Cheika: top four should battle it out in Magners
Leinster are one of three teams in the running to clinch this year’s title in the final week of action but the Celtic competition is an anomaly in the rugby world where semi-finals and a final are routinely utilised to decide the league champions.
The advantages are obvious from a profile and financial point of view but Cheika believes that it would also be a fairer system given the fact that many Magners’ team are deprived of their best players for chunks of the season.
“I’m sure that they’ll be looking at putting in semis and finals next year,” Cheika said. “We’re lucky because we’re up there competing for a spot but it would give teams like Warriors and Munster — those teams that aren’t in the hunt at the moment — an opportunity. That compensates a team like Munster, say, for not having its international players for some of the games.”
Were such a system in place this year, Leinster, Cardiff and the Ospreys would already be guaranteed their play-off spot but another four would be going into the final round of fixtures hoping to join them. Every game would include a team with something concrete to play for as even the top three would have home advantage to fight over before the knock-out games. Cheika declared himself happy with the current system but he doesn’t see the bloated rugby calendar being a problem if the changes are made thanks to the demise of one of the three Scottish districts.
“The fact that the Borders won’t be in the tournament next year will reduce the number of games. It effects not just the number of games but the number of weeks as well because of the bye — it will have a four-week impact as opposed to a two-week impact.”
As it is, Leinster will approach this weekend’s trip to Cardiff’s Arms Park hoping to claim the league title that eluded them so agonisingly on the final day of the season last year.
The Heineken Cup may have become everyone’s barometer of a season’s success but Cheika claims that winning a Magners title in Wales on the last day of the season would be a seismic achievement.
“It’s a hugely competitive league. If you look at the 11 teams, seven of them have had either 11 or 12 wins. The bonus point system is becoming extremely important. We lost it on a bonus point last year and it shows that home grounds are becoming fortresses. We’re going to have to buck the trend. Only 20% of games away from home are won. We think we can do it.”
Shane Horgan is the only minor injury concern from the squad that defeated the Borders in Donnybrook last time out and Cheika expects the Irish winger to be fit for Friday.
Meanwhile Belfast Harlequins lock Lewis Stevenson has a chance of winning his first Ulster cap before moving to Exeter Chiefs next season. The 23-year-old development player is named in a 24-man squad for the first time for Friday’s final game of the season against Edinburgh at Ravenhill on Friday.
Stevenson is cover for the highly-rated youngster Ryan Caldwell who picked up an ankle injury in the disappointing defeat by Glasgow in Belfast two weeks ago.
Under pressure coach Mark McCall has also named four props and three hookers for the match with the likelihood of Simon Best, who is due to lead Ireland to Argentina later this month, and his brother Rory, sitting out the game.
Connacht coach Michael Bradley has made four changes as well as two positional switches to his side, for their final match of the season with Llanelli Scarlets on Friday at Stradey Park (7.10pm).
John Hearty, Peter Durcan, Michael Swift and Ray Hogan return to the starting line up in place of Darren Yapp, Paul Warwick, Ray Ofisa and Stephen Knoop. Yapp is named among the replacements along with Connacht’s two members of the Irish U20 Six Nations grand slam winning side, Aidan Wynne and Andrew Browne. Daniel Riordan and Gavin Duffy exchange places with Duffy moving to outside centre and Riordan moving to full back. David Gannon moves from the second row to blindside flanker for the first time as Michael Swift moves into the second row, with Ray Ofisa omitted due to a trial with the Samoan national team.
D Riordan; J Hearty, G Duffy, M McHugh, C McPhillips; P Durcan, C Keane; B Wilkinson, J Fogarty (C), R Hogan; M Swift, A Farley; D Gannon, J Muldoon, C Rigney.
Replacements: A Flavin, R Loughney, D McGowan, A Browne, A Wynne, T Robinson, D Yapp.
Backs: G Easterby, P O’Donohoe, C Whitaker, F Contepomi, C Warner, G D’Arcy, S Horgan, K Lewis, D Hickie, R Kearney, G Dempsey, L Fitzgerald.
Forwards: R Corrigan, C Healy, W Green, S Wright, B Blaney, B Jackman, O Finegan, T Hogan, M O’Kelly, C Jowitt, S Keogh, K Gleeson, J Heaslip, S O’Brien.
Backs: K Campbell, I Boss, D Humphreys, P Wallace, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, D Cave, P McKenzie, A Maxwell, T Bowe.
Forwards: J Fitzpatrick, B Young, S Best (c), S Philpott, R Best, D Fitzpatrick, N Brady, J Harrison, T Barker, L Stevenson, R Wilson, S Ferris, B Best, B McMillan.
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