Leinster seek Christmas bonus

LEINSTER have won two from three in their Heineken Cup campaign — but still find themselves down in third place in a pool that could end up needing the calculators to determine quarter-final qualification.

At the halfway stage, Pool Six is a straight three-horse race with treble champions Toulouse on 10 points, double champions Leicester Tigers on nine points, and Leinster on eight — all with two wins in the bank.

Toulouse have pocketed two bonus points and the Tigers one to make all the difference, and veteran Leinster second-rower Malcolm O’Kelly admits the lack of a bonus point in the 28-14 Round Three win over Edinburgh may come back to haunt the Irish province.

O’Kelly, who is eyeing his 60th Heineken Cup appearance at Murrayfield on Saturday, said: “We were in a position at half-time to get a bonus point, but we let the foot come off the pedal a bit. All credit to Edinburgh, they hung on and didn’t give up. They made it difficult for us and good luck to them.

“Hopefully we will put in a similar performance next week and try to get a bonus point. It’s a tough group, and we have to take it one step at a time.”

Heineken man of the match, outside half Felipe Contepomi, added: “We’re disappointed we didn’t get the five points. We know that we need to get three wins out of the next three games, starting with Edinburgh away and then Toulouse at home.

“Our forwards are playing brilliantly, but we need to cut out our errors, because Murrayfield is a tough place to go. We just have to take this win because in the second half our play was poor and we didn’t deserve that fourth try.”

Meanwhile, former Irish scrum-half Guy Easterby has signed a short-term contract with Leinster.

The deal runs until the end of the Heineken Cup pool stages.

Easterby, 36, retired from professional rugby at the end of last season but has featured in all 12 league fixtures for Otley this season, who lie in second place in English National League Division Two.

The former Llanelli and Rotherham star made 59 Leinster appearances between 2004 and 2007 (including 14 in the Heineken Cup) and will be eligible to compete in both the Mag-ners League and Heineken Cup competitions.

Leinster coach Michael Cheika commented: “We are delighted that Guy has agreed to sign a short-term contract with Leinster. Guy has huge experience in the game and was a popular member of the squad up until his retirement, and I have no doubt he will give us the depth in the scrum-half position that we need in this important part of our year.

“He is a proven leader and it is also an added boost that he is familiar with the set-up.

“I would also like to express my thanks to Otley for their understanding and co-operation in facilitating the move.”