THE PARTS CHANGE all the time, but the Leinster machine keeps whirring away.
It might splutter and chug and groan while the maintenance is under way, that’s to be expected even against a much-changed Northampton. But it takes an elite outfit to pick them apart even when they are patching themselves up on the go.
A starting line-up already re-jigged after Caelan Doris withdrew with a calf issue faced a last-minute disruption after the new school out-half Harry Byrne was put through that old school concept, a pre-match fitness test.
The younger Byrne was last to enter the dressing room after a back issue flared in the warm-up and when the players re-emerged, big brother Ross had swiped the number 10 shirt and Cian Kelleher was among the replacements.