Schmidt confident O’Brien can fill the void
The 2009 Heineken Cup champions are on the cusp of qualification from their difficult pool and could have done with Heaslip’s considerable experience, but Schmidt believes O’Brien will bring enough to help secure a place in the last eight.
On a day when Schmidt reported good news on Jonathan Sexton, Cian Healy and Luke Fitzgerald, all of whom are dealing with injuries, the coach paid tribute to all of the back row forwards currently available.
But he paid particular attention to O’Brien, whose form has been of the top drawer variety over several weeks: “Sean’s a really different player (to Jamie), he’s a bit younger and is probably a rougher diamond to be honest.
“But I really like Sean as a player, and those (players) that have played with him really like what he brings to the table.
“He has a real robustness about him that allows us to get go-forward, whether that is with or without the ball, and he has a massive work ethic. He’ll scramble back and make a cover tackle as much as he’ll go forward and knock a guy back.
“Sean’s also underestimated in other areas; he’s a very good aerial player and he really demonstrated that against Racing Metro, who kicked a fair bit on him at kick-off and he snapped them all up without a problem. He’s quite versatile, he can play anywhere in the back row, and he makes good bread too!”
Schmidt discounted Kevin McLaughlin from the mix as a direct replacement for Heaslip, saying: “I guess at this juncture it would be pretty tough to chuck him in at eight when he hasn’t had the game time.
“I have faith that he can be a good number eight but to have him there this week is not going to happen unless there’s an injury.”
Life without Heaslip may be more difficult, but Schmidt contended his side could and would cope.
“I think through the season we’ve demonstrated confidence in the group we have. With the guys we have got available we’ll put together what we think is a competitive group of loose forwards.
“Jamie is Jamie. Really, he’s an incredibly dynamic player and has talismanic appeal when you are selecting a team, but at the same time there are other guys who have done particularly well. I thought we started the first 40 minutes against Ulster, without Jamie, really, really well with a couple of 20-year-olds and a 23-year-old loose forward.
“I guess Jamie came off just after half-time in Clermont and we battled away pretty much in the loose forwards with some pretty good loose forwards against us.
“While we’ve got the utmost respect for the likes of (Ernst) Joubert, (Justin) Melck, (Jacques) Burger and (Andy) Saull (for Saracens), we can’t have too much respect for them, because of the guys we have to replace Jamie.”
Still, Schmidt has been impressed with the way Saracens showed up after three defeats on the bounce to beat Racing Metro in Paris.
“That was a reflection of the unity within the team,” he said. “They showed something to turn around and go to Paris in very difficult conditions and win.
“They had nothing much to gain from winning that game, having lost twice at home and once away. Once you lose your first three games you’re almost out of the pool unless you’re talking mathematically, and yet they went there and won.
“That showed a real desire and unity, and if they bring that to the RDS on Saturday and I think they will, they will be very difficult to get past.”
But while some Leinster fans will be worried at the team’s most recent outing against the Ospreys, Schmidt reckons it was a beneficial exercise.
“There were a fair few changes with guys either not available or not able to play (through injury) over the festive season; we had to reintroduce them against the Ospreys and I suppose they were a bit short of match practice and it showed.
“Hopefully that game has fine tuned them and hopefully the guys will play with the same sort of tenacity as they did against Clermont (Auvergne) at the Aviva.
“The players certainly were carried along by the passion of the support that day, and we certainly hope the same thing happens at the RDS, where it will be a full and rowdy house.”
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