Whitaker looking forward to local grudge match

Interview/ Leinster scrumhalf Chris Whitaker: John O'Sullivan talks to the Leinster number nine, who knows a thing or two about the passion of local derbies.

Rivalries are a quintessential part of sport; derbies something of a local delicacy. Any sportsperson who arrives to a new country, city, town is quickly apprised of the new environment down to the finer points of local sporting spats.

Chris Whitaker has been well briefed ahead of tonight's Magners Celtic League clash between Leinster and Munster at Lansdowne Road. It's safe to assume that the 31-year-old former Australian international scrumhalf can recount chapter and verse on the last few meetings.

It's not an unfamiliar scenario to Whitaker. He may be considered a rookie in terms of this particular showdown but can draw on his experiences while playing for the New South Wales Waratahs (118 caps) against Queensland, where the mutual dislike led to several spicy encounters.

Those with a penchant for drawing parallels will have noted that New South Wales and Leinster, the city slickers, wear a shade of blue while their respective country cousins, Queensland and Munster, are framed by a red hue.

Whitaker knows what to expect.

"In Australia we have the New South Wales-Queensland matches and over the years they have developed into a huge grudge match. It's no different from this match. On the field there isn't an inch given but off the field guys are good mates and have a beer together. It's very healthy for sport to have those type of rivalries. I'm looking forward to it."

His memories of those clashes are selective, dwelling only on victory.

"I suppose the ones you recall well are probably the couple I've won. Queensland is always a tough match. They mightn't have been going too well in the table but they always seem to lift it for that game. They seemed to get away with it (winning) for a while but in the last three years we changed it and started to come away with wins.

"There are a huge number of similarities. You have the big city, like Sydney and Dublin, all the way down to the colours of the jumper.

"It's (Leinster's style of play) very similar to where I have come from, the attacking philosophies, having a go. I love playing with someone like Phil (Felipe Contepomi) who reads the game (as it unfolds) in front of him and has a go. It's up to everyone else in the team to improve their skills and their reaction speeds to keep up with him. He's playing what's in front of him as opposed to a lot of players these days who play off calls. He's the type of player you want to have."

Although the Whitaker-Contepomi half-back axis is in its infancy, the presence of the Australian and the virtues he brings should eventually facilitate shifting some of the playmaking duties away from the Argentinian.

Whitaker pointed out: "There's a lot of pressure on the number 10's shoulders these days, so to get things running off nine and give him a break can be quite handy. It's definitely something that we're still working on; it's not perfect but myself and Guy (Easterby) are definitely taking more on our shoulders to organise the team around the field."

Leinster coach Michael Cheika elaborated: "Our philosophy would be to have multiple playmakers and not run everything through 10.

"It's part of a development we're going through. It's something that Chris is very good at and it's allowing a little more space for Felipe.

"The big issue is when to do it. When do we need service and when do we need to look for penetration at the edge of ruck and maul? Chris's experience will be very useful to us."

Personal duels offer an interesting sidebar to the main thrust of the contest, and many will relish the battle of the opposing scrumhalves, Whitaker and Ireland's Peter Stringer, who've enjoyed only a couple of minutes face to face late in Test matches.

Whitaker got up at 3am to watch last season's Heineken European Cup final and while he doesn't recall too many details, he was aware that Stringer won the man-of-the-match accolade.

"I have seen a bit of him and he's a very handy and skilful number nine. ... He's definitely someone we have to keep an eye on throughout the game. He's got quite a skilful and large pack in front of him and a good number 10 outside him who controls the shots. As a team they're very balanced at the moment."

He's guaranteed a ringside seat tonight, not just for a close-up look at his immediate opponent but for an introductory lesson into the rivalry between the two provinces.

We doubt there'll be much lost in translation.