It was not just the Wallabies downed in Australia at the weekend by men who had travelled halfway across the globe.

Leinster backs coach Alan Gaffney is well aware of the threat posed by The Scarlets as Leinster go to Wales in search of an first round win in the Magner's League.

Wallaby lock JUSTIN HARRISON throws the spotlight on the Australian influence in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup semi-final – and reveals Michael Cheika’s pugilistic prowess.

PHRASES like depth, alignment, width and ruck ball were tossed about with abandon in D4 yesterday but Alan Gaffney was honest enough to cut through all the jargon and admit that Leinster’s back play just didn’t cut the mustard last Saturday.

THE Australian arrived at Leinster in the summer of 2005 armed with his three-year plan and intent on annexing world club rugby’s greatest prize.

MICHAEL Cheika last night insisted he is “committed” to Leinster despite strong speculation in Australia linking him with the position of New South Wales Waratahs head coach from next season.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN may well feel he has more to offer Ireland after eight years with the international set-up but Michael Cheika clearly believes coaches have a much shorter shelf-life with any one team.

ALAN GAFFNEY has effectively ruled himself out of the running to replace Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan after confirming he will return to Leinster next season.

LEINSTER are on the lookout for two new coaches with the confirmation from Michael Cheika that assistants David Knox and Mike Brewer will be leaving the province at the end of the season.

IF there was one obvious downside to Leinster’s defeat of Munster last Friday evening it was the sight of Brian O’Driscoll hobbling off the pitch after half an hour but it seems the Irish captain is recovering and on track to return for Friday’s Heineken Cup encounter with Edinburgh.

The Melbourne Cup Carnival will go ahead as planned after it was announced horseracing will resume in Victoria this Saturday despite the possible spread of the equine influenza virus elsewhere in Australia.

TITLES are never won before Christmas but they can be lost, and Reggie Corrigan is adamant Leinster can make a significant hole in Ulster’s Magners League aspirations tomorrow in Ravenhill.

GIRVAN DEMPSEY is aware of the irony.

AMID all the hype surrounding the return of Brian O’Driscoll and Denis Hickie, Adam Byrnes slipped back into the Leinster pack with the minimum of fuss.

THEIR hopes of securing a quarter-final Heineken Cup berth may be somewhere between slim and none but, with talent like Robert Kearney in tow, Leinster remain committed to playing the type of expansive rugby rarely seen before in this part of the world.

LEINSTER have signed Australian second row Adam Byrnes on a two-year deal.

Michael Cheika has completed his first signing as new Leinster coach after capturing lock Adam Byrnes on a two-year deal.

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL has revealed that a chat with Ireland football captain Roy Keane was the perfect send-off for the Lions tour to New Zealand.

USA coach Tom Billups is under no illusions about the task facing his Eagles as they prepare to face Ireland at Lansdowne Road next month.

Matt Giteau, Australia’s inside-centre, was a late doubt for today’s Test against Scotland in Sydney after coming down overnight with a fever.

MUNSTER coach Alan Gaffney yesterday announced a 25 strong Munster squad from which the team to play Benetton Treviso in the Heineken European Cup at Thomond Park on Saturday will be picked tomorrow.

Eleven of Australia’s key players will go into the defence of the World Cup without having played a match in eight weeks.

Australian James Pritchard, one of the top scorers in the Rugby Canada Super League (RCSL), has been named to the Canadian side to clash with the New Zealand Maori in Calgary on Saturday.

GARY ELLA, one of the three famous aboriginal brothers to have played for Australia, is expected to be named as Leinster coach today.

OWEN FINEGAN has had a busier week than most big, strong, bruising Australian backrowers.