Leinster have the maturity to win

Revenge is a subsidiary factor, the entertainment quotient irrelevant. The only commodity that matters tonight when Leinster entertain Edinburgh Reivers in the Heineken European Cup at Donnybrook is victory. In achieving that they will control their own destiny; failure draws in external factors to guarantee progress to the knockout phase.

Since losing their opening match to the Reivers in Edinburgh, Leinster have successfully dealt with a series of pressure laden "must win" matches, in the process maturing as a squad and threatening to permanently discard the tag of perennial under-achievers in the professional era.

Matt Williams and his coaching staff are beginning to extract a sustained quality of performance that the talent within the squad demands. The gutsy goal-line stand in the dying minutes at Franklin's Gardens and the composure shown when Northampton blitzed Leinster early on in the return at Donnybrook confirmed a newly-honed steely resolve.

It will be required tonight. Edinburgh Reivers are no patsies. They too won away in Northampton, inflicted Leinster's only defeat to date in this season's competition and it is only a twin failure (home and away) against Biarritz that requires them to win at Donnybrook or be relegated to the periphery of the pool.

In Scottish full back Chris Paterson they possess one of the best broken-field runners in the sport. The absence of Marcus di Rollo in midfield - he has been their best centre recently - is a blow but they boast good finishers on the wings in Cammie Murray and Craig Joiner. Duncan Hodge is a decent place-kicker but it was up front that they thrived against Leinster.

Typically Scottish, they thrive on a fast-rucking, high-tempo approach, the hallmark of Jim Telfer easily discernible in this aspect of their game. Concentration and good communication will be essential if Leinster's defence is to survive. It is an area in which they have improved steadily but this represents the acid test. Williams has spoken of the difficulty in preparing for the unorthodox Scots.

The Australian-born coach has introduced small changes to Leinster's preparation, not least that they must "always wear the harp (Leinster's emblem) when on official duty. There's no training gear of any other description allowed. We're Leinster, nobody else." Williams has inaugurated a pre-game ritual whereby a former player presents the team with their match jerseys before the game and speaks to the team about what it meant to him to wear it. Brendan Mullin performs that duty tonight.

Leinster's flair and ability in the threequarter line is obvious but they no longer slavishly adhere to high-risk rugby. There is a more practical bent to the team. Their kicking game is improving while the pack rarely wilts before the final whistle. Tactically they have become more streetwise, willing to shut the game down when necessary.

The performance of the half backs, Brian O'Meara (place-kicking aside) and Eddie Hekenui, will be pivotal to the outcome. The pack should guarantee possession, Horgan, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Hickie and Dempsey capable of maximising the return.

A tiny spur will be the knowledge that in the history of the European Cup whichever team topped the group that Edinburgh Reivers were in went on to lift the trophy. Leinster have met every challenge since that night at Myreside and there is no reason why they should suddenly falter before a sell-out crowd at Donnybrook.

Leinster: G Dempsey; D Hickie, B O'Driscoll, S Horgan, G D'Arcy; E Hekenui, B O'Meara; R Corrigan, P Smyth, E Byrne, R Casey, M O'Kelly, T Brennan, V Costello, L Toland (capt). Replacements: P McKenna, M McHugh, K Putt, G Halpin, S Byrne, L Cullen, D O'Brien.

Edinburgh reivers: C Paterson; C Murray, D Officer, K Utterson, C Joiner; D Hodge, G Burns; A Jacobsen, S Scott, B Stewart, I Fullarton, R Metcalfe, D Mackinnon (capt), M Leslie, I Sinclair.

Referee: A Rowden (England).

PAST MEETINGS: (2000-2001) Edinburgh Reivers 29 Leinster 21.

EUROPEAN FORM GUIDE: Leinster - (21-29) v Edinburgh Reivers (a); (35-9) v Biarritz (h); 14-8 v Northampton (a); (40-31) v Northampton (h). Edinburgh Reivers - (29-21) v Leinster (h); (23-22) v Northampton (a); (18-29) v Biarritz (a); (27-35) v Biarritz (h).

LEADING POINTS SCORER: Leinster - E Hekenui 35 pts. Edinburgh Reivers - D Hodge 36 pts.

LEADING TRY SCORERS: Leinster - Gordon D'Arcy 4 tries. Edinburgh Reivers - Kevin Utterson, Cameron Murray, Chris Paterson 2 each.

ODDS (Paddy Powers): 4/11 Leinster, 20/1 draw, 2/1 Edinburgh Reivers. (Handicap betting: Edinburgh +8 points): 10/11 Leinster, 16/1 draw, 10/11 Edinburgh Reivers.

FORECAST: Leinster to win.