Stakes are higher this time - Schmidt

A FEW weeks ago Leinster captain Leo Cullen was warning against the breeze of optimism that was sweeping the Leinster province. The secondrow, with the endorsement of coach Joe Schmidt, observed that while Leinster were satisfied with progress so far and with the way they were playing, they were no further along the road to trophies than they were at the same time last season.

With Ulster preparing to make the journey to Dublin on Friday for the first of the Magners League semi-finals, that caution still lives. Leinster remain on the brink of all or nothing in terms of their seasonal haul of pots. That they only picked up the Fair Play award at the Magners League glam night in Carton House on Sunday last may also have irked a team commonly referred to as currently the best in Europe.

But with the semi-final set for the RDS at 7.05pm on Friday, Schmidt, despite his side’s remarkably good record against Ulster in Dublin, which is an ugly no league wins at all for Ulster in Dublin, is in far from celebratory mood.

“At this stage it is only about managing two games, because we don’t know if we will make it into the Magners League Grand Final,” said the Leinster coach. “There is a risk of taking your eye off the ball because of the Heineken Cup final the following week, but we have to take each game as it comes. It is imperative to concentrate on this game and not to look too far ahead.”

This season has turned favourably for Leinster. Last December in Ravenhill they turned over the home team 30-13 before completing the double with a 34-26 at the RDS last month. More recently, the win over Toulouse was their best performance of the season, while last week’s first half against Glasgow, albeit with an entirely changed side, was much less impressive.

“Some of the guys weren’t as good as they should have been against Glasgow in the first half last weekend – and certainly not as good as they will need to be this weekend,” said Schmidt.

“We worked things out in the second half, but we can’t wait that long against Ulster. The good thing for us is that four or five weeks ago we didn’t think we were going to make it into the play-offs. But we picked up, and other results went our way.

“We haven’t conceded a match all season at RDS and we are very focused on continuing that record. We know there is no advantage to either team at this stage of the season and, even though we have beaten Ulster twice this season, in the last 30 minutes of both fixtures they have had the better of us.

“The big difference about playing Ulster now, compared to a few weeks ago, is there is something at stake because it is a knock-out situation. Neither side really needed to win that game and Ulster were on a down after losing to Northampton Saints in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.”

Schmidt will select a side that he says “won’t be too far off our top squad.” That he has successfully given many of his players hope of being selected also makes for a competitive group of players in Leinster. The team that started against Toulouse in the Heineken Cup semi-final is probably the strongest combination but Schmidt promises to pick “horses for courses” and doubtless scrumhalf Isaac Boss would like a crack at his old Ulster comrades as well as Magners League Players’ Player of the Year, Springbok Ruan Pienaar.

“This is a great position to be in because there are eight teams in the Magners League whose seasons are over,” added Schmidt, now seeing the end line in sight. “It might be nice being able to head away on holiday early, but that’s not really what anyone wants because it means you are out of the fight.”

Ulster will see it in a similar way, although coach Brian McLaughlin knows Ulster success in the RDS would be another step up for his ambitious team. He may even remember the old adage of Brooklyn tennis professional of the 1980s, the late Vitas Gerulaitis. Having been beaten by Bjorn Borg for the 18th time in a row, Gerulaitis finally defeated the Swede. His subsequent faux boast went something like ‘no one beats Vitas Gerulaitis 19 times in a row’. Ulster will have similar thoughts.

“We went into that game with real momentum, having beaten Leicester Tigers,” said Schmidt of their last meeting. “But we know they (Ulster) will be more desperate and more determined when they come to Dublin on Friday.”

Leinster have no fresh injury worries after their win over Glasgow. Cullen, Seán O’Brien, Brian O’Driscoll, Eoin Reddan and Heinke van der Merwe are in contention for selection having been rested. Should O’Driscoll feature, it will be his 150th Leinster cap. The team will be named on Thursday.

Gavin Henson has been named in a 26-man Wales squad to play the Barbarians on June 4th.

POITE TO TAKE CHARGE AT MILLENNIUM

ROMAIN POITE will referee his first Heineken Cup final when he takes charge of the season’s showpiece between Leinster and Northampton Saints at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday May 21st (5.0, writes Johnny Watterson.

The 35-year-old French official was on duty during both knock-out stage weekends last month, controlling the Heineken Cup quarter-final between Northampton Saints and Ulster and the Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final between Munster and Harlequins.

ERC, the tournament organisers, yesterday announced the referees for their two high profile finals, with Ireland’s George Clancy appointed to control the Amlin Challenge Cup final between Harlequins and Stade Français Paris at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday, May 20th (7.45).

The 34-year-old from Limerick was also in knock-out stages action, taking charge of the semi-final between Northampton Saints and Perpignan on May 1st. Both Poite and Clancy are among the elite 10 officials named as referees for the World Cup in New Zealand later this year.