Leinster fans take Argentinean star to their hearts

LEINSTER’S Argentinean out half Felipe Contepomi has been hailed by the supporters for his displays for the province in December.

Contepomi was yesterday named as Leinster’s player of the month after helping his side to surging wins over Bourgoin, Ulster and Munster, when he was named man of the match.

In advance of tomorrow’s Heineken Cup clash with Glasgow at the RDS (5.15), Contepomi remained calm but commented: “I believe that Leinster is one of the best teams in Europe. And my goal is to now bring the results that will make other people believe that we are the best.”

The energy and passion he has consistently shown since the start of the season is testimony to this belief and he has now won this fans’ award on a record three occasions.

The Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Player of the Month initiative was instigated during season 2003/2004 and has seen players such as Gordon D’Arcy, Reggie Corrigan, Contepomi, Ben Gissing, David Holwell and Keith Gleeson rewarded with the public support of the fans.

Reserve hooker Brian Blaney is still sweating on the injury to brother David before knowing whether he is in for tomorrow’s game. Blaney described last week’s Celtic League encounter with Llanelli Scarlets as “an ideal build-up.”

“It was a tough game against a very good team. We could have won, maybe we should have won, but it was a wake-up call at the right time.

“We have beaten Glasgow twice this year, but nothing came easy and we will be treating them with the respect they obviously deserve. We’re looking forward to the game but know well that we have to improve considerably from last week.”