Leinster prepare to defend crown
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:11
Michael Cheika has announced a dynamic Leinster squad to start the defence of their Magners League title against the Cardiff Blues at Arms Park this Saturday.
Fresh from a good pre-season which has seen the defending champions win three from three concluding in last weekend's 48-19 victory over the Reds, all eight try-scorers that day are included in Saturday's squad.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's clash, Leinster coach Michael Cheika said this week his side would be working on weaknesses which became evident during their Reds match.
"It has been a good build up. Winning is an important habit to get into and I think that we were perhaps a little bit apprehensive because we didn't have that same form this time last year," Cheika told leinsterrugby.ie.
"Obviously there's a building process going on in the lead up to the season, but I don't think that we were as secure as we needed to be [last weekend]. That gives us something to work on because we know that Cardiff are capable of playing a hard-working, strong-running and offloading game.
"I felt we were able to get a few players out there and it was pleasing that we could maintain the same level. You don't like to leak tries. What we're doing this week is prioritising the areas that didn't go right and move on from there.
"In the context of where we are, it was a good run-out for the guys."
Cheika took inventory of his player resource, and apart from Springbok CJ van der Linde's suspension and a couple other fitness nuances, all looks bright on the Leinster front.
"Isa [Nacewa] is a quality player and he brings a lot of versatility to the team. We were able to play three different flyhalves in the Reds game, which is good, but it's also tough because you've got to choose one!
"I think Fergus McFadden has done well in the [pre-season] trials this year. He has been secure in his role and he has worked on the things that he probably didn't do as well in Italy. Sean O'Brien was very good as well while Luke [Fitzgerald] did some good things too, so we've got more young players that we will probably need to give a run to further down the track.
"We have a bit of a problem at tight-head with CJ [Van der Linde] getting suspended, Stan Wright has an injury and Stephen Knoop being ill in the build up to last weekend. Ronan McCormack did a great job against the Reds, but we'll just have to assess things and move on from there," he added.
Looking ahead to their Magners League opener, Cheika considers Leinster's opposition whom he feels amongst other attributes, boast a stout forward pack.
"They [Cardiff Blues] had a big win last weekend [43-13] against Northampton and it's always tough down there. So it's a matter of how we set ourselves up as a team, then the strategy that we take into the game.
"We need to be better in our defence than we were on Saturday. But it was good that players are starting to get into the routine of playing 60, 70 and 80 minutes. The bench showed that they came on with good qualities, which was also encouraging.
"Cardiff has a strong pack - even without Xavier Rush - with the likes of Martyn Williams, Gethin Jenkins and Paul Tito. They also have quality backs. Last Friday they were able to play two totally different teams in the first and second halves and both teams could easily have played at Magners League level.
"That's something we'll have to deal with so we've got to be smart and we've got to be hungry," Cheika added.
The Leinster matchday 22 will be announced at midday on Friday.
Leinster squad:
Backs: Chris Whitaker, Chris Keane, Paul O'Donohoe, Jonathan Sexton, Felipe Contepomi, Brian O'Driscoll, Gary Brown, Shane Horgan, Luke Fitzgerald, Isa Nacewa, Fergus McFadden, Rob Kearney, Simon Keogh, Eoin O'Malley, Girvan Dempsey
Forwards: Cian Healy, Stephen Knoop, Ronan McCormack, Bernard Jackman, Brian Blaney, John Fogarty, Cameron Jowitt, Malcolm O'Kelly, Devin Toner, Trevor Hogan, Stephen Keogh, Shane Jennings, Sean O'Brien, Kevin McLaughlin, Jamie Heaslip
Date: Saturday, September 6
Venue: Arms Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 18.30 (17.30 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Macpherson (Scotland)
Touch judges: David Bodilly (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
Television match official: Tony Rowlands (Wales)
