Williams prepared to wait for O'Driscoll

"This is the hardest team I've ever picked," joked Matt Williams of what was, more likely, the easiest team he's ever picked.

On a roll of 14 games without defeat in Donnybrook and a record nine wins in a row this season, Williams has predictably gone with the same starting line-up which has won two from two at home in the Heineken Cup to date with fingers crossed Brian O'Driscoll will be able to, well, cross his fingers.

Due more to his damaged finger tendon than his strained lateral knee ligaments, O'Driscoll will be unable to train for the rest of the week, but his thoroughbred status earns him more time than most before a final decision is made.

"The good news about Drico is that he has no long-term damage, there's no ligaments, nothing," confirmed Williams. "He's just got very, very bad bruising on his knee and they're more concerned about the top of his finger but neither needs surgery, it's just against the clock. He'll definitely be playing the week after, he won't be training this week but we'll give him until the warm-up (on Friday evening)."

Besides, it mightn't necessarily be the hammer blow it once would have been, given Williams' outstanding summer raid on Australia also yielded the useful one-time Wallaby centre Adam Magro. Heretofore confined to skilful late cameos off the bench, he's itching to start a game, which would in turn probably mean promotion to the bench for Peter McKenna.

Wonderful as the wins over Wales and England have been for the morale of Irish rugby generally, and for a Leinster squad which share eight of the Irish 22, they've been disruptive for the provinces.

Leinster's captain Reggie Corrigan admitted: "One of the most difficult jobs I had this week with the whole euphoria that's around Irish rugby at the moment and the fantastic win at the weekend, was just to get the guys' feet back on the ground again at a meeting on Monday morning. Leinster have been going very well and my biggest fear was that with all the media hype and everything that's gone on we might get a little bit too far ahead of ourselves.

"But I have to give credit to the guys. Training on Monday and Tuesday was fantastic, I couldn't have asked for better from them, in particular from the national guys. There is a great buzz around the place but at the same time a realisation that we haven't actually won anything yet."

Leinster used 28 players in a run-out against Ulster last Friday in Dublin, albeit in monsoon-like rain, which Williams described as "very worthwhile, as we wouldn't have played for three weeks otherwise. There's some bumps and bruises there as well so it certainly hasn't been our smoothest week." The use of Leinster's players earlier in the week at Irish sessions also helped keep things ticking over.

By comparison Newport have been playing in the Welsh-Scottish League, beating Swansea last Friday night to extend their winning run to five. Williams has been to Wales to watch them and describes Newport as "the best team we'll have played, and I stress that word "team"."

Williams clearly respects his Newport counterpart Ian McIntosh, and is looking forward to renewing competition with his old mate and adversary from their Super 12 coaching years at New South Wales and Natal.

"I believe he's one of the great coaches in the world. He's a guy I've great respect for, he's a friend I suppose more than anything now. They're a very, very well coached side and when you've got a very well coached side they perform as a team. Without any shadow of a doubt I know this is our biggest challenge to date."

Newport's regular openside Jason Foster has supposedly been demoted to the bench because of a groin strain, while Adrian Garvey drops to the bench for Chris Anthony.

As befits arguably the most professionally run of Welsh clubs, Newport are expected to take up their allocation of 1,500 tickets for what is an all-ticket affair. Tickets can be obtained from the Leinster Branch offices, Donnybrook (10.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.), from the Club Tricot shop in Grafton Street, or from Magee at McSharry on Wicklow Street.

The Leinster Branch yesterday confirmed their new honorary secretary is Dorothy Collins, a qualified teacher, solicitor and barrister. She has broken new ground before by becoming the first female honorary secretary of a club, Old Belvedere, where she has also coached at underage level for many years, and is a first cousin of the Munster team manager Jerry Holland.