Sexton wary of Donald threat in Bath showdown

RUGBY HEINEKEN CUP:JONATHAN SEXTON is conversant with the importance of Leinster's successive fixtures against Bath in the Heineken Cup and the pivotal role this two-match microcosm will play in determining the outcome of the pool.

The two-time and reigning European champions travel to the Recreation Ground for next Sunday’s game and will then host the English club at the Aviva Stadium six days later.

Bath’s last victory was a 16-13 victory over Montpellier at the Rec and since then they have struggled in the English Premiership.

Their most recent defeat was against Sale Sharks last weekend, although they were without a host of first-choice regulars.

In the latter respect there’s no doubting they’re targeting Sunday’s game against Leinster.

The Irish province managed a reputable draw in Montpellier, considering the circumstances of how the match panned out, but they know a defeat in Bath will hugely compromise their tournament aspirations.

Sexton admitted: “Everyone said that getting a draw away in Montpellier was a good result, but it means if we lose another game the prospect of a home quarter-final is gone and you’d also be under pressure to qualify from the pool.

“In many ways it’s a must-win game for us this weekend. If we win we’re in control of the pool. If we lose then we need other results to go our way, which is not where you want to be in the Heineken Cup. It’s one game at a time, everything is geared towards this weekend and then we’ll start from scratch again afterwards.”

It hasn’t escape his notice that Bath’s match-winner in the successful outing against Montpellier was Stephen Donald, who came off the bench to fulfil a similarly pivotal role in kicking New Zealand to victory in the World Cup final against France: it was Donald’s first home game for Bath following his move to England.

He kicked two penalties, threw a brilliant long floated pass for Olly Woodburn’s try and it was Donald’s interception and 70-metre run that led to his team’s second try, scored by prop Dave Flatman.

Sexton pointed out: “Yeah, he’s a good player. He obviously hasn’t played too much for Bath so we haven’t got too much footage of him there. He’s quite a big guy and likes to go to the (gain) line a lot. I’m sure he’ll look to test me out defensively so I’ve got to be ready for that.

“He’s obviously quite a player, a good passer of the ball and a good kicker. He’s a really good threat for them so we’ll have to watch out for him.”

Leinster’s excellent run of recent results has been underpinned by several standout displays from players who don’t automatically command first-choice slots in terms of selection and Sexton is keen to acknowledge their input, including that of his deputy Ian Madigan.

“It’s great. Obviously all the provinces want home-grown players coming through and Ian is doing really well. He played well last weekend and the weekend before. He obviously had a difficult start at the start of the season when the senior players were away and that’s tough, but he’s definitely getting better all the time and that’s great for the province.

“With Ian McKinley retiring with injury, it’s great that we’ve got him coming up. There’ll be great competition when Berqy (Mat Berquist) gets back from his injury as well. There will be three of us going for one spot, which is definitely what Joe (Schmidt) wants.”

He admitted Schmidt faces a tough choice in deciding whether Eoin O’Malley or Fergus McFadden wears Brian O’Driscoll’s number 13 jersey on Sunday before admitting “whoever does, we have full confidence in them to produce the goods. Obviously any team is going to miss a player like Brian. We’ve probably changed a couple of moves that revolved around him, but the guys are doing a great job.”

Leinster expect to bring 1,400 supporters to Bath and confirmed they have already sold more than 40,000 tickets for the return fixture at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday week.

Meanwhile, Munster have announced Doug Howlett will see a specialist early this week to determine the exact nature of the injury he sustained against the Ospreys on Saturday. The initial examination suggested he had damaged his Achilles tendon and he has been ruled out of Munster’s Heineken Cup matches against Scarlets.