Toulouse game will tie record for Horgan
Horgan looks certain to play a remarkable 127th game for Leinster this weekend, having amassed 238 points (47 tries and a drop goal).
He is one of 12 Irish internationals included in the Leinster squad of 26, all of whom will travel to France to play against three-time champions Toulouse, and the Irish side travel with a spring in their step after taming Leicester Tigers in the RDS last weekend.
Horgan will recall the magnificent quarter-final away victory, a remarkable 41-35 success, so he and his colleagues won’t be in the slightest bit intimidated by this return trip.
Neither is Leinster coach Michael Cheika, who recognises the possible pitfalls while feeling Leinster turned the corner with last week’s victory over Leicester .
“That win last week was important — no, it was crucial. You’ve got to win your home games in this competition, and you’ve got to start well,” he said.
Leinster stood up to the Leicester pack and tackled venomously in every area of the pitch. Cheika admitted that the desire to make up some ground after some disappointing performances was probably crucial.
He said: “We leaked a few silly tries in the game against Llanelli and then let it slip against Ulster as well. It was very much in the mindset that we let ourselves down in those games.”
New defensive coach Kurt McQuilkin was given credit by Cheika for the improvement, who quipped: “One of the biggest things he has brought to this squad is that the guys don’t have to listen to me for 20 minutes before a game, there’s another voice!”
On a more serious note, Cheika paid tribute to McQuilkin: “Firstly, I’d say he came into the set-up with a lot of respect from the players; he’s a hands-on figure with a lot of the guys and he fits in very well with what we want to do within the squad.
“He gets the players thinking about what they want to do, what they have to do, not just doing it without putting that thought into it; not just thinking for themselves, but putting a bit of understanding into the whole effort.”
Cheika will have to plan without the services of Stephen Keogh this weekend — the blindside flanker will be out with a hand injury for up to three more weeks. In the meantime, Cheika is experimenting by playing two recognised number sevens, Shane Jennings and Keith Gleeson together.
A few weeks back he allowed them roam between open and blind side and accepted that it didn’t quite work to his satisfaction. Last week, with Jennings at six and Gleeson seven, he was much happier, although he did pay tribute to the role that Jamie Heaslip played between them at eight.
“It’s something I would like to have available to me, two great players playing in the same side, but we still have to find the right balance, and we haven’t been given much time to get everyone thinking on the same wavelength now that Stephen has been ruled out,” he said.
Cheika isn’t fooled by two of Toulouse’s recent performances, narrow wins over Dax and Edinburgh in the French Championship and Heineken Cup respectively.
He is placing far more importance on the Toulouse display against Stade Francais and the comprehensive win they enjoyed in that game a couple of weeks ago, and is in little doubt that with home advantage they won’t be easily overturned.
“I’ve tried to profile every game they played, but there is a lot of assessment to be done in the next few days. They have so many players of high quality; they have strong units as well, and it’s going to be a very difficult task to pick out weaknesses in the side.
“They maul a lot so they’re going to attack us up front, as Leicester did. But Toulouse, I feel, are better at changing their style of play and the point of their attacks. Basically, you just can’t afford to let them get into any sort of stride.
“It’s going to be a very interesting challenge.”
LEINSTER (squad): Forwards. O. Le Roux, S. Wright, B. Blaney, B. Jackman, J. F. Gomez, S. Knoop, L. Cullen, C. Jowitt, M. O’Kelly, K. McLaughlin, K. Gleeson, J. Jennings, J. Heaslip.
Backs. C. Whitaker, C. Willis, F. Contepomi, J. Sexton, C. Warner, M. Berne, L. Fitzgerald, R. Kearney, G. D’Arcy, B. O’Driscoll (captain), S. Horgan, G. Brown, G. Dempsey.
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