Leo Cullen reckons Leinster won't have any issues with the altitude when they take on Bulls looking for a first URC final appearance since 2021.
The eight-time champions are in the Highveld, which sits 1,339 metres above sea level and while it will be fascinating to see how far James Lowe’s clearances travel, the thinner air can be tough on the lungs.
In April a largely second-string outfit struggled to live with the Lions in Johannesburg and left pointless.
Yesterday, Cullen named his strongest available side, including the fit-again Garry Ringrose, to take on Jake White’s team, who beat Leinster in the 2022 semi-final in Dublin.
"I think they will be OK," said the head coach when asked how the squad, who arrived to Pretoria in two separate parties on Monday, had acclimatised.
"I think it’s more of an issue when it’s hot as well.
"So, it’s a four o’clock kick-off [South Africa time], watching where the sun is, three quarters of the pitch is in shade, and the temperature has dropped pretty drastically.
"Certainly by half-time, it will be 10-12 degrees, so it’s not particularly warm.
"It’s warm during the day. Maybe if you were playing at midday it might be a bit more of an issue because the sun is the big factor but we will see. I can’t see it being a major issue."
Cullen had spoken about the difficulty in arranging travel at short notice following last Saturday’s quarter-final win over Ulster but insisted they were getting on with the job at hand.
"We’re just getting going and preparing as normal," he said.
"It’s limited. You probably lose a day with the travel. It’s probably the only thing so…it’s like having a six-day turn around really.
"That’s the reality of it so we trained on Tuesday, we trained on Thursday.
"We had a light run out in the stadium there [Friday] so the lads are excited to get going.
"Hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves. That’s the big thing.
"When you play in these big play-off games that’s what you want. It’s unusual the challenge here. We making sure we just try and embrace the challenge.
"Now as we get closer to the game mentally you hope you are in a good place.
"Lots of our guys have played in big games over the years and making sure they go out and, as I say, give a good account of themselves because we have had great support all year and we’d love to have another crack at a game next week, a final wherever that would be."
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