Gordon D'Arcy doesn’t believe there’s any reason for Leinster to change their European centre partnership of Jamie Osborne and Robbie Henshaw, even if Garry Ringrose becomes available.
Ireland outside centre Ringrose, according to Leinster, is on track to be fit for selection for their Investec Champions Cup semi-final with Northampton in Croke Park on 4 May.
The 29-year-old is struggling with a shoulder injury and played just 24 minutes, as a replacement against Scotland, in Ireland’s Six Nations campaign.
The Dubliner, who has 57 international caps and 123 Leinster appearances, originally injured his shoulder on 20 January.
In his absence, Henshaw has moved to second centre and 22-year-old Osborne, who stands 6ft 3in and weighs over 14st, has filled in at inside centre and stood out in wins over Leicester Tigers and La Rochelle.
Henshaw has previously said he prefers the outside berth. Kildare native Osborne made his Leinster debut in January 2021 and has played 42 times for the province.
"At the moment I would pick Jamie Osborne and Robbie Henshaw," former Ireland and Leinster back D’Arcy said.
"That might seem a little harsh on Garry Ringrose, and it is, but there’s nothing to suggest that you would split them up at the moment.
"[Osborne] offers that gainline [threat] as well as that second five-eighth distributor in there, strong kicking game.
"He’s quintessentially what a 12 would be. Robbie Henshaw, at the moment, is really comfortable in the 13 jersey. It would be hard to move him out of there.
"Through [his] injury, the onus is on Garry Ringrose to come back in and come up to that standard to force a decision for the coaches."
Osborne (above) has trained with Andy Farrell's Ireland but not yet been capped. D'Arcy, the 2004 Six Nations player of the tournament and three-time Heineken Cup winner, believes he has a big future ahead of him.
"There’s a lot to be excited about Jamie Osborne, he brings something that not every player in the Irish outside backs have, a little air of unpredictability," he added.
"In 12 to 24 months time we will be talking about him as one of the top rugby players in the world.
"He is just an absolute Rolls Royce of a player, his decision-making with ball in hand, he’s 6ft [3], you can’t coach a guy to be big.
"When you have a player like that who has all the skillsets...rugby is simply, you catch the ball, you either pass, kick or run and he has all of that ability on the ball.
"As the next 12 months roll through, we will see him pushing for a [regular] starting place with Leinster and probably into the national team."
Before their clash with Saints, Leinster will look to extend their lead at the top of the BKT URC, which was whittled down to just one point following last weekend’s 44-12 loss to Lions.
They face the Stormers, beaten at home by Ospreys last weekend, on Saturday evening in Cape Town (6.05pm Irish time).
D’Arcy says his old side have little margin for error in the battle for top spot and the knockout seeding that comes with that.
"Whatever about the result, they won’t be happy with the performance, which was very un-Leinster-like," said the 44-year-old.
"It adds a huge amount of pressure this week. If you are the Stormers you are almost rubbing your hands, the perfect match to be coming back in against.
"[Leinster] haven’t sent their first team down and we don’t know if some players have been sent home to focus on the Champions Cup.
"Suddenly, this trip has become very hard. Any latitude down in South Africa is gone now."
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