Head man well groomed for the role

Though the Donnybrook experience has enlivened a fair few wintry Friday nights, it wouldn't be grossly unfair to Leinster to describe them as the relative underachievers of the Irish provincial scene in latter years. This season comes with a promise of livelier fare and more sexy rugby.

The arrival of Matt Williams as backs' coach has been identified as a key factor in the turnaround which did happen last season; he acted as a foil to coach Mike Ruddock's technical expertise with the forwards. Other factors were the selection of Stu Forster and, particularly, Emmet Farrell as half backs.

Now, with Ruddock and Forster departed and Farrell injured, of this quartet only Williams will be on active duty against Connacht on Friday night. He must move from the relatively comfortable zone of assistant to the more pressurised status of coach, and the suddenness of the change was particularly acute for the easygoing 40-year-old Australian.

Taking up head coaching duties around about now was part of his "masterplan", though his original stint as Leinster's assistant was not. A trying finale to his three-year tenure at New South Wales (the Waratahs) and the death of his brother made him wonder about the value of sweating into his pillow about a game of rugby.

He came to Europe to watch the World Cup with a group of friends, and was invited for a cup of coffee with Ruddock and Leinster manager Ken Ging last October and this led directly to his first stint with Leinster.

"The fact that it was only a three-month gig was perhaps the reason I took it. And coming back and coaching without the worries of being a head coach was really invigorating."

Now the baton has been passed to him. His grooming as a coach had begun early. "Well, I was never a great player but I always wanted to be, which I think helped me as a coach. I played (at outhalf) for my home club Eastwood and then joined a quite unfashionable club, Western Suburbs. I did a bit of sports science and coaching as a background, at schools and junior level. So even by the time I retired at 32 I'd already been coaching for six years."

He was invited by John Connolly to assist with the Emerging Wallabies, and went to the '95 World Cup in an official role. Always looking and learning from the likes of Connolly, Bob Dwyer and Alec Evans, he had a year as assistant at the Waratahs and three as head coach. His reign ended with NSW's 39-24 defeat of the touring Ireland side, with the media playing a big part in his demise.

"It was really funny. I come from a really humble background and I just really love the game. At a stage there I was the most mentioned man in the Sydney Morning Herald beyond our Prime Minister. Jeez, I only coach a rugby team! But it didn't worry me. The whole thing was an incredible experience and you've got to come through that fire." Williams points out that the Waratahs were the second highest try scorers (with 32 in 11 matches) in the Super 12s but a place-kicking ratio of 47 per cent in the absence of an injured Matt Burke undid them.

There is, as Williams points out, an unnerving hint of deja vu in first-choice playmaker and kicker Farrell being sidelined for probably the whole campaign with a cruciate knee ligament injury. "Emmy was just magnificent (last season), nothing short of it, and the half-hour he had against Saracens (in preseason) Emmy was the best player on the field."

No more than two or three of the back line which finished last season will be part of the scene this time, but he is happy that the team, which he describes as "coachable", has a future.

"They're there on the brink and they want to get better, individually and collectively. They're sick of being bridesmaids. And if they're coachable and improving, who knows where they might stop?"

While Munster and Ulster are favourites, Leinster have serious potential, he says. "It's not like `this is the year or else'. Brian O'Driscoll has got 60 per cent improvement - God knows where the kid is going to end up. Shane Horgan is going to be a very good centre, and a whole load of others. So I agree we're third in the order but I'm hopeful."

The European draw is decidedly tricky: champions Northampton, the emerging French cup winners Biarritz, and a potential banana skin in Edinburgh Reivers.

"I've got to say it doesn't worry me. That's not false bravado. At this level, any team can beat any other team on a given day."

The focus now is on Connacht, and a good first match for him is the "key to a successful season". And a good season for him has a lot to do with winning over the public. "We've got to go out and just bleed for Leinster. The people have to go out thinking `win, lose or draw, jeez that team gave everything they had tonight'. And if we can say that then we'll have had a successful year."

Leinster's record last season: Pl 12 W 7 D 0 L 6 (including 51-22 defeat to Argentina). Points for 318, against 325. Tries for 30, against 37.

Most appearances: Bob Casey, Victor Costello 13; Shane Byrne, Liam Toland 12 (+1 sub); Denis Hickie 12. Leading try scorers: Denis Hickie, John McWeeney 5 each, Brian O'Driscoll 3. Leading points scorers: Barry Everitt 60, Mark McHugh 58, Emmet Farrell 55.

This season's fixtures: Inteprovincial Championship - Fri, Sept 1st: v Connacht, Donnybrook (7.00). Fri, Sept 8th: v Munster, Musgrave Park (7.30). Fri, Sept 15th: v Ulster, Donnybrook (7.00). Fri Sept 22nd: v Ulster, Ravenhill (7.30). Sat, Sept 30th: v Connacht, Sportsground (3.00). Fri, Nov 3rd: v Munster, Donnybrook (7.00).

European Cup - Fri, Oct 6th: v Edinburgh Reivers, Myreside (7.00); Fri, Oct 13th: v Biarritz, Donnybrook (7.00). Sat, Oct 21st: v Northampton, Franklins Gardens (3.00). Fri, Oct 27th: v Northampton, Donnybrook (7.00). Fri, Jan 12th: v Edinburgh Reivers, Donnybrook (7.00). Sat, Jan 20th: v Biarritz, tbc.