Toland realistic

Theoretically, it could be said that a home game against Connacht constitutes an ideal start for Leinster, providing them with a decent opening day test without overly extending their stretched resources and so enabling them to start the campaign on a winning note. Then again, it's arguably the worst start they could have.

Connacht are an unknown quantity, with a new coach and six new players. Even so, reports emanating from the west suggest early-season optimism and fitness levels are high. South African Marius Uijs is reputedly a serious acquisition and packing down in between Jimmy Screene and Martin Cahill, they should have a decent scrum and a platform from which to hit Mark McConnell with regularity. In Eric Elwood they have an established and proven playmaker.

They appear better equipped to scupper someone else's season after last season's travail, and Leinster will be wary that when that happens it's usually them. Coupled with their more arduous pre-season and defeats to Saracens and Swansea, Liam Toland vows they won't be suffering from delusions of grandeur akin to the start of last season.

Word from the western grapevine has it that Elwood has trimmed down over the summer and is as fit as ever. By comparison, no sooner had Leinster finally stumbled upon a solution to their annual positional problem in the shape of Emmet Farrell, toward the end of last season, than he's been sidelined. So in stark contrast to all their rivals, Australian Nathan Turner becomes the sixth outhalf to fill the crucial playmaking/goal kicking role in the last two seasons. With another new scrumhalf in Brian O'Meara, this will be Leinster's 10th half-back combination in that period.

Such enforced disruptions extend throughout a somewhat patchwork backline yet Leinster still have more potency individually from 11 to 15 than Connacht. Leinster ought also to have significantly more lineout options from which to attack out wide and while it's encouraging to see Connacht blooding a couple of home grown under-21s in lock Damien Browne and flanker Johnny O'Connor, by comparison the home pack has more proven big-game players. Basically, they've enough quality players to play the kind of high-tempo game that can stretch Connacht to breaking point.

You have to go back to November 1985 at Lansdowne Road for Connacht's last winning trip to the capital. It could, of course, happen again. Far more likely is that Leinster won't slip up.

LEINSTER: G Dempsey; D Hickie, P McKenna, S Horgan, G d'Arcy; N Turner, B O'Meara; R Corrigan, S Byrne, E Byrne, B Casey, M O'Kelly, E Miller, V Costello, L Toland (capt). Replacements: D Hegarty, M McHugh, J Norton, T Brennan, L Cullen, G Halpin, P Smyth.

CONNACHT: W Ruane; P Duignan, M Smyth, M Murphy, D Rumney; E Elwood, J Ferris; J Screene, M Uijs, M Cahill, M McConnell (capt), D Browne, I Dillon, J Charlie, J O'Connor. Replacements: R Lee, T Allnutt, S McIvor, M Swift, C Rigney, J McVeigh, D McFarland.

Referee: Gareth Doyle (IRFU).