Leinster include heavy hitters

MAGNERS LEAGUELEINSTER'S HEAVY hitting new captures, CJ van der Linde and Rocky Elsom, are in line to make debuts for the province against Munster. The Springbok tight-head and the Wallaby blindside flanker were duly named in the 32-man squad for Sunday's game and Michael Cheika broadly hinted both would feature in a forward combination he admits has become a selection dilemma.

The proximity of Leinster's first Heineken Cup joust away to their Edinburgh bugbears just a fortnight later gives the Leinster coach little room for manoeuvre. With a wry smile, Cheika admitted van der Linde's five-game suspension afforded the prop "a bit of a break so he should be fit" while Elsom has had a week off since an "interrupted" Tri-Nations.

Their Heineken Cup semi-final of three seasons ago was something of an eye-opener for Cheika himself as well as Bryce Williams and Cameron Jowitt, but the coach rejected the notion it might be too big an ask to pitch the pair into the furnace of a Munster match.

"No, I don't think so. They've both been coming off the back of seasons that would have been quite good. Whether they're ready for 80-minute involvement is another thing but from what I've seen of the two of them so far, they're very keen to be involved."

Citing the pair's mental strength from their vast test experience, Cheika confirmed that whereas van der Linde can pack down at loosehead as well, he was not a like-for-like replacement for the departed and hugely influential Ollie le Roux. For one thing, "he's quieter than Ollie."

Understandably, he saw Elsom as an out-and-out number six.

"Rocky's a power player, a power runner, a good lineout operator, a good defender. CJ's an excellent scrummager and a very dynamic player as well. The main thing is that they'll be looking to start to write a new part of their game because there are differences to the Northern Hemisphere game and they've got to adjust."

Acknowledging the Ospreys had the Leinster scrum in trouble, Cheika reasoned: "We set up things a little differently (from what) we normally would. We wanted to try a few bits and pieces in the back five and, overall, we thought we were a little bit high in the way we set our scrum.

"They (Ospreys) have a good scrum and I thought we handled it okay considering we were trying a few things so what we've got to do this week is apply ourselves better to our body height and some of our other work."

Munster's squad and game have clearly evolved, with more width, this season,and Cheika has been impressed: "I think that they're getting better. They are an improving team, they have a lot more clarity about how they want to play their wide game and they do it well because they've got some great finishers. (Doug) Howlett has really been in excellent form, trailing behind the back, his work off the ball."

Leinster have employed 22 players in their three starting line-ups to date, whereas Munster have started three more in winning three from three to lead the table, with Leinster three points off the pace.

Mindful he perhaps hasn't given the likes of Chris Keane, Stephen Keogh and Simon Keogh as much time as he would like, Cheika was perhaps a tad envious when commending Tony McGahan for his successful rotation policy.

"Their coach has been really very clever in the way he has used his squad so far with some of the combinations. He has given himself a very good choice to select from on Sunday and he has been pretty clever in the way he has done that."

The return of Leo Cullen was a timely fillip, and despite soreness for two days, the Leinster captain was grateful for an unexpected 90-minute-plus run-out after shoulder surgery in the summer.

Putting the internecine rivalry in context, Cullen said, "Everyone gets on pretty well when they're away from the field but there's always going to be a bit of an edge to the game when people know each other quite well. It's no different from when we are playing against ourselves, first team against seconds . . . it brings that competitive edge."

One thing that has changed is the hype; witness the 18,500 sell-out: "If there was a bigger stadium you could probably fit a lot more people in. I remember interpros when you would be doing well to get a couple of thousand."

That the game carries the label Magners League champions against European champions, with both sides unbeaten, adds to its lustre, Cullen admitting Munster are the ultimate test domestically. "The fact that Munster have been, realistically, the most successful of the Irish provinces means that teams will try to raise their game against them. They have been the standard bearers in many ways."

LEINSTER SQUAD (v Munster):Backs - Chris Whitaker, Chris Keane, Jonathan Sexton, Felipe Contepomi, Brian O'Driscoll, Gary Brown, Shane Horgan, Luke Fitzgerald, Fergus McFadden, Rob Kearney, Simon Keogh, Eoin O'Malley, Girvan Dempsey. Forwards - Cian Healy, Stephen Knoop, Ronan McCormack, Bernard Jackman, Brian Blaney, John Fogarty, CJ van der Linde, Stan Wright, Cameron Jowitt, Malcolm O'Kelly, Leo Cullen, Devin Toner, Rocky Elsom, Trevor Hogan, Stephen Keogh, Shane Jennings, Seán O'Brien, Kevin McLaughlin, Jamie Heaslip.

LEINSTER A (v Glasgow):Felix Jones; Niall Morris, Eoin O'Malley, Fergus McFadden Gary Brown; Kyle Tonetti, Simon Keogh; Ruaidhri Murphy, Brian Blaney, Royce Burke-Flynn; Conor McInerney, Eoin Sherriff; Kevin McLaughlin, Paul Ryan, Stephen Keogh (capt). Replacements: Jason Harris-Wright, Jamie Hagan, Peter Synnott, Chris Keane, Paul O'Donohoe, James Power, Shane Monahan.