One of these days Michael Cheika is going to be asked about a Brian O'Driscoll performance or, better still, a match-winning try. Until then his captain's utterances and movements off the pitch remain a greater source of attention, although Cheika was yesterday understandably keener to dwell on the possibility of O'Driscoll being back in time for the December rounds of the Heineken European Cup.
The furore generated by O'Driscoll's flirtation with Biarritz having abated, the Leinster captain admits in his recently published 2005 diary entitled A Year In The Centre that his game has stagnated at Leinster in the last couple of years.
Reflecting on Declan Kidney's departure on April 6th, amid general praise for his one-time World under-19 Cup-winning coach, O'Driscoll noted it was "perhaps . . . for the best", before adding candidly: "In all honesty I have scarcely learned a thing, technically, at Leinster for a couple of years now. My game hasn't progressed as I would have liked. I'm just honing old skills and maintaining fitness levels."
Stating his desire for a "brilliant and innovative technical coach", and "someone like (Leicester's) Pat Howard", O'Driscoll's response to the appointment of Cheika and David Knox was to write that Knox "had the reputation of being a very innovative operator with the backs in the mould of Pat Howard, so I am hopeful".
Needless to say, Cheika says that "anything which has happened in the past is something you'd have to go over with him", but maintained that "in the time we've had with Brian in our fitness and skills sessions, and we always get feedback off our players, he's been nothing but happy with the way things are going.
"The involvement he's had to date has been very positive and I've felt a good bond with him, on and off the pitch, to be honest. I'm genuinely really happy with the way he's going and he could be back sooner than we hoped.
"I think December is a realistic target for him now. He's getting hungry, he's getting a taste for it," added Cheika enthusiastically, citing the Connacht-Leinster game in Galway on December 3rd as a possible comeback for his convalescing captain, and thus putting O'Driscoll in the frame for the back-to-back European Cup games against Bourgoin over the subsequent weekends.
Hence, a win over Glasgow in Hughenden this Sunday, coupled with the impending return of their talismanic centre and others on a lengthy injury list, would lift much of the gloom arising from last Saturday's defeat to Bath.
In naming an unchanged 25-man squad for next Sunday's game, Cheika expressed the hope that Robert Kearney should recover from the cramp which forced his departure last Saturday, while Malcolm O'Kelly is now a more viable starting option after his half hour in action.
However, the odds must be slightly against Will Green recovering in time from his debilitating chest infection, and likewise Eric Miller being added to the squad today after his troublesome ankle ligament injury is examined again. O'Kelly apart, there might not be many changes therefore.
Maintaining that the performance against Bath was one of their best this season to date, Cheika highlighted the improvement in Leinster's continuity play, though there was scope to build more phases, and defence, both in allignment and "our tackle zone work".
Against that were their problems in the lineout, "discipline with the referee" and option-taking, especially with regard to finishing off opportunities. Rather than lament the myriad of potential turning points, Cheika stressed: "I know it sounds a bit clichéd, but we are building a new team and new way of playing, and I always said there would be pain in achieving those new goals, and that was painful."
Reflecting on his team's pursuit of a match-winning try rather than an equalising drop goal in that frantic endgame, Cheika restated his belief that they looked well capable of scoring that try. "I know there was one moment when Darce dropped back into the pocket, and I wouldn't have been complaining if they took it, but at the same time I won't be complaining that they didn't."
Ciarán Potts stated that "there is no point in dwelling on the negatives of our defeat". Brian O'Riordan, commenting on the partisan support from the 13,000-plus RDS crowd, arguably the best since Leinster won the inaugural Celtic League four years ago, agreed that "the atmosphere was excellent. The pitch is a bit heavier than Donnybrook but it's nice and wide, which suits us, and all in all the move to the RDS looks like a good one."
Looking ahead to Sunday against Glasgow whose consistent style of play he admired, Cheika cited their ill-luck in a 16-3 defeat to Bourgoin. "They did a lot of good things down there. They used the full width of the pitch, as they did against us, and so you've got to realign well in defence to counter that."
Chris Horsman is set to make his Wales debut next month after avoiding a lengthy ban. Horsman collected a three-week suspension when he appeared before RFU disciplinary chiefs for stamping on a Leeds forward.
Springboks Victor Matfield and Os du Randt have also escaped bans for fighting in the Currie Cup final last weekend and will be able to play in next month's Tests against Argentina, Wales and France.
