Fritz says D’Arcy is key man

TOULOUSE and France centre Florian Fritz believes Gordon D’Arcy — and not Brian O’Driscoll — is the key man in Leinster’s acclaimed backline.

The Heineken Cup champions come to Dublin knowing they must produce the performances of the season if they are to upset their Aviva Stadium hosts on Saturday.

And 27 year-old Fritz is adamant that 31-year-old D’Arcy- is the player they must negate to remain in the hunt to retain their crown.

He explained: “D’Arcy is much less highlighted than O’Driscoll but he creates a huge amount of gaps for O’Driscoll to exploit.

“He does a lot of his work in the shadows and does a huge amount of work offensively and defensively.”

The three-time European Champions enter Saturday’s game after a 33-0 win over Bourgoin last weekend, a result that booked their safe passage into the Top 14 semi-finals. It’s also prompted renewed talk of a potential European and domestic double in France – something coach Guy Noves has claimed was “impossible”.

However Fritz insisted he and his teammates would not be looking beyond next Saturday’s match.

“We’ll just be concentrating on what’s ahead of us. On paper, it’s not mission impossible but to talk about it would be presumptuous. You can certainly feel the tension in the days leading up to (the game) but it’s a good type of tension. All year long we play tough matches that can at times come close to these types of games in the European Cup.”

More than 4,000 visiting supporters are expected in Dublin this weekend, with the Toulouse team and management due in the capital this evening.