Leinster players rested and ready

Having fluffed their lines in Edinburgh, Leinster will be aiming to make no mistake when the Dragons visit the RDS on Saturday evening.

Michael Cheika's side will again look to wrap up the Magners Celtic League title, this time in front of a home crowd in excess of 15,000, but must do so without the injured secondrow Leo Cullen.

Nevertheless, Cheika has plenty of strength in depth at his disposal and was able to name an extended 27-man squad containing no fewer than 11 internationals.

The "good news" according to Cheika is that Shane Horgan returns to the panel after recovering from illness, while Leinster player of the year Bernard Jackman is also included.

"Leo Cullen had a shoulder operation last week and he will be out for the next few months," added the Australian. "It's a massive blow for him because he has been so consistent for us this season and had put himself right up there for (Irish) selection in what is one of the most competitive areas for selection."

Cheika believes rest at key times this season has kept his players fresh and is confident they can get wrap up the title this weekend.

"I went down to see the Dragons against the Ospreys last weekend and we understand the importance of this week's game. We're concentrating on our opponents and we will be doing our best to get the right result.

"I feel that we're in far better shape this year. We have definitely managed the players differently, in that we might have taken them out of training at particular times.

"Our mental and physical conditioning, player preparation et cetera, things like that have improved and though we've had some disappointment in recent years, if I didn't learn from those experiences then they would have been wasted.

"We know that our consistent performances all year have gotten us this far."

Leinster squad

Forwards: Cian Healy, Ollie le Roux, Brian Blaney, Bernard Jackman, Stephen Knoop, Stan Wright, Trevor Hogan, Cameron Jowitt, Malcolm O'Kelly, Devin Toner, Stephen Keogh, Keith Gleeson, Shane Jennings, Jamie Heaslip

Backs: Chris Keane, Chris Whitaker, Jonathan Sexton, Christian Warner, Rob Kearney, Michael Berne, Felipe Contepomi, Brian O'Driscoll, Gary Brown, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Horgan, Girvan Dempsey, Felix Jones