O’Kelly: Lions wary of Gunners
On Sunday, O’Kelly and company head to Scotland to face an Edinburgh side who lost their opener 19-17 away to Agen.
But the giant lock is aware of their hosts awesome home record. Twelve months ago, a fancied Wasps went down 32-31 in a cracker, and in the 2003/04 season Edinburgh beat eventual finalists Toulouse 23-16.
Said Kelly: “We know we are in a difficult group and the game in Edinburgh is going to be crucial. They have changed their style of play and are a very difficult team to play against.
“Two out of two is obviously the aim, and would be a fantastic boost but we know we are going to have to be at our very best on Sunday.”
From a neutral’s perspective, Leinster are the competition’s great entertainers and the hope is that Michael’s Cheika’s side will not veer from their attacking philosophy. But one area they must fine-tune is mental preparation. They have a weakness to succumb to so-called lesser teams at crucial times.
“If I’ve learned anything over the years it is that you can take nothing for granted in this tournament,” says O’Kelly. “You simply have to go game by game and get your preparation right for each and every round.”
The appetite for outright success is as strong as ever in O’Kelly.
The 32-year-old lock forward has been a losing semi-finalist on three occasions (1995, 2003 and 2006) and stills dreams of reaching a final.
“When we met Perpignan in the 2003 semi-final we were perhaps guilty of looking beyond that game to the possibility of a home final in Dublin. We underestimated them but I don’t think we’ll make that mistake again. The quarter-final win in Toulouse last season was brilliant, especially as we’ve struggled to win in France so often.
“Then came that Munster defeat in the semi-final at Lansdowne Road. That was hard to take.”
He added: “I was involved when Leinster were beaten by Cardiff in one of the semi-finals in the first season of the Heineken Cup. We had what was considered to be a good crowd of 7,350 on that day, whereas there were more than 22,000 at Lansdowne for our opening Pool match this season.”
O’Kelly also maintains that Irish rugby has benefited from its association with the Heineken Cup.
“It is the biggest tournament in the northern hemisphere. Rugby has developed hugely in Ireland as a result of the Heineken Cup and it has improved the standard across Europe.
“I played for a while in England at London Irish and it takes you time to realise that the players in the top flight over there are only human. By having regular contact with teams and players from England and France we have been able to match their standards.”
Leinster have reported no major injury worries after Saturday’s win over Gloucester. Absentees from that win Cameron Jowitt and Chris Whitaker could be on the flight to Edinburgh.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
