Leinster skipper James Ryan has criticised Champions Cup bosses for the price of tickets for tomorrow's semi-final between the province and Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium.
Remaining tickets went on sale this week for €75 and although tournament organisers EPCR say that at least 45,000 supporters will be present, Leinster are unhappy that supporters are being asked to fork out that much.
At the start of the week Leinster's head coach Leo Cullen urged fans to turn out in massive numbers and create a sea of blue to get behind his side as they take on the five time champions for a place in the final, which is also at the Dublin venue.
READ MORE: Toulouse insist lessons learned from Leinster defeats as teams named for crunch Champions Cup semi
And Ryan, who skippers the side in place of the injured Johnny Sexton, commented: "It's a European Cup semi-final. It's exciting, definitely.
"Being able to play in the Aviva in Dublin is very special for us. We can't wait, it's going to be 40,000 plus.
"I'm not sure it'll be quite a sellout. It probably would be if the EPCR lowered some of the ticket prices a bit.
"The support we get is incredible for us, a huge point of difference for us. We're going to need it tomorrow, and we can't wait.”
Cullen explained the reason for Robbie Henshaw's surprise absence, with Charlie Ngatai coming in at centre for the Athlone man. Ngatai hasn't played in almost four months due to injury.
"Robbie picked up a niggle on Monday, unfortunately, with his quad," said Cullen. "It’s nothing too major now.
"Charlie trained, Ciaran (Frawley) wasn’t actually training that day, so that fed into a little bit as well.
“Charlie got some good reps this week and trained last week as well. It’s unfortunate for Robbie, but Charlie is a big game player with plenty of experience, and for a player coming back into it. That’s an easy way to do it, and Ciarán gives us great versatility off the bench as well.
"So, he’ll definitely feature at some point, hopefully, and I think that’s a good combination for the group. Charlie brings good physicality and plenty of experience playing against French teams over the years. We’re lucky that we’ve got that quality there. Unfortunate for Robbie obviously.
“We’ve so much respect for Toulouse as a team and as a club, and we know they’ll be disappointed off the back of last season in particular, so it should be a great battle.”
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose, Charlie Ngatai, Jimmy O'Brien; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Ross Molony, James Ryan; Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: John McKee, Cian Healy, Michael Ala'alatoa, Jason Jenkins, Ryan Baird, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne, Ciarán Frawley.
Toulouse: Thomas Ramos; Juan Cruz Mallia, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Pita Ahki, Matthis Lebel; Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont (capt); Cyril Baille, Péato Mauvaka, Dorian Aldegheri; Richie Arnold, Emmanuel Meafou; Jack Willis, Thibaud Flament, Francois Cros.
Replacements: Julian Marchand, Rodrigue Neti, David Ainu'u, Alexandre Roumat, Rynhardt Elstadt, Alban Placines, Paul Graou, Arthur Retiere.
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