RUGBY:Ireland internationals Shane Horgan, Shane Jennings and Brian O'Driscoll return to the Leinster squad for Friday's Magners League clash against Connacht at the RDS (7.30pm).

South African prop CJ van der Linde is also included in the 26 man panel named by coach Michael Cheika after he missed last weekend's 21-13 victory over Ulster at Ravenhill.

Gordon D'Arcy keeps his place in the squad after a promising return on the right wing in that game, but Girvan Dempsey will miss out after he shipped an ankle injury in the victory over Ulster.

Prop Stan Wright has been included in the squad after he limped off with a similar complaint at Ravenhill.

With Connacht coming off the back of their memorable 12-6 victory over Munster last Sunday, Cheika is only too aware that Michael Bradley's boys will be up to complete a Magners League double at the RDS.

"Connacht are going to be full of confidence and they always play very well against us," said Cheika.

"I'm not surprised at the Munster result because it's a difficult place to go to and we're feeling a fair bit of pressure from the last defeat.

"The challenge for us will be to practice the plan this week to try and nullify their threat. They're very physical and from my own personal experience these are always tough, tight games.

Despite claiming the first half of their Christmas derby double at Ravenhill, Cheika is still looking for more from his side, particularly with ball in hand.

"Though we weren't as fluent attacking-wise against Ulster, I was very pleased with the result. It was Isa's (Nacewa) first game in the hot-seat at 10 while it was also good to have Gordon back for the first time this year.

"We weren't expecting him to play the whole game, but his work-rate, energy and physicality was there. He was very confident going into the game and it was good to see him come straight into it," added Cheika.

After a deluge of criticism following their Heineken Cup loss away to Castres, Cheika was acutely aware his side had to bounce back straight away to avoid their season going into a tailspin.

"The first game back after Castres was always going to be key, in terms of us doing well. And as for the criticism, you just have to keep an even keel and a balanced approach.

"I was critical of our performance too, but it's about balancing and understanding what the reasons for the performance were," he admitted.

Last weekend's injuries have not proved as bad as first expected, with Cheika sounding an upbeat tone in regards to Dempsey and Wright.

"Girvan is a lot better than expected and his ankle knock means that he will miss this week's match but could be back next week.
"Stan's injury looked quite nasty initially but he had a scan on his ankle and it's also not as bad as first feared. Hopefully Bernard Jackman will be back for the first Heineken Cup game."

Friday night will see Leinster pass the 100,000 attendance mark at the RDS this year, with 99,000 having gone through the turnstiles already in just six games. And Cheika believes the atmosphere is getting better all the time at the Dublin 4 venue.

"The RDS is a brilliant place to play. The crowd are committed to us no matter what and that support gives all the players a lift. The numbers coming this year are unbelievable and it has made a massive difference for the team."

LEINSTER (Squad v Connacht) Backs:C Keane, Simon Keogh, C Whitaker, F Contepomi, I Nacewa, J Sexton, G D'Arcy, B O'Driscoll, L Fitzgerald, S Horgan, R Kearney.
Forwards:B Blaney, J Fogarty, R McCormack, C Healy, CJ van der Linde, S Wright, T Hogan, D Toner, C Jowitt, M O'Kelly, R Elsom, S Jennings, S O'Brien, J Heaslip, Stephen Keogh.