Wizards of Oz

Wallaby lock JUSTIN HARRISON throws the spotlight on the Australian influence in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup semi-final – and reveals Michael Cheika’s pugilistic prowess.

MICHAEL CHEIKA and Alan Gaffney will need to be at their most innovative to guide Leinster to victory over Munster in tomorrow’s Croke Park semi-final.

Munster’s Australian coaches Tony McGahan and Laurie Fisher have built on the strengths laid down by Declan Kidney before he took over the Ireland squad. They may not play the most attractive rugby in the world, but the red-shirted guys are highly effective. The way they won the last Magners League game between the teams makes them hot favourites.

All the Australians are hugely respected in the world of rugby. I first came across Cheika in Sydney grade rugby when playing for Canberra. The contests were always interesting to say the least.

I was a young guy trying to make my mark and Cheika was an older, well-established three-quarter. He was also pretty handy with his right and left and sometimes the clashes were more of a hand contest than playing ability. We have both moved on since those days when he played for Randwick, one of the best club teams in Australia.

Cheika showed then he had a good knowledge of the game and he got the best out in a career which also saw him have a stint in Italian club rugby. He has now certainly progressed into a well-respected and astute coach. I am a little surprised because he is also a successful businessman and only went into coaching at first to continue his involvement in rugby.

Cheika’s success at Leinster, however, has seen him take his sporting career in another direction. At first he was helped by David Knox, a comrade from his Randwick days, and he has now involved Gaffney, or “Ruffus’ as he is known in Australian rugby circles.

Gaffney is a great character and is very well respected by all players who have come under his wing. He has been at the forefront of rugby coaching for a good while now. His work at ACT Brumbies marked him out as one of the best. At the time the moves were leading the way in rugby.

Cheika has chosen well in recruiting Gaffney and also used his Australian connections to bring on board two Wallaby counterparts in flanker Rocky Elsom and scrum-half Chris Whitaker.

Everyone said in Australia that Whitaker’s best days were behind him, but he has shown for Leinster that he has the ability and desire to play big-time rugby.

Elsom is on a sabbatical from the Wallabies, but his form has been so good in the last few months that the Australians are very keen on getting him back on board for the upcoming Tri-Nations. He is the leading back rower in world rugby at the moment and is very good at galvanising performances for any team he plays for. His all-action performance against Harlequins was right up there and typical of his robust style. He is at the peak of his powers.

The Australians at Munster are a little bit of an unknown quantity to me. Tony McGahan comes from a mixed rugby background of union and league in Brisbane. He played professionally for the Broncos at scrum-half and also worked at one of Australia’s most famous rugby-playing schools of St Joseph’s Nudgee College . From there he graduated to coach the Australian schoolboys and then to work in Japanese club rugby. He seems a quiet achiever and has won respect at Munster by the way he backed up Declan Kidney. He came over as the defence coach three years ago and has ended up the main man.

Laurie Fisher is another character from Australian rugby. He made his name when working behind the scenes at ACT Brumbies and eventually became the No 1 coach. He has struck up a good relationship with McGahan from their work in Australian youth rugby. He is a good motivator and is known to be a good man manager.

The Croke Park semi-final will be a big test for the pair – perhaps the biggest of their careers. Munster may have won the Magners League game recently but this Heineken Cup tie will be a very different game.

Munster are still favourites. As I have said they are not a pretty team but highly effective. Whenever they get inside the opponent’s half they seem to get on the scoreboard one way or another.

And Cardiff must be favourites to beat Leicester at the Millennium Stadium in the other semi-final. So it’s a Munster-Cardiff final at Murrayfield on May 23.