Cheika sticks with winning formula

LEINSTER resist the urge to rest key players for Saturday’s Celtic League visit to Stradey Park, despite their fast-approaching make or break Heineken Cup fixture with Glasgow.

Despite three Celtic League and two European matches in the past month, coach Michael Cheika is reluctant to tinker with a winning formula that has recorded four victories in those ties.

Brian O’Driscoll, Denis Hickie, Guy Easterby, Adam Byrnes and Malcolm O’Kelly have all endured injury lay-offs, while hooker Brian Blaney is still finding his groove within the team structure after the summer departure of Shane Byrne and the injury to Bernard Jackman. Winger Rob Kearney returns after a back strain and may have an outing against Llanelli Scarlets before the crunch encounter with Glasgow at the RDS.

“I won’t be resting anyone, that’s not our style,” said Cheika yesterday. “The way we do things is that we monitor players in training every day and we might pull a guy from training, now and again, if we feel he needs it. I’m a big believer in playing consistent football week-in, week-out. I believe that makes the team better.”

Llanelli have had a mixed season. In the Heineken Cup, they are in third place, behind Toulouse and Wasps, with Edinburgh bringing up the rear. Their Celtic League form has been hit and miss, but three wins from their last three outings has left them in fifth place - seven points adrift of third placed Leinster.

“Llanelli have probably been the best of the Welsh sides so far this year,” said Cheika. “They carry a big threat, both in the pack and out wide.

“One thing you would say about them is that they have a lot of pace, which is always a danger in any rugby team. They’re building a good run at Stradey Park at the moment as well, so it will be tough.”

The win over Munster was proof of Leinster’s potential behind the scrum, but it was the performance of the pack, particularly their ability to utilise attacking and defensive mauls, that pleased their coach most.

With their European ambitions still on the precipice, Leinster now need to tighten their play in a number of key areas - something Cheika himself was quick to point out.

“It’s funny, you watch the game at the time it’s happening and it looks so different when you analyse it on video later. During the game you’re watching the plays as they happen but, when you watch it on video, you see that there were a lot of technical mistakes.

“The hunger we showed as a team was the most pleasing aspect of the game for me. We went down a man twice, but everyone on the team worked that bit harder to make up for it - maybe too hard in fact because we became a bit narrow defensively at times with people trying to fill the gap.”

Leinster squad:

Forwards: R McCormack, R Corrigan, D Blaney, B Blaney, W Green, E Byrne, A Byrnes, B Williams, B Gissing, M O’Kelly, C Jowitt, N Ronan, K Gleeson, E Miller, J Heaslip.

Backs: B O’Riordan, G Easterby, J Hepworth, F Contepomi, D Hickie, G Brown, R Kearney, S Horgan, G D’Arcy, K Lewis, B O’Driscoll, E Hickey, G Dempsey.