O’Kelly has chance to sign off on a high
Leinster skipper Cullen cut his season short when he opting to undergo surgery this week on the shoulder damaged in the Heineken Cup semi-final defeat to Toulouse.
As Shane Jennings prepares to lead the blues into battle, O’Kelly is a banker to start in the second row alongside Nathan Hines, and he has been given an overwhelming vote of confidence from the coach Michael Cheika.
Coincidentally, it is also the Australian’s last game in charge before he departs to Paris to head up the Stade Francais coaching team next season. Yesterday, as he explained the Cullen situation, he also said he had no worries about O’Kelly’s ability to lift his game to huge heights one last time.
On Cullen, he intimated that it might have been possible for the skipper to play but agreed with the decision to opt for surgery: “We had to realise what he has already given this season and what he has to give again next season so that was an important consideration in the decision to get the job done straight away,” he said.
In placing firm faith in O’Kelly, Cheika added: “It has left the door open for Mal to have one last shot; but he showed he has still plenty left to give in the last match we played together, so I am sure we will see the best from him in this one.”
But Cheika, who confirmed that Sean O’Brien would not be in the squad of 24, expressed some worry about the fitness of Cian Healy, who has been ill for the best part of a week following the semi-final victory over Munster. “It is something we will monitor over the next couple of days,” he said.
Healy could face a race against time and as Cheika is so concerned about possible player burn-out, Leinster will train just one more time before Saturday’s game. Another concern is to have all members of the tight five fit and ready for what he believes will be a huge battle against the Welsh side.
“Ospreys are the most dangerous team in the competition,” he suggested, “look at the speed they have; speed through the calibre of guys like (Tommy) Bowe and (Shane) Williams out wide. Overall, they have an extremely talented back division and they can afford the luxury of playing James Hook in the centre because they have another excellent number 10.
“Their back row too is another huge strong point and (I’m sure) and they will target us in the tight five.”
The coach stressed that, with players retiring and both he and defence coach Kurt McQuilkin moving on, there can be no room for sentiment: “There certainly wasn’t any sentiment at training today, especially when some mistakes were made. We have to divorce ourselves from that because if we knock off for just a couple of minutes against the Ospreys we could pay for it. The message about this game is loud and clear; it’s about winning and nothing else. We have plenty of time to say goodbye afterwards,” he said.
Yet, win or lose, Cheika is proud of his team for their exploits so far this season. “To get to the last weekend of any tournament you have to be proud of yourselves, especially after such a long season. It’s there for us now; it’s a bonus for us to get to a final and get to play at home. But this is all about the performance.”
LEINSTER (from): J Fogarty, C Healy, M Ross, R Strauss, CJ van der Linde, S Wright, N Hines, T Hogan, M O’Kelly, K McLaughlin, J Heaslip, S Jennings (captain), S Keogh.
Backs: G Dempsey, R Kearney, S Horgan, I Nacewa, G D’Arcy, B O’Driscoll, F McFadden, J Sexton, S Berne, E Reddan, P O’Donohue.
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