Strauss ruled out for season
The Irish international’s enforced absence leaves Sean Cronin first in line to lead the front row for the forthcoming Heineken Cup ties away to Ospreys and at home to Castres with Aaron Dundon first reserve.
Whatever the finances available for a replacement, Leinster’s hands are not tied by any IRFU regulations surrounding non-Irish qualified players in the position as there are no ‘foreign’ hookers with the four provinces at present.
Ulster’s South-African born Rob Herring is, like Strauss, Irish-qualified.
For Strauss and, indeed, Leinster all that is somewhat secondary right now as player, colleagues and coaches absorb the news that the South African-born hooker faces an extended spell on the sidelines as he addresses his health issues.
The prognosis, it seems, is positive.
“He was in for some routine tests and, in that process, they found out he had a small hole in his heart,” said O’Connor. “It has been there since birth and needs a fairly minor procedure to repair.”
All going well, Strauss will return to competitive action for Leinster next season.
Whether Sean O’Brien is there to share a dressing-room with him is another thing as the Carlow man’s name continues to be linked with a possible move to France.
Not that he would elaborate on that yesterday.
“The negotiation process has started,” was all O’Brien would say. “I’m not dealing with it directly and the powers that be will sort that out in good time hopefully, but I’ve a full year of rugby ahead of me with Leinster as it stands and that’s what I’m concentrating on.”
With Jonathan Sexton already living ‘la vie en France’ and Jamie Heaslip’s name equally prominent on the rumoured wish list of the Gallic money men, it would be in everyone’s interests if all contract talk could cease sooner rather than later.
The belated nature in which some players have had deals agreed has been a cause of some annoyance in recent years but O’Brien seemed confident that progress was being made and that something could be agreed in due course.
“You can see people are aware that other clubs are going to start approaching players so they want to get it dealt with as soon as possible, but in the last year or two people’s contracts have been dealt with around Christmas time.
“So maybe it’s a little earlier this time but that’s no harm, I don’t think.”
As for this Saturday’s pool opener away to the Ospreys, O’Connor is already planning without Lote Tuqiri whose hamstring strain has relegated him to the treatment room since his arrival last month.
Brian O’Driscoll, who sat out last weekend’s loss to Munster with a calf strain, has been rated as 50/50 while Zane Kirchner arrived in Dublin yesterday after his Springbok duties in the Rugby Championship.
The South African may well feature in Wales while O’Brien reported no reaction to the injured arm which delayed his seasonal bow until Thomond Park and Luke Fitzgerald has also come through what was his first start of the campaign.
“We will have to be really close (to Leinster’s best),” said O’Connor of the Ospreys test. “They are a good side. They’ve got five Lions in their forward pack. Their group has been together for a long time.
“They have had some pretty good results against us in the past. We will have to be at the very top of our game to get the result which sets up the pool nicely if you can.”
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