Date: Sunday, April 1st
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 3:30pm

Leinster
The provincial club has been streets ahead of all other counterparts this season so far in the Champions Cup. They were the only team to win all of their pool fixtures and are the No 1 seeded team as well as the favourites to win. Leinster are also currently top of their conference and 2nd in the league in the Pro14. To add to that, Leinster was the majority provider of players in the Irish Grand Slam-winning team so confidence will be extremely high in the squad at the moment.

If there’s anything to worry about, it’s the fact that Leinster lost to Ospreys and Edinburgh and drew with Scarlets during the Six Nations period therefore they will have lost some momentum but with the Ireland contingent returning, I’m sure that momentum and belief will be restored.

After a week off from Six Nations duty, several Irish players return. Cian Healy starts at loosehead with Ireland teammate McGrath on the bench. Andrew Porter moves to the bench to accommodate the exceptional Tadhg Furlong at tighthead. Giant Devin Toner returns to the team whilst Wallaby Scott Fardy moves to blindside to accommodate the talented James Ryan in the second row. Dan Leavy returns to openside after a fine Six Nations to win his 50th cap, Jordi Murphy moves to No8 while Jack Conan completely misses out.

Jonny Sexton replaces Ross Byrne at flyhalf, Rob Kearney returns to fullback with Joey Carbery substituted to the bench. Club legend and stalwart Isa Nacewa returns to inside centre with Garry Ringrose starting alongside him at outside centre. James Lowe, another foreign import who has impressed, starts on the left wing.

I think Leinster will use their ball-carrying forwards to break down Saracens’ defence, which hasn’t been as watertight as in previous seasons, which will then allow the creativity of Sexton along with the footwork and pace of the likes of Lowe and Ringrose to really threaten the tryline. There’s almost always the reliability of Sexton to apply pressure by kicking over the 3-pointers.

In my opinion, Leinster are clear favourites but they must be always aware of the danger that any Saracens side will possess. They need to maintain the composure and patience that saw them grind past Exeter at Sandy Park. After that away victory over the Chiefs, this quarterfinal will be the ultimate test to prove whether the journalists and pundits are right to label the province the team who are favourites to win the Cup.

Saracens

The London-outfit may have been consecutive Champions for 2 seasons now but have been mediocre at best this season, got absolutely mullered by Clermont at home and only scraped through into the last 8 through some luck and other teams’ downfalls. They’ve not been at their best domestically either and are missing key men such as Billy Vunipola, Michael Rhodes, Calum Clark, Vincent Koch and Will Skelton to name a few.

They have assured back ups in the up-and-coming Ben Earl and Sione Vailanu whilst seasoned Scotland international and London Irish cornerstone Blair Cowan has been signed till the end of the season, but Saracens at the moment are stretched very thinly and the players they do have left have been overplayed. Maro Itoje did look a bit more like his world class best against Harlequins but their underperforming neighbours made Itoje look good in my opinion and while his try-celebration was a neat jibe at his critics, I still believe that the 2016 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year needs to be rested for the tour to South Africa.

Saracens have a made a few changes to the side that beat Quins last weekend at the London Stadium. Owen Farrell has proved his fitness to once again lineup against one of his greatest rivals. George Kruis is back from an injury sustained against Ireland to partner Itoje in the second row whilst Dominic Day moves to the bench, replacing youngster Ben Earl. Mako Vunipola and Richard Barrington swap positions for the England international to start. The backline remains unchanged with captain Brad Barritt somehow being able to swiftly return to fitness after having surgery on his cheekbone this last Tuesday. Remarkable recovery from the big man.

Saracens defence will have to be incredibly patient in defence to beat Leinster, who out-Exeter-ed the Chiefs back in the group stages proving that they have almost unbelievable patience. The box-kicking of Richard Wigglesworth will be relied upon to keep Leinster trapped in their own half and hope that the efforts of Juan Figallo and the very experienced Schalk Burger to turnover the ball. First, I believe that they will apply pressure from the kicking tee via Farrell before attempting to put Leinster to the sword through some tries.

Personally, I think Saracens will really struggle away from home against the firm favourites. On the other hand, however, if Saracens regain any glimpses of the form that saw them win consecutive Champions Cups then we could be in for a shock.

All eyes on
For the Irish, my eyes will be on Leinster orchestrator Jonny Sexton who had another sublime Six Nations and whose creativity created many wonderfully crafted Irish tries and his stunning last-ditch drop goal against France will go down in History. After a week-off he will certainly be gunning to once again outclass Lions teammate Owen Farrell. Whether it’s conducting gorgeous attacking play and nailing long-range efforts from the tee, the living legend will be crucial to Leinster’s efforts.

For Saracens, my one to look out for will be Maro Itoje, he looked refreshed and reenergised against Harlequins, but the test against the clear favourites is almost two steps up from beating the 9th placed team in the Aviva Premiership. Itoje will need to bring Saracens energy, dominate the skies at the lineout and carry with aggression until the job is done. If he plays well at the weekend, great, but I still think he needs a rest this summer.

Head to head
Owen Farrell and Jonny Sexton once again go head to head only a few weeks after the St. Patrick’s Day fixture at Twickenham. The battle of experience will be fought primarily between captains Brad Barritt and Isa Nacewa who both have been criminally underused at international level. Whilst the battle of the lineout between specialists Toner and Kruis will determine momentum and possession.

Prediction:
Please see the article from yesterday with all the Champions Cup Quarterfinal Predictions from Hutch.

By Jacob Bassford