CHRIS WHITAKER isn't interested in maudlin musings days before embracing the biggest match of his Leinster career. The Australian is well aware that Saturday's Heineken Cup final against the Leicester Tigers will be the last occasion he will don the blue jersey but for now regards that as an irrelevant aside., reports JOHN O'SULLIVAN

It won’t make him any more determined than he would otherwise be and it won’t cost him a second thought between now and the time referee Nigel Owens blows his whistle for the first time.

Whitaker doesn’t want to win because Saturday represents his final game for the Irish province but because he is an integral part of a hard working, tight-knit bunch of players who have shared a singular ambition all season.

“Whether it is my first or last game it’s a final so you want to win it. It (the fact it is his last game) doesn’t really come into it and I haven’t thought about it all week. It’s not just (about) me as there are plenty of guys in the team who are leaving.

“Felipe (Contepomi) is not going to be in the team but is coming with us and is a massive part of our team. Nothing has been spoken about it and nothing will be. Everyone is really focused on going over to Edinburgh and winning the game.”

To realise that goal the former Wallaby scrumhalf contends that Leinster will have to improve on their last two European performances, victories over Harlequins and Munster. The good news for the province’s supporters is that he believes they can.

“We have been getting better with every game. I don’t thing there will be any issues about getting up for this game. I said (before the quarter-final) that we hadn’t played to our potential yet and I was confident that we could bring it out in the game. I think we did that.

“What we have done this year is just got better each week, especially in the big games. Hopefully we can do that this weekend because we are going to have to play better than those last two games to match Leicester. I think there is plenty more (scope for improvement) in terms of execution and things like that. It’s something that we are going to have to bring to the table because Leicester are such an experienced team that have been there and done it before; they’re tough to beat.”

The Tigers reinforced those bona fides in their Guinness Premiership final victory over London Irish on Saturday. It wasn’t pretty but it was pretty effective in terms of the manner in which they rolled up their sleeves, absorbed large tranches of pressure and snaffled just enough from rationed opportunity.

On Saturday Whitaker is likely to face Julien Dupuy, the Frenchman this week receiving the fillip of being recalled to his national squad. The alternative for Leicester coach Richard Cockerill would be to start England scrumhalf and South Africa-bound Lion Harry Ellis; the latter started on the bench against London Irish.

Whoever wears the number nine shirt for the Tigers will present a formidable opponent. Whitaker explained: “Dupuy is more of a kicker and not just his goal-kicking but around the field as well. Harry Ellis is probably more of a sniping player. Off the mark he is very dangerous but in saying that Dupuy has pulled a few games out for them this year, such as the game against Bath.

“They have world-class players on the bench, guys who can come on to play different styles of game depending on what’s required. They have so much depth.”

The Australian provided the perfect retort to critics of his style in the wins over Harlequins and Munster, producing a wonderfully gritty defensive performance at the Stoop and a quicksilver, intelligent service in Croke Park.

He smiles when questioned as to whether those performances vindicated the way he chooses to operate. “All depends on the situation and the team you are playing. Munster have some really good pace off the defensive line so you try and get the hands in there as quick as you can.

“It is horses for courses in terms of what you can do, dependent on the type of ball you are getting back. We dominated the breakdown in that game. That makes my job a lot easier, that’s for sure. As a halfback you’d love to have the ball on a platter each week but it doesn’t happen. Teams play differently so that means the opportunities are different.

“Felipe is obviously a very different player to Jonathan Sexton. Jonathan loves to call the shots, loves to dominate a game and it’s better for me because he can do that and I can just try and work around when he doesn’t want the ball. When he wants it, (I) give it to him. I have played with him (Sexton) for three years on and off. We combine well and enjoy playing rugby as a partnership.”

Whitaker points to an improving scrum and the contribution of Stan Wright and Cian Healy, to the influence of Leo Cullen and Shane Jennings and the hard-nosed ethos that the duo took home from their days as Tigers at Welford Road, the confidence gleaned from a Grand Slam and Triple Crown before alighting on the impact of compatriot Rocky Elsom.

“He’s probably the most dominant player on the field that I have played with. Everything he does makes an impact. He covers ground, runs with the ball and makes tackles: he’s world class if not world’s best.”

Whitaker has lost one Super 14 final and a couple of semi-finals but he can’t remember much of those occasions. He feels there’s no point in looking back and trying to offer a comparison between Heineken Cup and Super 14. The only one he can impact upon is Saturday’s match.

He’s loved his time in Dublin and so has his family and that’s why a victory for the Leinster team in Saturday’s final is more important than any personal fanfare.