Leinster assistant coach Girvan Dempsey admits this weekend’s ‘massive’ Pro12 derby clash with Ulster has extra significance.
With both provinces hoping to claim the Pro12 title - Leinster lead the standings and Ulster are fourth - and places up for grabs on the Ireland summer tour to South Africa, Dempsey believes it’s all to play for as the season draws to a close.
"You can see that there’s no love lost between the sides on the field and it’s going to be pretty attritional alright"
The former Ireland full-back is relishing the challenge, and expects every team to battle intensely in the two games remaining before the semi-finalists and European places are decided.
Dempsey said: “You look at the table, and going into the last two games, it’s all to play for.
“Teams scrapping it out for the two places for the home semi-final and then teams below scrapping it out to get into third and fourth. And even below that you got teams trying to get into Champions Cup places.
“So it is an exciting run in and as it comes to the business end of the season we’re thankfully in control of our own destiny. It’s up to us to put in a performance the next two Saturdays to get where we want to get.
“You wouldn’t want to be in a situation where you’re trying to scrap and relying on other teams to do you a favour.
“We go up to Kingspan on Saturday. We know it’s going to be a massive challenge but we feel that if we want to be competitive and win this trophy we’ve got to go and put in a performance, to get a result up there and put ourselves in place for a home semi-final.”
Dempsey also acknowledges that the rivalry between Leinster and Ulster has grown in recent seasons.and that’s something he welcomes, saying: “It’s grown over the last number of years and it’s great to see.
“Both sets of fans are very passionate and we’re expecting a full house up there on Saturday.
“You can see that there’s no love lost between the sides on the field and it’s going to be pretty attritional alright.”
A former Leinster player himself with 198 appearances to his name, Dempsey admits meeting a derby rival has extra significance disregarding what's at stake. But with Ireland places up for grabs, this weekend’s clash could have extra “spice”.
He said: “I think no matter what country you’re in a derby match is always massive, it’s always huge. Particularly with what’s coming up over the next while international-wise.
“There’s a tour down the line to South Africa and players are fighting to get their seat on the plane to go there.
“So guys are trying to perform as well as they can and, particularly in derby matches, it adds a little extra spice that lads want to do well.
“For us it’s just a big game, but for Ulster it’s a massive game. They’re obviously six points behind Glasgow who are in third place so they’re really fighting with Scarlets hot on their heels.
“For them it’s about trying to get into that top four, and trying to push even further. So for both teams it’s going to be a huge game.”
Ulster v Leinster is live on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 at 3pm
