Cheika: we’ve got the players to replace injured Contepomi

REPLACING the injured Felipe Contepomi is a daunting task, Michael Cheika admitted yesterday.

The Leinster coach is adamant, however, that he has just the men for the job.

Contepomi will be out for a six-week period that could make or break the province’s season. It includes a pair of doubleheaders — against Ulster in the Magners League and Agen in the Heineken Cup.

The good news is that the Argentinian should definitely be fit for Leinster’s last two Heineken Cup group fixtures in January, against Gloucester and Edinburgh. He could even be back much sooner than expected.

“I know they’ve put that six-week (target) up there but we’ll work on it internally week to week,” said Cheika. “Over the last 18 months we’ve been paying attention to every little detail to try and get our players back on the field even one minute earlier. We are very aggressive in our rehabilitation. Felipe is already back in and he is raring to go.”

The medial ligament damage he picked up on international duty in Paris is expected to keep Contepomi sidelined until at least the New Year. This leaves Cheika turning to Christian Warner or Andy Dunne as a replacement.

“Felipe’s an integral player in Leinster’s approach to the game of rugby,” said Cheika. “In saying that too, every squad member understands exactly how we want to play the game. Whoever fills that void — Christian or Andy — they understand how we play the game and they’ll bring their own attributes to the game.

“Felipe is a very direct runner and that is something that is very hard to replace. Christian has got a brilliant passing game and Andy has a good running game and a good kicking game too so those are different things we can bring to the table. Defensively Felipe is a tiger. There’s going to be a lot to do to fill his shoes.”

The smart money will be on Warner getting the nod this Saturday in Ravenhill for the first of those jousts with Ulster. The Australian started the province’s last outing against Glasgow when Contepomi was away with the Argentinian national team.

Cheika knows Warner well from their days down under. The two played on the same team a handful of times and Warner was Cheika’s original choice at out-half in the days before Contepomi made the number ten shirt his own.

“We’ve seen Christian play in a fair few positions over the last few years. He’s a player that is very well suited to that out-half position. He is a great passer of the ball. He’s a good organiser of the game,” said the coach.

“What he has lacked since I’ve been here is a good run of games. He hasn’t even been able to play a lot of ‘A’ games because he’s been on our bench. If you talk to any of our international players you’ll find they very much like playing with him. It’s a different dimension as far as his passing from both sides is concerned.”

Dunne also saw some action in the defeat of Glasgow, but only as a 12-minute blood sub for Warner in the first half. One advantage he does hold over his counterpart is a good run of games with the Leinster ‘A’ side and Old Belvedere.

Cheika was eager to gloss over the loss of Contepomi as much as possible yesterday. He stressed that Leinster were far from a one-man team, and he was confident that whoever stepped in at ten would be well supported.

“Everyone bands around in a situation like that to make sure the new guys gets the support they require. I’m sure you’ll find, as with the Ireland team on the weekend where Horgan and O’Driscoll stepped in at out-half to give Paddy Wallace a hand, that those guys will come in and try take the heat off whoever we have at ten.”

Girvan Dempsey could be a key man in that regard. If Warner plays, the plan is to delegate the kicking duties to the Irish full-back, but only if he declares himself fit to play after training today.

A scan on Tuesday revealed that Dempsey was not concussed as a result of a tackle taken against the Pacific Islands last Sunday but Cheika will allow the player to decide on his own fitness in training today.

The only other injury concern for the province is English prop Will Green whose neck injury will again prevent him from competing. At this point, Green may or may not be ready for the Agen games next month.

Leinster squad (v Ulster):

Forwards: R McCormack, R Corrigan, B Blaney, H Vermaas, F Pala’amo, T Hogan, M O’Kelly, O Finegan, C Jowitt, S Keogh, K Gleeson, J Heaslip.

Backs: C Whitaker, G Easterby, A Dunne, C Warner, G D’Arcy, B O’Driscoll, K Lewis, S Horgan, D Hickie, L Fitzgerald, G Dempsey, R Kearney.