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Published 16:59 7 Sept 2020 BST
Updated 17:04 7 Sept 2020 BST
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"I'd be a no contact kind of a guy," Porter remarks when asked if there would be any messages going on between him and Ulster's southern contingent. "I'll talk to them after the game. All focused for this week. The heads are down and just looking forward to the weekend now, really."[caption id="attachment_215733" align="aligncenter" width="2048"]
Pictured with Andrew Porter, as Leinster players, in September 2018, Jack McGrath (left) and Nick McCarthy (right) have since moved on to Ulster and Munster. (Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile)[/caption]
Porter was given the night off when a much-changed Leinster comfortably dispatched Dan McFarland's men at the Aviva Stadium on August 29. He started the two wins over Munster and ensured no-one was pining after the injured Tadhg Furlong.
While Leinster offered up a positive assessment of James Ryan's chances of featuring in Saturday's final, Furlong and Dan Leavy look set to miss out. If anything, their returns to rugby may come in the shape of an 'A' game the IRFU have yet to fully lock in.
Having started as a loose-head, switched to tight-head and then dabbled between both positions to help ensure World Cup selection with Ireland, Porter is delighted to have the No.3 jersey as his sole focus.
"Of course, you never want to see one of your teammates out injured, at all. In terms of myself, it's about nailing my basics, really. A lot of people have been given opportunities and you have to take them. I'm not looking to do anything outside of what I'm capable of. I'm just trying to add as much as I can for the team, and do what is in the best interests of them. "It's about taking my opportunity and taking those valuable starter minutes under my belt. Getting my match-fitness as well. When I talk about that, we've been off for so long now and I've played two games. It's all about building match fitness as it is hard to replicate that in training as well."Leinster have beaten Ulster twice this season and won six of their last seven meetings with their inter-pro rivals. That being said, the manner of their weekend semi-final win over Edinburgh shows it would be foolish to write off the final as a foregone conclusion. Porter is certainly not thinking that way. "These are the games that really mean everything. It's the make-or-break [part] of the season. All our unbeaten run would be worthless if this weekend didn't result in anything but a win."
Ref mic picks up risky backchat from annoyed Munster captain Beirne
He was not at all pleased…. As expected, a strong Munster outfit put a big score against a seriously depleted Ulster team, beating them 41-14 at Thomond Park on Saturday. The result puts Munster up to fifth in the URC, after a hugely tumultuous few weeks, while Ulster are down to eighth, and just three […]
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