Gutsy Guy getting in the Leinster groove

GUY EASTERBY has his faults, a fact this likeable English-born son of an Irish mother would never deny, but the Leinster scrum-half could never be accused of lacking guts.

On the field, because of the aggressive way he plays, he has been likened to a ninth forward; the fact that he's built like a full-grown flanker, a 6ft, 14 stone frame, facilitates that, but even if he were Stringer-esque in stature, he would still play the same way.

Off the field however, this season, is where Easterby has really shown his courage. Comfortably installed in Llanelli, where he played alongside his brother and club captain, Simon, at the end of last season, Guy opted out and came to Leinster.

It didn't seem the wisest decision, especially when the man he was trying to displace in Leinster, Brian O'Meara, was one of a number of scrum-halves disputing Easterby's Irish international back-up role.

Throw in the fact that O'Meara is younger, an accomplished place-kicker, and that decision appeared even more foolhardy.

It looked that way too in the early-season games, as the new boy found himself warming the bench amid serious murmurings over his place in the international set-up.

Tomorrow, however, in Leinster's final European Cup pool game against Benetton Treviso, Guy is again named at number nine and appears established as the number one scrum-half.

Pay-off? Perhaps, but he's not resting on his laurels.

"At the moment I'm enjoying my rugby, getting a run at scrum-half which was the reason I came over here to play on the starting 15 and progress my international ambitions as well. I love living in Dublin, being closer to my mother's side of the family and hopefully that will continue.

"But Brian is a quality player, got a good few caps for Ireland himself and has played well for Leinster when he's played, so I'm lucky to be getting the nod at the moment.

"You've also got Brian O'Riordan there, snapping at both our heels, so there's no rest. If you don't perform from one week to the next, you know you're going to be under pressure for your place."

He hasn't got the most Gaelic name ever to grace a green shirt, but, ready smile, good talker, easy-going disposition, there is no denying those Irish characteristics. No denying another valuable characteristic either, loyalty.

Only a wet week with Leinster, but when the character of his new team was questioned, in light of poor forward performances against Munster and Bath in successive weeks, Easterby was quick to jump in. "I don't know how anyone can question the character of this team," he said.

"We came back from ten points down with four minutes to go, away from home (last game, against Bath), so one thing people can't question is the character; what they can question is that we're not getting everything right on the pitch, but we've been working very hard during the week on putting right the things that went wrong.

"We've got big aspirations, and we all realise, we've got a long way to go.

"Certainly that wasn't a complete performance by any means, we've still got a hell of a lot to work on. But the fact is, we've won five out of five, and if we beat Treviso this weekend, we have a home draw in the quarter-finals."

What Guy would concede, however, is that in previous seasons Leinster might well have lost that game to Bath, might also have lost to Bourgoin away in their previous Heineken Cup outing, two games they won with last-gasp against-the-grain tries.

"I wasn't here, but speaking to the lads who were, they are saying we have a bit more durability, staying in games where a couple of years ago we might not. If that's a measure of our progress, we're delighted with that."

There are a number of reasons for this Leinster progression, not least the addition of Easterby and unsung out-half David Holwell has come in from New Zealand and has been a revelation; Brian O'Driscoll has been producing the goods, week in week out and was central to each of those late heroics.

Having the likes of Holwell, O'Driscoll, Gordon D'Arcy, Denis Hickie, Shane Horgan, outside him, makes even Easterby pause for breath.

"Jesus, it's pretty impressive. Even when you look at it on paper, it's fantastic, so for me, it's just about getting the ball out to them as fast as possible and then, hopefully, watching them do their magic.

"It is great, great experience for me. Holwell has been very impressive, and not just as a player, but as a bloke as well. Very down to earth, typical Kiwi."

Looking to tomorrow's game, another less-than-sensible question, whether Leinster would be taking the foot off the gas this weekend, given that qualification for the quarter-final is already secured and given also that they are playing 'only' an Italian team, was also politely dismissed.

"Not at all," he laughed; "Treviso have won three of their five games to date, have a chance to qualify for the quarter-finals. We need to beat them to get a home draw, which is vitally important, so this is a huge, huge game, our biggest game of the European season so far. It's a must-win."