Options give Cheika room for manoeuvre

HEINEKEN CUP QUARTER-FINALS: MOVING INTO mid-April, fully seven and a half months into the season, and for the first time in his tenure, Leinster coach Michael Cheika will have his marquee backs to choose from.

Coming in the week of a game likely to define their season, and at that a slightly daunting Heineken Cup quarter-final away to the high-flying Harlequins, the timing is opportune.

However, their Springbok tighthead CJ van der Linde has already been ruled out. Given his various toe injuries have restricted him to just seven starts this season, that will not come as a huge surprise, and furthermore Cian Healy has found a bit of a groove in starting Leinster’s last five games while the versatile Stanley Wright can readily step into the breach again in making his 17th successive start.

But to compound the mighty Springbok’s absence, Bernard Jackman remains sidelined from training and a serious doubt because of a badly swollen knee.

John Fogarty would play at hooker, with the established secondrow pairing of Leo Cullen and Malcolm O’Kelly and backrow combination of Rocky Elsom, Shane Jennings and Jamie Heaslip completing the pack.

However, it is the long overdue options at Cheika’s disposal in the backs which give him a headache or two he hasn’t had this season, and he said the opposition will be weighed up in finalising Leinster’s best combination to start, and ideally to finish the game as well.

“This is what we recruited this group for, to have this depth, so I’m certainly not going to complain about having this hard (selection) decision and someone will have to miss out. But everyone understands what the greater project is for the team and I’m sure that even though they’ll have some disappointment, they’ll be right behind the team making every effort on Sunday and then when they get their opportunity they’ll take it.”

Of course, Cheika has been in this position at the start of a week, such as seven days ago, only to discover that one or two of his backs had been ruled out, and it remains to be seen whether Luke Fitzgerald is passed fit, though Brian O’Driscoll resumed training yesterday.

“Brian (O’Driscoll) trained pretty well today, so we would say that he has a good chance of being fit,” said Cheika. “Luke was only partially training today, so we’ll make a final decision on him on Friday. Bernard (Jackman) hasn’t trained this week. He’s probably more of a doubt than the others. We’ll check him on Friday and assess exactly where he’s at with his (swollen) knee and make a call then.”

The Leinster coach is sure to retain faith in the Chris Whitaker-Felipe Contepomi half-back partnership, on the premise that such is the nature of the Puma playmaker-cum-goalkicker he is liable to follow up last Saturday’s off-colour evening in Limerick with a pearl of a performance in the Stoop. Thankfully for Contepomi and Leinster, he doesn’t play against Munster every week.

Cheika is also likely to reunite the Grand Slam-winning midfield of Gordon D’Arcy – who before last Saturday in Limerick probably hadn’t played outside centre for at least four or five years – and O’Driscoll. Which leaves the ultra-competitive back three, and on the premise that Fitzgerald is restored to the wing and Kearney to fullback – despite his defensive blip for Keith Earls’ try – Cheika may opt for Isa Nacewa ahead of Shane Horgan on the wing.

Cheika conceded this is “a big week in our calendar, something that we have been looking forward to since January” and to that end admitted that there was “a little bit of nervousness” in training on Tuesday, if less so yesterday.

“Preparation isn’t any more difficult (after the Munster defeat). There’s the disappointment factor that you have to leave behind, but you must ensure that you take the failings from our performance down in Thomond Park and improve them because we’re going into a very similar environment; a big game in someone else’s arena.

“So we’ve got to make sure that we take stock of the failings that we may have had in that game and add them to the positive things . . . and bring that game to London.”

Aside from a hugely enthusiastic and hard-working defence, Cheika highlighted Harlequins’ pace. “They have lots of pace all over the park; at nine, ten, centres, wings, full-back, backrow. They have a very strong backrow and if you play into them you’re playing into a very strong area. I would say they’re a very underestimated tight five. I have watched a lot of their games and their tight five has been impeccable in my opinion.

“They have an impressive ability to play in different parts of the field with a lot of brains in the middle of the field in (Nick) Easter, (Danny) Care and (Nick) Evans and a lot of grunt up front. And you’re going to have to play well to beat that.”

Captain Leo Cullen maintained that there would be pressure on Leinster regardless of last Saturday’s defeat in Thomond Park. “We’re in the quarter-finals of Europe. Everyone has a good home record of those left in the competition, that’s why they’re playing at home, so it’s going to be tough. I don’t think the result from last weekend will change things. Obviously it’s disappointing that we didn’t win the game last weekend, but Munster were full value for a win.”

But the Munster defeat leaves the Heineken Cup, even with a hugely difficult away quarter-final, as both their preferred and now more realistic choice of silverware.