A round-up of other rugby news in brief...
Cheika proves he wasn't 'delusional'
Previous meeting – January 19th, 2008 – Leicester Tigers 25 Leinster 9
Michael Cheika’s tenure as Leinster coach sustained its most severe examination after defeat in Edinburgh last season. It meant a trip to Welford Road in mid-January with practically no chance of making the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup. The same applied to the Tigers.
A notably under-strength Leicester dragged Leinster into a fight before running out convincing winners. Julian White clocked Mal O’Kelly but was only sin-binned, while Andy Goode tackled Brian O’Driscoll so high it sparked a mini-brawl. The outhalf was also yellow-carded but Leinster failed to register a single point during the two-man advantage.
A nothing match, really, but Cheika was still forced to defend what he was trying to achieve: “We know internally the club is so much stronger than when we first came. And I’m not saying that to try and pump up my own situation. Realistically, we are a tougher outfit . . . best unity that we’ve had for a long time. The first year we caught a few teams on the hop. We were pretty lucky; a bounce here and there went our way. The second year we did okay but didn’t manage the quarter-final (away to Wasps) very well. We definitely don’t see ourselves going backwards. That’s one thing we need to be very clear on, with ourselves. I don’t know how other people see us and I don’t think that is being delusional.”
The teams will be very different on Saturday with Leinster better equipped to resist the usual attempts at intimidation.
LEICESTER TIGERS: G Murphy; T Varndell, A Erinle, S Rabeni, J Murphy; A Goode, F Murphy; M Castrogiovanni, B Kayser, J White (capt); L Deacon, M Wentzel; B Deacon, B Herring, J Crane. Replacements: M Ayerza for Deacon (31-40 mins), G Chuter for Kayser (66 mins), Ayerza for Castrogiovanni (72 mins), B Youngs for F Murphy (77 mins), D Young for White (79 mins). Sinbinned: White (30 mins), Goode (36 mins).
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; L Fitzgerald, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, R Kearney; F Contepomi, G Easterby; S Wright, B Jackman, S Knoop; L Cullen, M O'Kelly; S Keogh, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: O Le Roux for Knoop (30 mins), C Keane for Easterby, K Gleeson for Keogh (both 47 mins), C Healy for Wright (66 mins), J Sexton for O'Driscoll (75 mins), G Brown for Sexton (80 mins).
Wearing blue worthwhile in Edinburgh
The primary goal for most Leinster supporters landing in Edinburgh this weekend will be to pitch a tent near a suitable watering hole. Thankfully, the official supporters club has not been idle.
The Walkabout has been christened base camp for the weekend (it’s near Princes Street), with pints going for £2 and a bottle of Heino costing £1.50 (Dublin city prices they ain’t) for those wearing the Leinster jersey. There is also 25 per cent off food.
The Three Sisters (a well-known stag/hen haunt) is doing a similar deal, with a buy-one-breakfast-get-another-free deal or a pint of Guinness. There is also free entry into Faith nightclub. It is certainly a more enticing reason to wear blue than what came out before the semi-final (more information available on www.Leinsterrugby.ie). For the more high-brow fan there are plenty of roof-top restaurants.
The Leicester Tigers have returned 1,500 tickets for Saturday’s Heineken Cup final and they will go on sale from noon today at Murrayfield or through the website www.scottishrugby.org Both finalists initially received 7,500 tickets, with the Leinster Branch distributing their allocation.
Previous Winners and attendances
1996 – Cardiff Arms Park, Toulouse 21 Cardiff 18 (Aet), 21,800
1997 – Cardiff Arms Park, Brive 28 Leicester 9, 41,664
1998 – Stade Lescure, Bath 19 Brive 18, 36,500
1999 – Lansdowne Road, Ulster 21 Colomiers 6, 49,000
2000 – Twickenham, Northampton 9 Munster 8, 68,441
2001 – Parc des Princes, Leicester Tigers 34 Stade Français 30, 44,000
2002 – Millennium Stadium, Leicester Tigers 15 Munster 9, 74,600
2003 – Lansdowne Road, Toulouse 22 Perpignan 17, 28,600
2004 – Twickenham, London Wasps 27 Toulouse 20, 73,057
2005 – Murrayfield, Toulouse 18 Stade Français 12 (AET), 51,326
2006 – Millennium Stadium, Munster 23 Biarritz Olympique 19, 74,534
2007 – Twickenham, London Wasps 25 Leicester Tigers 9, 81,076
2008 – Millennium Stadium, Munster 16 Toulouse 13, 74,417
Stade de France to host 2010 final
The 2010 Heineken Cup final will be held at the Stade De France on Saturday, May 22nd.
Previous finals in France witnessed the Leicester Tigers beat Stade Français at the Parc de Princes in 2001 (thanks to a magic break by Austin Healy), and in 1998 Bath beat Brive at Stade Lescure in Bordeaux.
Tickets for Paris 2010 start at €18 and fans should visit ercrugby.com for details of when they will go on sale.
Saturday is the 14th European Cup final and Leinster are the 14th side to take part in the main event in Northern Hemisphere club rugby.
The other finalists were Toulouse (5), Leicester Tigers and Munster (4), London Wasps, Stade Français Paris, Brive (2), Cardiff, Bath, Ulster, Colomiers, Northampton Saints, Perpignan and Biarritz Olympique (1 each).
This will be the third Anglo-Irish final – with the score standing at 2-0 to the English clubs as Northampton and Leicester beat Munster in the 2000 and 2002 deciders.
Crane on Corry
“Geordan Murphy was captain (v London Irish on Saturday) and he may not get another opportunity to do that and he passed it (the trophy) to Cozza (Martin Corry). Martin is a massive presence around the team. Even though he wasn’t involved he still trained 100 per cent. He is not involved but he is still leading the way. He is a massive part of the club and he has been for what seems like forever.”
Jordan Crane on club captain Martin Corry, who he has replaced in Leicester’s backrow.
