Cheika faces wait on injured stars ahead of ‘huge’ derby date

COACH Michael Cheika faces an anxious injury wait as he prepares Leinster for what could be his last game in charge before departing to France next season.

Already, Cheika has lost captain Leo Cullen for Saturday’s Magners League semi-final against old rivals Munster at the RDS, and he is not too happy at the prospect of Gordon D’Arcy, Shaun Berne and Sean O’Brien all having to follow the skipper out of the team.

Berne and O’Brien are given little chance of playing any role, D’Arcy is a doubt and the only hugely positive note yesterday was that Irish out-half Jonathan Sexton should be fit.

Cheika is taking no chances and has named an expanded squad of 30 players to prepare for the game.

Cullen sustained a ‘trauma’ injury to his shoulder in the closing minutes of last weekend’s amazing Magners League victory over Edinburgh but a confident Cheika said he hoped to have him back for the final!

Cheika isn’t unduly concerned at the possible loss of Sexton’s back-up number 10, Berne, especially given the four-star performance by Isa Nacewa in that position last week.

“He (Nacewa) has played plenty of rugby at 10; he’s not an emergency option, he is an option we have. If we need another five eighth, he is somebody we can use,” said the coach.

Cheika recognises that Saturday’s clash is another huge match:

“Coaching Leinster against Munster has been an enlightening experience for me; these big derby matches provide just about everything good you get in the game – even the losses we have had. They invite the same type of emotions because you want to win so much. I hope to bump into Munster again some time soon after I leave; they’re a quality outfit, you always know that you have to battle against them to the very end and that’s what the game is all about.

“We all love to talk about great victories, about winning tournaments but, at the end of the day, come Saturday you just want to have a good go and no team is likely to give you a better run than those chaps,” said Cheika.

After three consecutive victories over Munster, including one at Thomond Park, Cheika refused to be fooled into thinking it will be easy this weekend: “If anything, it will be harder; we can’t think about four in a row or anything like that, the key to these matches is to take them on a one-on-one basis.

“I have no doubt about how intense this game is going to be; every ball, every ruck will be contested very fiercely. Looking at a weakened Munster and the way they played against Cardiff last week, they fought for everything on the ground and it wasn’t pretty but they showed their character.

“If there is one thing we’re aware of it is that we are going to be at our most physical if we hope to win this game.

“We’re only as good as our last game and this weekend will be as intense as anything we have experienced.

“You might think guys are tired, there is the point about busted up bodies at this time of the season but adrenalin is a pretty amazing thing. The players will get up for the game and know exactly what is at stake as well – a place in the final. Both teams want that because they have winning cultures and that’s what we want to make sure we pursue,” he said.

LEINSTER (from)

Forwards: J. Fogarty, C. Healy, M. Ross, C J. van der Linde, S. Wright, T. Hogan, N. Hines, M. O’Kelly, R. Ruddock, D. Ryan, J. Heaslip, S. Jennings (captain), K. McLaughlin, R. Strauss, S. O’Brien, Stephen Keogh.

Backs: S. Berne, G. D’Arcy, G. Dempsey, S. Horgan, R. Kearney, Simon Keogh, I. Madigan, F. McFadden, I. Nacewa, P. O’Donohue, B. O’Driscoll, E. O’Malley, E. Reddan, J. Sexton.