O’Driscoll leads charge of Leinster’s big guns

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL looks set to lead a host of Ireland internationals into action for the first time this season after being named in the Leinster squad to face Connacht in the Magners League at the Sportsground tomorrow.

Leinster have lost two of their three games but can now call on Gordon D’Arcy, Girvan Dempsey and Shane Horgan, as well as the Ireland captain.

Malcolm O’Kelly has also returned from injury while Guy Easterby and new sensation Luke Fitzgerald are also available despite picking up knocks during last week’s defeat at Llanelli.

Coach Michael Cheika admits he is in ‘a bit of a jam’ given the wealth of riches at his disposal.

He said of Connacht: “We’ve had a good look at them over a good number of games and they’re playing some good football. Michael Bradley is a good coach. He knows how to orchestrate them, their structure and give them confidence.

“They know what they’re good at. They don’t try to be something they’re not. They know what they’re good at and they do it very well. We got challenged there last year and I’m sure we will again this year.”

On paper, Leinster will be a far more potent force but Cheika is aware that Munster went down to Glasgow two weeks ago at Hughenden after parachuting one-third of their recognised first-teamers back in.

“We’ve taken note of that,” said the Australian. “I think Munster brought back five blokes and had a problem up in Glasgow but you can’t leave them out, really.

“They’ve been training with us a lot, even if they missed last week (because of the Ireland training camp) and we would be hoping we would be able to get a fair bit of harmony quickly. What they do bring to the side are communication skills. They’re big talkers, they’re always organising things and that’s a big part of our game because it’s a little bit more intricate.”

The return of O’Driscoll and the Ireland contingent is a timely one. Not only is their first Heineken Cup assignment only three weeks away but Leinster already find themselves 14 points behind the Scarlets in the Magners League table.

They do, admittedly, have two games in hand on the Stradey Park outfit and Cheika doesn’t seem like a man who goes in for panicking over league tables in September. Tomorrow is far from a ‘must-win’ encounter, he believes.

“It’s only three games old for us. You’ve always got to keep the bigger picture in sight. Everyone always gets the jitters when you lose a game but we have an idea in our head. We know where we are going. I would say there’s no must-win issues at this stage of the year.”

Connacht have announced a squad of 25 for the clash at the Sportsground (6.30).

Ray Hogan looks set to join the squad for the first time this season and also included are Paul Warwick and Ted Robinson who have recovered from injury.

The weekend action kicks off earlier in the day, at Crowley Park in Galway (3pm), as Connacht ‘A’ look for revenge against a Leinster ‘A’ side, who beat them narrowly with a late try last Friday.

CONNACHT (squad): M Diffley, A Farley, A Flavin, J Fogarty, D Gannon, R Hogan, C Keane, M Lacey, K Matthews, M McHugh, C McPhillips, M Mostyn, J Muldoon, R Ofisa, C Rigney, D Riordan, T Robinson, D Slemen, B Sturgess, M Swift, T Tierney, P Warwick, B Wilkinson, G Williams, D Yapp.

LEINSTER (squad): F Contepomi, R Corrigan, G D’Arcy, G Dempsey, G Easterby, O Finegan, L Fitzgerald, K Gleeson, W Green, J Heaslip, D Hickie, T Hogan, S Horgan, B Jackman, S Keogh, R McCormack, B O’Driscoll, M O’Kelly, N Ronan, H Vermaas, C Warner, C Whitaker.