Cheika and men intent on cultural evolution

Gerry Thornley reports from the Basque country, where the Leinster squad are embracing change

Defensive drills on the beach adjacent to nudist sunbathers; philosophical discussions about bullfighting; the cultural experience of the Dax festival; debutants galore, including one who gets his Leaving Cert results today. It has been an unusual start to the 2006-2007 campaign for Leinster, who play Dax this evening.

Whereas Munster and Ulster have stayed at home and don't play pre-season friendlies until next week, Leinster at one point had intended going to Portugal but the added allure of a more cultural experience - ie, the Dax fête - and a proper match of sorts, swayed them toward the southwest of France.

Altogether, with the arrival today of the Ireland frontliners after pre-season conditioning in Poland last week, a squad of 44 plus the entire management will set up in Dax this week. Coach Michael Cheika has likened the operation to moving an army.

The battery of surfboards on the carousel in Biarritz airport was an indication of one of the main local attractions, and on arrival last Sunday the advance party headed to Soustons beach for a mixture of surfing and a defensive session. Locating themselves away from the crowds, they parked themselves next to a couple of unoccupied towels and went to work. When the sunbathers returned, au naturel, they looked suitably nonplussed.

Cheika has been impressed with the intensity and keenness of his squad to work. "We've worked hard and we've taken a slightly different philosophy to the coaching. I think (with) the experience of last year probably the biggest improvers in the squad will be the coaches. I definitely will be; I've learnt so much from last year," he said.

Describing it as an evolution more than a change, Cheika talks of more work off the field, greater intensity in training, specifically on individual technique, and an accent on physical preparation, while he also sees this week as more of a bonding exercise than might have happened had they stayed home.

All the Irish frontliners are unavailable until the fifth week of the Celtic League, while Leinster's players in Ireland's Churchill Cup campaign will also be kept back until the home friendly against London Irish on Friday week. So it will be a young side that takes the field this evening, albeit including some high-profile new arrivals like the former Wallabies Chris Whitaker and Owen Finegan.

Also starting will be Harry Vermass, the ex-Bulls and South African under-21 prop, whose versatility is such he can pack down all across the front row and throw at lineout time. Alongside him will be Bernard Jackman and Will Green.

Adam Byrnes and Des Dillon will be in the second row, and the back row will comprise Finegan, Stephen Keogh and Niall Ronan, who assumes the club captaincy from Guy Easterby and will lead the side here. Whitaker will partner Chris Warner at halfback.

Another interesting debutant is summer signing Michael Byrne, of Irish extraction and younger brother of Bath's Australian centre Seán. He will be partnered by Stephen Grissing, with Gary Browne, Ross McCarron at fullback and Luke Fitzgerald forming an exciting and indigenous, if callow, battery of outside backs.

Fitzgerald has long been saddled with the tag of next great white hope of Irish back play, though it seems to sit easily on his shoulders, and his debut also coincides with his Leaving Cert results.

"He's come into the group and he's integrated himself fairly well with his enthusiasm and motivation, but he's also got a very dedicated personality," said Cheika.

That much was underlined by the sight of Fitzgerald among the stragglers of those in the "second" training group taking part in kicking practice at 10am, having been part of the "first" group, which began training in the Stade Maurice-Boyru before 7am in near darkness.

All told, Cheika intends using all of the 25 players who are fit and available to him, with Easterby, Reggie Corrigan and Fosi Pala'amo, the Samoan 30-year-old prop who has been training with Leinster after moving from Garryowen to Blackrock and has lost about 20 kilos in pre-season training, Rob Sweeney and Ciarán Potts among those on the bench.

Andy Dunne is also in the party, having ended his stint at Bath with a year to run on his contract and is effectively "on trial" with his native province again.

"Our first objective will be our game fitness. That will be the priority, and the clear issues we'll be concentrating on will be our setpieces, our restarts, the breakdown and defence. We've changed our defensive strategy a little bit. We leaked too many points last year," said Cheika, in reference to the third-worst defensive record in the Celtic League (albeit with the most prolific scoring). To this end Leinster are working harder on their tackling technique, a modified alignment and a "changed language".

As it also marks the culmination of the Dax festival, a crowd of about 8,000 is expected in the Stade Maurice-Boyru. Given no one, but no one, these past five days wears anything but red and white, it should make for a colourful scene.

Dax have had a couple of friendlies, drawing 24-24 with Bayonne and losing 12-21 to La Rochelle. Having missed promotion to the Top 14 in the Pro D2 play-off final by 12-8 to Albi, and since signed eight new players (an average turnover in France admittedly) Dax will probably be fairly pumped up.

At least it makes a diversion from the bullfighting, normally the nightly centrepiece of festivals in the Basque country. This has prompted heated debate among the Leinster management, conscientious objectors having to concede that despite the odds, having a cut off a matador or three, sometimes with a couple more spear-throwers on horseback, is preferable to being sent straight to the abattoir. The bulls might argue for a third option.

Be that as it may, Leinster are supposed to be the sacrificial offering this evening, though the result won't be fatal one way or the other.

Connacht continue preparing for their opening game of the Magners League by playing Rotherham next Friday (3 pm) in a pre-season friendly. The English National One side are coached by Andre Bester, formerly of Ulster and Ballymena.