Kidney has high hopes Irish teams can make semi-finals

LEINSTER coach and former Munster mastermind, Declan Kidney, accepts that both provinces face difficult tasks in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals - but insists they can raise their games to a sufficient level to provide Ireland with two of the four semi-finalists.

“Drawing Leicester is as tough a home draw as you can possibly get,” said Kidney. “Historically, the aim was to ensure a home quarter-final and take what comes after that. Leicester will bring 15,000 supporters to Lansdowne Road and their team is full of high-class players who know the ground extremely well after so many Six Nations appearances.

“Guys like Martin Johnson and Neil Back have retired from international rugby and so will be fresher and the same could also apply to people like Harry Ellis and Ben Kay. And they have strength in depth - they have Welsh prop Darren Morris to come on for Graham Rowntree. They are not the top team in the Zurich Premiership for nothing,” Kidney said.

The great fear is that the Leinster pack will struggle to contain Johnson and co, but Kidney will go no further than to accept that his forwards “still have a long way to go.”

As for Munster, he believes the prospect of going to the south of France - Biarritz’s capacity at the Parc des Sports Aguilera is only 12,667 - and coming home with a win, will only serve to inspire.

“I’m satisfied that Munster can get the desired result,” he insisted last night. “Six years or so ago, we didn’t expect a whole lot from our teams. Now we are in danger of expecting too much. Munster went away to Harlequins, won by 18-10 and are criticised. But they have qualified for the quarters yet again even though they were without players like Ronan O’Gara and John Kelly.”

Kidney also pointed out that Leinster, Munster and Ulster won 14 of their 18 Heineken Cup matches, a ratio of success he maintains augurs well for Ireland’s prospects in the forthcoming Six Nations.

Munster desperately wanted a home draw but coach Alan Gaffney remained upbeat yesterday. “We knew our failure to pick up a bonus point in the last couple of games would leave us open to this. Munster have gone to France and won before. If anything, we will see it as a bigger challenge and that could work to our advantage.

“We haven’t played that well so far but I’m confident the lads are capable of much more. There is no air of doom or gloom, just recognition that we face a massive test against a very good side.

“We have a squad of really high quality players who are prepared to play for each other and for the jersey. That means a huge amount, particularly at this stage of the competition,” said Gaffney.

Hooker Frankie Sheahan admitted the draw could have been kinder: “It’s probably the worst draw because they’re playing so well. But there is no despair in the Munster camp. I would have settled for a home draw against Newcastle or an away fixture against Stade Francais. We’re happy though to be still in the competition.”

Former Wallaby star Michael Lynagh believes Munster will come a cropper in France. The Sky TV pundit has tipped three French teams to make it through to the semi-finals, while ex-England scrum half, Dewi Morris has backed Leicester to shake up Leinster at Lansdowne Road.

“I backed Leicester to win the competition from the start. They sneaked through to the last eight, but I reckon they’re now a good bet. The Leinster pack struggled against Bath and are going to have a hard time of it against the Tigers, despite having home advantage,” said Morris.

Lynagh predicted that Toulouse will beat Northampton, and Stade Francais will overcome Newcastle.