O'Kelly relishing Munster clash

Malcolm O'Kelly believes Leinster's Heineken Cup title charge has proved their pack is no longer the weak link - and he is ready for his claim to be tested by Munster in their all-Irish semi-final.

For years Leinster's forwards have been overshadowed by their glittering backline while Munster's strength up front has produced unfavourable comparisons.

But Michael Cheika's side have been given the perfect opportunity to silence their critics with a mouth-watering showdown against their great rivals in three weeks time.

Leinster dispatched favourites Toulouse 41-35 at Le Stadium yesterday to register one of the most remarkable results in the tournament's history and set up the Lansdowne Road collision.

Toulouse were overwhelmed, with the scoreline, disjointed by two injury-time tries from Yannick Nyanga and Yannick Jauzion, masking Leinster's superiority.

And while the backs supplied three of their four tries, it was the pack's bone-crunching effort that laid the foundation for a stunning victory.

O'Kelly insists Leinster's Heineken Cup run has been fuelled by their much-maligned forwards and warned Munster they are not the soft touch up front their reputation suggests.

"We had some stars in the backline but from one to eight we were fantastic," he said. "We stood up to the pressure and were very good at the lineout. We provided the platform we wanted and scored some wonderful tries.

"Our backline is the best in Europe when they're on form but the reason we're here is because our pack has stood up to the likes of Bath, Bourgoin and now Toulouse. We're delighted with the way it's worked out and got our just reward against Toulouse."

Brian O'Driscoll, Cameron Jowitt, Denis Hickie and Shane Horgan touched down at Le Stadium but Argentina fly-half Felipe Contepomi was the master of ceremonies.

While Leinster's pack shone - particularly the back row of Jowitt, Jamie Heaslip and Keith Gleeson - it was Contepomi who ran the show with his 21-point kicking haul well deserved.

Toulouse had won their last 17 home Heineken Cup matches and O'Kelly, Ireland's most capped player, admitted defeating the French heavyweights was a special moment.

"I've been very fortunate in my career, winning Triple Crowns with Ireland. But yesterday was massive for Leinster in terms of getting the monkey off our backs by winning in France," he said. "There's no better place to win than in Toulouse, home of the most successful team in Europe. We believed in ourselves and showed the desire we had to win the game.

"It's great to be involved with Leinster at the moment. We still have a lot to do but beating Toulouse was a fantastic achievement. At the start of the season we were all over the place with new coaches arriving and we weren't sure whether players would stay. But we've managed to gel very well.

"This has given us great confidence and belief. A performance like this gives us the conviction that we can win the tournament."

With Irish representation in the final guaranteed, yesterday's results put a welcome dent in Anglo-French domination of the Heineken Cup.

Munster booked their trip to Lansdowne Road in three weeks time with a battling 19-10 victory over Perpignan in a match that never lived up to expectation.

Try-scoring lock Paul O'Connell said: "Our performance was far from vintage, but I suppose that's the way it is when you haven't played together for so long - it's maybe 10 weeks since that full team has played together.

"We're happy to get the job done and get the win, but it needs to be a lot better when we play Leinster, no doubt about it. The semi-final should be a brilliant day. Leinster are playing some fabulous rugby at the moment and they're very confident.

"It will be a massive occasion and everyone will be looking forward to it."