Cheika turns attention to return 'battle' in Castres

LEINSTER COACH Michael Cheika brushed aside suggestions that Leinster's 33-3 victory at the RDS has been tinged with the disappointment of not securing a bonus point. Instead the Australian recalibrated his sights, dwelling on what lies ahead for the Irish province when the visit Stade Pierre Antoine on Friday night.

"The intensity wasn't as high as we would have liked. That can come from dropped ball. Just because we say we want to do it, we can't guarantee that it is going to happen. We have to try as hard as we can. We missed that opportunity this week to bring that intensity to the game; never mind the points result.

"We had a good run against their lineout. We didn't kick as well as we could have done, especially at the start of the game where we could have really used it as an advantage to get down there (Castres 22). They're going to be better next week and could have (Lionel) Nallet back while two of their main lineout jumpers (Steve) Malonga and (Iosefa) Tekori came off the bench. We know it is going to be more difficult.

"It's been teeming with rain all week (in Castres). We are going to be in for a bit of a battle, a forward-orientated one. We prepped for these games as a double header in terms of a team. We have to make sure to know what we are going to (face) and we will start that on Monday.

"We are going there for a real dogfight and it will be a real challenge for us. It's also about big game attitude in terms of going down there (Stade Pierre Antoine) and not as much about tactics. If we weren't creating any opportunities at all then maybe I would be sitting at the table going maybe it wasn't that good. I think that we can have a look at where we can fix some of the things that went wrong."

Cheika indicated that he expected Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll - he went off with a hamstring injury - would be fit for Friday but it seems that may not be the case. Fullback Girvan Dempsey, once again the epitome of defensive solidity also picked up a calf injury. The Leinster coach also confirmed he would know today whether the returning injured trio of Shane Jennings, Isa Nacewa and Felipe Contepomi would be fit to make the trip.

For former Irish internationals Mark McCall and Jeremy Davidson, part of Castres coaching team, it was a tough afternoon exacerbated by losing four players on the day to long-term injury.

Davidson in particular offered an interesting insight into Friday's reverse fixture when the French side are likely to field an appreciably stronger team.

"With the injury situation that we have we will be forced to make a few changes. Our main focus is the French championship because we need to get out of the relegation zone. Therefore we will be forced to make changes and we will be looking to build into the Perpignan game before Christmas. We will have quite a few changes for the game on Friday.

"It's a big occasion to have a Heineken Cup match at home and there'll be a good turnout in terms of the crowd. However, the situation is dictated by our focus on the French Championship. In building into the Perpignan game we won't want to go in to that match with a defeat: therefore we are going to have to front up again in Castres and hopefully get a better performance at home.

"Whenever you get a team of the calibre of Leinster who sit atop the group they are not going to take their foot off the pedal and therefore we know we are going to have a tough contest at home.

"It makes it an interesting fixture for us in terms of the Perpignan match."

Two teams looking to improve for very different reasons.