Leinster out to leap mental barrier

A sadist must have planned Leinster's season. Every time they clear one hurdle, the bar is raised again. Now, having finally put their Munster nemesis to rest, having finally landed a trophy, having finally reached the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup for the first time in six years, they get the highest hurdle. The Tigers in their Welford Road lair.

Matt Williams admits there's been a hint of cruelty about the way every big test has invariably been followed immediately by another even bigger one. "But as I say to the guys that means you're winning. That's the reward for success. If you didn't win, where would you be this week? Where's Newport? Where's Toulouse? Do you want to be there? Those are the alternatives."

There's also a positive side to virtually no one expecting them to win, for in a sense there's no pressure on them. They can play with freedom. And therein lies the rub. For aside from a French side in full flight, there's probably no other team in Europe with the weaponry and temerity to beat Leicester at Welford Road, and any team with Brian O'Driscoll and Denis Hickie in it has a chance.

The exact extent of this weaponry won't be known until today, although they will definitely be without international second row Malcolm O'Kelly, whose bruised cheekbone failed to pass yesterday's fitness test.

Given Shane Horgan (Achilles) came through another session yesterday, the prognosis for him looks marginally better, and more promising still with regard to Reggie Corrigan (ankle) and Nathan Spooner. Alas for the unlucky Emmet Byrne, he aggravated his shoulder injury in training and thus will not only miss out for Leinster this weekend but presumably the Irish 22 next week as well.

Despite his own international ambitions Corrigan will be desperately keen to play while Spooner can afford to give his bruised thigh a go as he'll be mindful Leinster won't have another competitive match until the semi-finals three months' hence. Indeed, the prospect of Leinster's season coming to a shuddering halt on Sunday ought to concentrate their minds wonderfully.

There are some intriguing match-ups, not least Geordan Murphy v Girvan Dempsey, while the game will have added piquancy for the Tiger who cut his teeth hereabouts, Eric Miller.

Although he had become a peripheral figure in his last season there and Dean Richards' first as coach, Miller says he feels under no pressure to prove a point. "No, not really. I felt if I had to prove any point then that was in the autumn internationals when I came back into the Irish side. To be honest, I'm worried about Leinster, that we don't under-perform and we play as we're capable of playing."

Leicester await a fitness test on Dorian West, though the abrasive Richard Cockerill was an effective replacement last week, and it will be interesting to see where they play Austin Healey and whether they'll start Josh Kronfeld.

It's worth noting Leicester have never lost three competitive games in succession. Robbed at Harlequins last week, the suspicion lurks Leicester will revert to basics after their recent setbacks, and play it pretty tight in an attempt to grind Leinster into the ground.

Maintaining his theme that this is as much a mental challenge as anything else for Leinster, Williams says: "It's just going to come down to how we hit the ground at Leicester and how we hang in there; how we fight when the crowd rises, and when the battle comes to us, how we then respond.

"Part of what you're dealing with when go to Leicester," adds Williams, "is what I would term the old-world mentality, which is almost like an English class system. 'They're Leicester, they're going to be better than us, so we'll lose.' But then we beat Newcastle this year, who beat Leicester, so it's a case of breaking that mental barrier.

"They are the European champions, they are the aristocracy almost of England and it's getting over that. You've got to challenge them and if you challenge them you've got a shot at it. It's exactly like Munster and the mental problems we had with Munster in Ireland, where Munster were better than us. You had to challenge that thought and I think it's a similar mental concept."

According to Leinster manager Ken Ging: "Willie (Anderson) has a saying that Leinster play high-octane rugby and when you play high-octane rugby you make high-octane mistakes. But if they're willing to take the risks, they have a definite shot, a real fighter's shot."