O’Connell: No major surgery of squad needed

MUNSTER captain Paul O’Connell believes Leinster have the quality his province must aspire to if they are to emerge from the doldrums and reclaim their place among Europe’s best.

With Leinster, for so long the junior partner in Irish professional rugby, now having reached a second Heineken Cup final in three seasons, O’Connell has called on his team to rebound from the bitter disappointment of their Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final defeat last weekend. That process starts in tomorrow night’s Magners League clash with Connacht at Thomond Park (7.05pm).

The 20-12 loss to Harlequins in Limerick has sent shockwaves through the province with management, players and fans at a loss to explain what went wrong during a disastrous 80 minutes at Thomond last Saturday.