Gibbes confident appointment of referee Pearson won’t faze Leinster

LEINSTER’S Irish internationals won’t hold fond memories of Dave Pearson but players and staff dismissed the significance of his appointment for Saturday’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium.

The Englishman was an official when Ireland were penalised in the Six Nations, particularly at the breakdown, and Declan Kidney subsequently took issue with the decisions he made during the defeat to France. Nine Leinster players started that game, with two more featuring off the bench.

“There are only a certain amount of referees that can ref games, and we drew him,” said Leinster forwards coach Jono Gibbes.

“He’s a good operator and maybe internationally that’s something for Declan to discuss with the appropriate powers but for us in the Heineken that’s the guy we got.”

Gibbes’ nonchalance was echoed by Shane Jennings who played his first full game on his return at the weekend against Aironi. That means, Rob Kearney aside, Leinster approach the weekend’s tussle with the Top 14 leaders and reigning European champions with a clean bill of health.

The defining image of last year’s encounter was Cian Healy being hauled off after just 31 minutes by Michael Cheika after being demolished in the scrum.

Greg Feek’s arrival as specialist scrum coach and Mike Ross’s progress ensures the absence of a repeat this time but Gibbes envisages a brutal afternoon of combat in the trenches.

“Well, they’re French. They measure things by their scrum. We played Clermont, they had a cut at us. We played Racing, and they had a cut at us. They are the big teams in France and I know Toulouse will have a sniff around there for sure.

“They’ve a number of combinations they can throw out. They’ve a couple of young guys who have come through now who are very, very good players. Then you’ve the guys who people don’t give credit to, like Picamoles.

“(Jean) Bouilhou is their runner. (Thierry) Dusautoir is a quality player. They’ve got so many combinations. It’s a really good challenge for our back row because it’s going to be tough, whatever players they put out.”

Another of their potential starters in that sector is the South African Shaun Sowerby who lined out alongside Dusautoir and Bouilhou last Saturday for the 33-0 evisceration of the already-relegated Bourgoin that sealed Toulouse’s place in the domestic semi-finals.

The former Springbok also put in a 72-minute shift during last year’s 10-point semi-final win and spoke admiringly of the Irish province yesterday, describing them as one of the few “complete sides” in Europe.