Leinster's considerable momentum was halted in Toulouse in the previous round of the Heineken Champions Cup, so they go to the Rec in need of something to reignite their European season. Here are the details on where to watch Leinster vs Bath.
Where to watch Leinster vs Bath?
The game isn't live on Irish TV, so the only place to watch it is on BT Sport 2. The game is on Saturday, kicking off at 3.15pm. BT's coverage of the game starts at 3pm.
What's the state of the pool?
Leinster lie in second, two points behind Toulouse, who beat them in that thrilling game in round two. Bath, meanwhile, are third but are yet to win. They should be better off, and would have beaten Toulouse at home were it not for a pesky Freddie Burns, and one of the most galling errors of the year so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt7kfcFKxNM
Team news?
The teams have not been named at time of writing, but Leinster will be without Jack McGrath, who will miss the next six weeks with a hip injury. Robbie Henshaw is out with the injury he sustained ahead of the November game with Argentina, while Nick McCarthy is out too.
His absence means that Jamison-Gibson Park will be promoted to the squad, which will have the knock-on effect of forcing the exclusion of either Scott Fardy or James Lowe. Under the competition's eligibility rules, Leinster may only pick two from the Fardy, Lowe and Gibson-Park trio.
In better news for Leinster, Jack Conan, Rory O’Loughlin, Dan Leavy and Jordan Larmour are all back in training and may play some part in Saturday's game.
Anything else to look out for?
There has been plenty of intrigue about Stuart Lancaster's position over the last couple of weeks. With Andy Farrell to take over from Joe Schmidt, speculation launched immediately linking Lancaster with a coaching role under Farrell, in what would be a curious inversion of the England set-up at the 2015 World Cup. The RFU have also confirmed that a return for Lancaster to that role is a possibility whenever they finally get sick of Eddie Jones.
There is a Lancaster link with this game, too: he is touted as the next head coach of Bath, given he has worked with Director of Rugby Stuart Hooper in the past.
When was their last meeting?
Leinster last faced Bath in January 2016, a game they won 25-11. Ian Madigan kicked 20 points in that game, but it was notable for another reason: it was the game in which Tadhg Furlong and Garry Ringrose made their European debuts. Less than two years on, both would walk into any club team in the world....and quite a few international teams, too.
A reminder on where to watch Leinster vs Bath - it is live on BT Sport 2 from 3pm on Saturday, kicking off at 3.15pm.
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