacht Jan 1st 2023 7.35 RTE2

Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien; Jordan Larmour, Liam Turner, Charlie Ngatai, Rob Russell; Johnny Sexton, Jamison Gibson Park; Michael Milne, Rónan Kelleher, Michael Ala'alatoa; Brian Deeny, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: John McKee, Marcus Hanan, Vakhtang Abdaladze, Alex Soroka, Scott Penny, Cormac Foley, Harry Byrne, Jamie Osborne

Connacht: Tiernan O'Halloran; Diarmuid Kilgallen, Tom Farrell, David Hawkshaw, John Porch; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Darragh Murray, Niall Murray, Cian Prendergast, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Jarrad Butler.

Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Denis Buckley, Sam Illo, Oisin Dowling, Conor Oliver, Kieran Marmion, Tom Daly, Byron Ralston

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

The sentiment of boardies is this will end up as a facile win for Leinster. And Connacht don't have much form going into this game to suggest it will be anything else.

But that said the -20 betting odds I think are a bit unfair. Connacht always come to the RDS to play. They are are not just going to sit down and rollover. It's my belief that this game will be a lot closer than many expect.

So where will the game be won and lost. I guess most would agree the Irish 9 and 10 combo and the further Irish 6,7,8 plus Jimmy O'Brien at full back should offer enough class to do the business.

But my take is that outside these players there is a degree of inexperience that may be an Achilles heel for Leinster.

So let's hope for a competitive, enjoyable game and happy new year to everyone