Rugby:Not for the first time, and presumably not the last, Leinster will wait until the last possible minute before taking a final decision on Brian O'Driscoll's availability. The centre suffered a knee injury last Friday and only returned to training this morning ahead of Saturday's Heineken Cup final.
Even at that, the Ireland captain was only able to run at “three quarters pace”, according to coach Joe Schmidt, and the injury will be assessed again tomorrow morning before the team is named at lunchtime.
O’Driscoll’s remarkable powers of recovery have been tried and tested countless times in the past and Schmidt is quietly confident he’ll pull through once more.
“We’re pretty confident that by tomorrow he’ll be able to stretch out and be able to fully accelerate,” he told reporters this afternoon. “We’re pretty positive . . . hopefully he’ll be fully fit and available for selection.”
There was more positive news for Schmidt and his management team regarding Richardt Strauss, who has fully recovered from the bruised hip he sustained against Ulster. The hooker is fit to take his place in the front row against Northampton when the sides meet in Cardiff on Saturday evening (kick-off 5pm).
The tournament organisers, meanwhile, will decide whether the roof at the Millennium Stadium is open or closed tomorrow afternoon. Given that all previous finals in the Welsh capital have taken place with the roof on, and the forecast for Cardiff is not pretty, the likelihood is that it will be closed once more.
The issue has been blown somewhat out of proportion in recent days with conflicting reports circulating about both clubs preferences. In any case, it will be up to the ERC to make a definitive call before the captain’s runs when the teams train separately at the stadium.
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