BOD return helps Schmidt beat the Monday blues

Usually the weekends bring the good vibes and Mondays the backdraft of depression but the status quo was turned on its head for Leinster yesterday with some welcome snippets of positive news to help banish their Saturday night blues.

It started with the sight of Brian O’Driscoll walking across campus at UCD towards Leinster’s Rosemount training pitch for his first on-field training session since surgery to an injured ankle back in October.

Luke Fitzgerald, another casualty, has been taking part in prep work for a number of weeks and coach Joe Schmidt revealed that Rob Kearney may be fit enough to join them next week.

All three may yet play some part in January’s European action.

It was also confirmed that Richardt Strauss damaged his medial ligament in the defeat to Clermont Auvergne but because he didn’t do similar to his arterial means he will miss only four weeks rather than five months.

Add in the prognosis on Isa Nacewa’s arm and Shane Jennings (shoulder) — neither serious, though both are doubtful for the weekend — and Eoin O’Malley’s uneventful return from injury in Sunday’s A game against Jersey, and Schmidt could afford to smile, if briefly.

Until the pain of their loss three days ago returned.

“I have never seen such a glum bunch of faces as trooped back into that dressing room and showed up today,” he said. “A champion team shows what it is made of when it is down and that is what we have to try and do this Friday in Ulster — demonstrate that we can bounce back, that we have character and the steel of individuals in the team.”

Who knows, but that Pro12 game up the M1 may be just the antidote, given it is a derby against a side a dozen points higher than them in a competition whose importance has assumed even greater proportions since Saturday.

Fortunately, then, Schmidt seems to have caught Declan Kidney in a rather seasonal mood when the pair touched base on Sunday, with the Ireland coach willing to loosen the bounds on the use of international players. No doubt Schmidt’s injury updates helped.

“I had a really good chat with Declan and there was a fair bit of horse trading, which is a really positive thing. Once upon a time it was very black and white. There are shades of grey, although there are still a few untouchables.

“He is probably conscious, too, that there are guys who haven’t played a massive amount so far that are in that national squad and who probably need game time as much as they do rest.”

Meanwhile, Sean Cronin insists he is happy at Leinster despite speculation that he could be on the verge of agreeing a return to Connacht.

The 26-year-old played 65 times for the western province during his three years at the Sportsground before his switch two summers ago. Almost half of his 34 appearances have come from the bench but the Limerick forward is guaranteed more game time in the next month as a result of the knee injury suffered by Strauss.

“That’s all speculation,” he said of the Connacht rumours at yesterday’s Ulster Bank Rugby Force launch.

“I don’t know what my future is at the moment but I’m happy and I’m enjoying my life here at Leinster. I love Dublin. I’m in contract negotiations at the moment with the IRFU and Leinster so we’ll see how things pan out in the next couple of weeks.”