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29th March 2019
07:38pm GMT

This isn't the Dragons away or Zebre at home, this is a really meaningful game for Leinster against serious opposition.
Kearney has generally thrived in this type of game over the years but this could be a sign that the guard is about to change as it did so quickly for Gordon D'Arcy, Ronan O'Gara in his battle with Johnny Sexton and Donncha O'Callaghan during the latter stages of their respective careers.
There comes a point in an athlete's career where Father Time ultimately gets the better of them, and while it does not appear that Kearney has reached that stage yet, particularly given his performance against Scotland last month, he will not want to open the door to Larmour who has been electric for Leinster this season.
The numbers are also favourable towards the St. Andrews graduate.
Larmour has beaten one defender for every 3.19 carries he's made this season while Kearney registers one defender beaten per 4.6 carries.
He has made 6.21 metres per carry compared to Kearney's 4.95 metres per carry.
He has scored four tries compared to Kearney who has yet to cross the line this season.
The statistics confirm what we can see on tape, that Larmour is the younger, more dynamic player, but Kearney's strengths are often not supported by the numbers.
How can you quantify statistics like field position, reading play, strength under the high ball?
Kearney's supporters will point to his performance against New Zealand as proof that he should still start when fit while Larmour improved his stock against France after he struggled at times in his previous start for Ireland against Argentina.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen pointed to his Pool stage performance against Toulouse earlier this season as reason for optimism and whatever concerns fans have over his grasp of some of the finer intricacies of the position, it has to be qualified by the fact that he is still just 21 and continuing to learn his role.
But the talent is there. It's been there ever since he broke into the Leinster squad and his highlight reel has already cleared the five minute bar and he hasn't even finished his second full season yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbhuCiT2o7o
What's interesting from an Irish perspective is that Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has backed Kearney through every storm he has faced but if a situation occurs where Larmour supplants him with Leinster, which, we have seen Cullen go against Schmidt's judgement before with the Joey Carbery and Ross Byrne scenario last season, it will make it very intriguing to see just how much faith Schmidt has in one of his most trusted players.
Kearney has bounced back before, most recently against Scotland, where he was one of Ireland's best in a rather dim display in Edinburgh, but the door has now been opened by Cullen to Larmour, and much like his play on the field, if he spots a gap, that might be it, it might just stay open.
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