Biarritz the ideal platform for Costello to prove his point

Individually and collectively, Leinster players have much to motivate them in Biarritz tomorrow. Faced with the prospect of their season ending with the full-time whistle or reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since the Heineken Cup's inaugural year is one thing, most of them being relegated to virtual also-rans behind their Munster counterparts at national level another. Come kick-off, most might feel they have a point to prove.

Being left out of international squads, of course, is nothing new to Victor Costello, who missed the 30-man cut for next week's final Irish get-together before the opening Six Nations squad is named. Even making the initial 44 was a relative slap on the back after 18 months of slaps in the face.

Yet previously he had been consistently in favour. Since being recalled against Canada in 1997, he had won the last 17 of his 22 caps in succession, starting in all bar two of Warren Gatland's first 14 games in charge. However, since being replaced in the first test of the 1999 summer tour to Australia in Brisbane, he had been left out in the cold so long that he had to be defrosted when recalled for the Ireland A win over South Africa last November.

"I'm disappointed obviously but maybe they're looking at some different way of playing the Italians," says Costello in self-consolation. Besides, featuring in that A win over the South Africans represents "a step forward" this season.

He says he trained harder than ever over the summer, that his weight of 114kg is his lowest in four or five years. "They're facts. Reputation might be something else, but they're facts. This weekend is all important.

"The way I'm looking at it is last year I was knocking on the door but not getting anywhere and this year I'm a step closer. But the Irish team is doing very well and I don't want a situation where they have to lose in order for me to get in, because you also want to be in when they're doing well.

"So it's kind of a Catch 22 situation, but on the other hand Leinster, apart from the other night (against Edinburgh Reivers) is a great standard to have - to draw with Edinburgh Reivers and still be depressed and yet still top of the group.

"Two or three years ago one win out of any of those games and we'd have been happy with our season. That's the way the standard has risen with all the provinces. I'm disappointed not to be in the Irish squad." In truth the tide had turned against Costello in the English game at Lansdowne Road two seasons ago. Neil Back and co had been the first to twig that the best way of preventing Costello from gaining momentum was to tackle him low and early. England read Ireland and Costello like an open book that day.

At their only open session the English back-row defended ad nauseum against John Mitchell picking up "Costello ball" and when Saturday came a frustrated Costello overcooked the tactic. That day lingered into the tour of Australia, by the end of which the Irish management had taken a dim view of Costello's poor workrate without the ball.

Phenomenal athlete though the Barcelona olympian is, few players polarise opinion quite like Big Vic. His form for Leinster has been excellent and privately Leinster are disappointed for him and Reggie Corrigan, arguing that if nothing else he'd surely be a huge impact weapon off the bench. His detractors regard him as a bit of a one-trick pony and point to his defence and lack of work-rate

"People see what they want to see. I believe I have certainly improved that aspect of my game. I've worked and talked about it with Matt (Williams). No-one has got by me off the scrum this year. My close-in defence has been better and I'm more aware of making runs off the ball.

"I had a long chat with Eddie (O'Sullivan) at the start of the season because I wanted to wash the slate clean. Ultimately you want to play for your country and it hurts, no matter how hard you prepare for it, even if you know in advance, it hurts when you're not named in a squad. And he spoke to me after the Northampton game and said it had improved. Then I got into the A team and I hope I'm at least still at that level."

Matt Williams' loyalty to him as been a vital lifeline, one he is desperate to repay, and Costello has as much of a mental hangover as any Leinster player from last Friday, when his failure to control the game's last scrum ultimately led to the Reivers' equalising penalty.

"I didn't spend one minute not thinking about it over the weekend," he admits. "We wanted the scrum to move right and the ball to come to my right, but unfortunately the scrum tweaked left and the ball came out to the far left where I couldn't get my feet to it. It was just a bit of a freak thing."

Tomorrow offers a chance for redemption all round. "I think we're very anxious in training. People are a little bit giddy in training. They know they can win. It's not a case of Irish passion and kick it up in the air and hope for the best. We know we can win this game, we know how to win this game, it's just a matter of going out and doing it. And that's as simple as it is."