Cards falling right for Blues as they shuffle the deck

GIRVAN DEMPSEY believes Leinster are in a pretty good place, ahead of today’s Pro14 Interprovincial derby against Connacht, following the performance of a number of their young guns at Thomond Park last week. ‘It’s a great place to be to have such tough decisions in selection,’ said the backs coach. ‘It’s a luxury to have but the reality is that we have four big games, two derbies and two European matches, and ultimately you don’t always have everyone on deck. ‘What you are trying to do is make sure everybody is ready, so if you do have to shuffle the deck, the guy who hasn’t had a game in a week or is just coming back from injury is up to speed and ready to slot in. ‘And in the big games, you have to have a balance between youth and experience. But we have shown in the last couple of years that as a coaching group we have backed youth in a lot of scenarios, and it has served us well.’ While Jordan Larmour particularly caught the eye against Munster, with his sensational late try, Ross Byrne’s impressive performance was indicative of how quickly the out-half is developing and Dempsey believes that Byrne (below) is almost ready to make the step-up to international level. ‘Ross has grown in confidence. His kicking game is a massive asset and his defence was excellent against Munster...even in terms of his evasion and ability to take the line on, he has added that to his game. He showed that he can control a game like that in a cauldron like Thomond Park. ‘I’d have no problems with him making the step up to the Ireland squad. Ross is a quality player and he has grown year on year. He has become a lot more comfortable in driving the team. He has learned a huge amount from Johnny. They both help each other. He is on that road but it is up to other people to make that call.’ Dempsey is expecting a massive challenge from Kieran Keane’s Connacht side in the RDS, after the westerners trounced Ulster on St Stephen’s Day ‘The biggest thing for Connacht is that they were hit with a lot of injuries and it’s taken them a while to hit their stride,’ said Dempsey. ‘I think now we can see that they’ve got guys back. Niyi Adeolukun is back, Matt Healy’s back in the fold and the back three looks extremely dangerous. ‘Over the last few weeks, they have started to get a lot more settled and there is more clarity in how they want to play. I think they’ve adopted a few changes, they’re more of a kicking threat than they would have been a couple of years ago, so it is going to be a huge challenge.’ Dempsey dismisses the notion that it was a weakened Ulster side whom Connacht put to the sword at the Sportsground. ‘I know people will say that but the reality is that when you look on it on paper, it was a pretty strong side. So to get that sort of result against Ulster shows the threat they have. We we have to be strong and can’t afford to give them a lead.’