Stars return for Brive battle
As Fitzgerald begins a crucial part of rehab after rupturing knee tendons, Leinster’s head coach Michael Cheika yesterday announced a clean bill of health except for South African prop CJ van der Linde (calf muscle strain).
That means Jonathan Sexton is back to full health after breaking his hand in Ireland’s victory against South Africa in November and that Shane Jennings, back from suspension, is straining at the leash to get his first game in 13 weeks.
It’s the ideal pick-me-up for a coach left kicking his heels after successive postponements in the Magners League.
“It has been difficult even for training because the fields haven’t been the greatest but we somehow seem to have got through without missing any days. We had a bit of contact work today and everyone was champing at the bit to get stuck in, so that’s always a bit of good fun and pretty positive,” he said.
Of course, the postponement of last week’s clash with Glasgow Warriors was something he could have done without. Both Sexton and Jennings would have featured. The coach has named a squad of 25 players, 14 forwards and 11 backs, from which he will name 23 players on Friday – the two to lose out seem certain to be Simon Keogh and Ronan McCormack.
Shane Horgan, who became only the second Leinster player to pass the 25-try mark in Europe alongside Brian O’Driscoll, is back in the squad having been rested for the aborted fixture against Glasgow, and both Sexton and Cian Healy will make their 50th appearances for the province in a side that welcomes back captain Leo Cullen.
Cheika emphasised the danger of underestimating this Brive outfit that has made impressive headway in the French Championship since the sides last met.
“This is a very different team to the one we played in October. In their last four games, they’ve beaten Toulouse and Perpignan and they’ve had an away win in the snow down in Albi.
“They’ve got a much more engaging philosophy now. They are much more forward-orientated: a lot of mauling, a lot of aggression and very hard on the ground. The two new coaches down there have obviously put their own stamp on it because they are much more competitive in the combat area. That’s something we are very mindful of,” he said.
The Australian won’t even drop guard should Brive send less than a full-strength side to Dublin to allow the club to concentrate on making up some remaining ground to move into the top four in France.
“I don’t know if they will do that; it depends, although I don’t think that will interest them because sometimes the performance, even though it won’t mean anything to the European campaign, is important to the rest of a season, in terms of the confidence they could generate at what is a crucial stage of the season for them.
“If we remember back to the Castres match we played down in France last year, they defeated us and it was a bit of a catalyst for their climb up the table when they were running second last.”
Meanwhile Brian O’Driscoll has won the prestigious Rugby Union Writers’ Club (RUWC) Pat Marshall Memorial Award as the sport’s outstanding personality for 2009.
British and Irish Lions head coach Ian McGeechan is also honoured, receiving the RUWC’s discretionary Special Award for services to rugby.
The awards was presented in London last night, although O’Driscoll has sent a video message from Dublin where he is preparing for Leinster’s Heineken Cup clash.
O’Driscoll, 30, has been recognised for a triumphant season in which he conquered Europe with Ireland, who won the Grand Slam under his leadership for the first time in 61 years, and with Leinster in the Heineken Cup.
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