Munster will be wary of defiant Connacht

MAGNERS LEAGUE : THE DESTINATION of the Magners League title will become clearer, if not clear, after this weekend's fixture…

MAGNERS LEAGUE: THE DESTINATION of the Magners League title will become clearer, if not clear, after this weekend's fixture list is completed, with four of the top five teams in the table in opposition.

Third-placed Munster are the exception as they make the short journey to the Sportsground where they take on bottom-of-the-table Connacht.

Munster's Declan Kidney is too accomplished a coach to take anything for granted in pursuit of a victory and will have noted the defiant tone of his Connacht counterpart Michael Bradley who pointed out: "Connacht always look forward to the home derby matches in particular because the Sportsground sells out and the crowd get behind the team, which seems to raise our performances in those matches.

"Obviously we have to do that with Munster on a bit of a charge at the moment in trying to catch Leinster at the top. They tend to play a forward-orientated game which will represent a different challenge to what Edinburgh produced last week.

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"Our first job is to contend with their power upfront, once that's done I'm quite confident with home advantage and the closeness of previous games, if we create enough opportunities we'll have a good chance of winning."

Last weekend Munster hammered Ulster at Musgrave Park, while Connacht suffered a second half shellacking in Edinburgh.

The likelihood is Kidney will opt to field what approximates to his strongest team - injuries to David Wallace and Denis Leamy notwithstanding - on Friday with an eye on preparing professionally for the Heineken European Cup quarter-final against Gloucester at Kingsholm on Saturday week.

Munster lie 11 points behind Leinster but with a game in hand. That match, against Ulster in Ravenhill, hasn't been rescheduled and will depend on how Kidney's team fare in Europe. Munster must travel on four occasions in their last six league matches and the most eye-catching is their clash with Leinster at the RDS on Saturday, April 12th.

Prior to that, though, the league table will take on a greater definition in terms of the genuine title aspirants. On Saturday, Leinster travel to Stradey Park to face a Llanelli side whose recent form is a truer representation of the quality within their squad after what has been a disappointing European campaign.

Llanelli earned a four-try bonus against Cardiff last time out and of the top five clubs are the only team with the majority of their remaining fixtures at home. Leinster should be motivated this weekend by a particularly brutal beating they took at home against Llanelli, the only game the Irish province lost in their last 29 matches at home.

The Welsh club host three of the top five at Stradey Park in upcoming matches, while also making the short journey to fifth-placed Cardiff. Leinster have tricky away assignments, starting with Saturday's trip to the Principality, before hosting Munster and then travelling to Murrayfield. Their last two games are back-to-back clashes with the Dragons, starting at the RDS. Coach Michael Cheika intimated captain Brian O'Driscoll and his midfield partner Gordon D'Arcy could be available within the next fortnight.

The fate of Edinburgh and Cardiff, who are in fourth and fifth places in the table, could largely be decided this weekend when they meet at Murrayfield. The loser of this match will effectively be out of the running for overall honours.

However, the beauty of the final rounds of matches is so many of the top teams are down to oppose each other and while the likes of Edinburgh and Cardiff may have slim title aspirations they are perfectly placed to have a significant say on the team that eventually lifts the trophy.