Tykes show how to tame the Tigers

European Cup, Leinster v Leicester:  The psychology of Leicester's 23-22 English Premiership defeat last weekend by Leeds Tykes will not be lost on Leinster coach Declan Kidney. A wounded Tiger could well be more dangerous than one in prime condition but what team wants to go into their biggest match of the season having been outplayed by a struggling side?

Leicester, for all of their aggression, ability and track record in the European Cup will arrive at Lansdowne Road a little sheepish after losing to one of the unsung teams in the league.

The words of Leicester coach John Wells should also be burning some ears in the dressingroom. Wells, who will be leaving the club at the end of the season, placed the blame on the shoulders of his biggest names.

"Perhaps it would have been better if we hadn't had the players back from international rugby," he told the BBC after the match.

Neither prop Graham Rowantree or secondrow Ben Kay lined out last week while Lewis Moody came on as a second-half substitute and played for half an hour. Tighthead prop Julian White, who was doubtful, played and played very well, while top try scorer Seru Rabeni is battling with an ongoing knee injury. He is unlikely to play against Leinster while Kay is still hobbling around Welford Road with an ankle injury.

"Julian White had a good game," says Leeds director of rugby Phil Davies. "Moody came on and played well too, Austin Healy on the wing is always a threat. To be honest they are one of the leading teams in Europe if not the leading team and there are a number of reasons they will want to do well in Dublin.

"John Wells leaving at the end of the season with Neil Back and Martin Johnson too. That's going to be in the back of the players' minds."

Back and Johnson have both won the European Cup twice. However, the performance of Leeds at Headingly Stadium and their bullish attitude against one of the game's aristocratic sides has thrown some doubt over Leicester's reputation as a match-winning machine.

"We did have a bit of joy last week," says Davies. "Against them you've got to get quick ball and compete in the tackle area. That is something we would have talked about before the match. Their backline is one of the best in the world. We knew about them and their reputation but our guys were able to handle that.

"We talked about putting in the sort of performance that would impress people, a performance that the players could be proud of and after the game be able to look each other in the eye.

"They're a world-class team and so is Leinster but we looked at our benchmarks, our turnovers. The stats said we only turned over four times in the whole match or four per cent but we turned them over 18 per cent of the time."

Despite their reputation Leicester come into the match seeded eighth, having finished as runner-up to Biarritz Olympique in the pool stages. They lost two of their six matches in Pool One, while Leinster are top seeds with six wins from six over Bath, Treviso and Bourgoin.

"We put a game plan together and talked about desire and enthusiasm," says Davies. "That was evident from our performance. It was a physical game but neither side came off battered. To be honest, there was far more for us to gain out of the game than there was for Leicester."

A European Cup semi-final and at least 45,700 people watching should account for motivation on both sides. Leeds Tykes have shown if you want it enough, it is there to take regardless of the opposition's start-studded cast.