HEC final - press previews.

danthefan

Thornley in the IT:

RUGBY: THE SUN shone brightly in Edinburgh yesterday, as the first battalions of the 23,000-strong Irish contingent invaded Auld Reekie, and more of the same is forecast today. Admittedly, there were quite a few deflated foot soldiers from the Red Army around for this mid-May finale, but this is the Blue Army’s day and optimism is in the air, writes GERRY THORNLEY , Rugby Correspondent, in Edinburgh
Conflicts of interest abound. Geordan Murphy’s parents were reported to be supporting their native province today, but the Leicester captain was adamant they were put on the spot and, “While I’m sure they have a soft spot for Leinster, after 12 years with Leicester I’d be surprised if any of my family weren’t supporting Leicester. They’ll be wearing Tigers colours or else they’re not getting tickets.”
Murphy was sporting sunglasses, most likely to hide the scars inflicted on his eyeball when he was scratched in the Premiership final against London Irish. That didn’t prevent the classy Naas player from winning another Man of the Match award and his sixth Premiership title, to go with two Heineken Cup winners’ medals.
Nothing illustrates the scale of the task facing Leinster today than those stats, for Murphy is possibly the most decorated Irish rugby player of all time.
Against him will be a host of familiar faces. Unsurprisingly, Michael Cheika has reverted to the same team which started the semi-final win over Munster, save for Jonathan Sexton replacing the injured Felipe Contepomi. Rob Kearney has to be content with a place on the bench.
By contrast, coach Richard Cockerill has made only two changes to the Leicester team which started against London Irish, with Samoan powerhouse Alesana Tuilagi returning from a five-week suspension at the expense of Johne Murphy on the wing, and fit-again Martin Castrogiovanni returning at tight-head.
Julien White thus reverts to perhaps the role that suits him best: impact replacement in the last quarter.
Leicester are on a roll of 12 wins in 13 games. Four of their last six wins have been knock-out matches, including the last three in a row.
In dealing with the issue of fatigue, Cockerill made all the right noises yesterday. He pointed out that after their extra-time and penalty shoot-out theatrics against Cardiff in the Heineken Cup semi-finals, the following week they hit the ground running against Bath in the Premiership semi-finals. Indeed they probably produced their best 60 minutes of the season that day.
Even so, Cockerill has been largely relying on the same players throughout this arduous, end-of-season run. While one would expect them to come out all guns blazing from the start, the suspicion lurks that this could be a game too far – with the critical proviso that they don’t generate the psychological buffer of an early lead.
For Leinster, today will tell whether it’s a source of inspiration or tension in their rugby, but they must be acutely mindful that this represents the chance of a lifetime. And it’s been a long time coming.
Irish rugby is seeking to emulate England in having more than two winners of the 14-year-old competition, while it’s the sixth time an Irish team has kept interest alive until the final in the last 11 years.
It is, of course, Leinster’s first appearance in the final, and, as history would tend to verify, now comes the hard part. As with the Champions League in football, teams do not tend to bolt from the pack and make off with the booty – à la Porto – without having cut their teeth beforehand. In the last eight years, only Wasps have lifted the trophy as first-time finalists.
There also remains a nagging suspicion that Leinster have had another one of their blips of peak form, à la the mauling of Wasps in October, with the risk of them not backing this up.
But this ignores their current well-being. After the performance against Munster, they oozed self-belief six days later in the seven-try rout of the Scarlets and are now well rested.
Allowing for the absence of two of their main overseas contingent, Felipe Contepomi and CJ van der Linde (who you’d really like for this one), Leinster appear in as healthy a state as they could be.
You look through the two teams and Leinster appear to have more game-breakers, and, whatever about the frontrow, are stronger in the backrow, midfield and perhaps even in the back three.
The big imponderable is the head-to-head of the young outhalves, Sexton and Sam Vesty, but Sexton looks better primed mentally than ever.
Indeed, Leinster have developed total faith in each other and their defensive system, and, with a big input from Sexton, have simplified and thus ironed out their attacking game. Their scrum may well survive, but they may have to overcome losing a handful of their lineouts.
“They’re an excellent set-piece team,” said Cheika yesterday, “and the physicality that they bring to the game and the momentum that they can sometimes create when they really start stringing their game together is something we have to halt, by giving them absolutely nothing. And they we have to look to create and really go and win the game. They’re very good at spoiling as well, they have an excellent scrum wheel and they have good lineout operators as well; they take a lot of your first-phase possession away, and if we don’t get that we just have to be prepared to resource the ball from somewhere else. And that’s going to be about hunger and hard work.”
Cue the breakdown area. This will probably be where the game will be won or lost. The Tigers devour this area, but Leinster have a plethora of effective operators here too, be it the Rocky Elsom-Jamie Heaslip-Shane Jennings trio, or the Gordon D’Arcy-Brian O’Driscoll double act.
Leinster will have to be prepared for the mother of all shifts from first minute to last, to keep making tackles, counter rucking and getting back up on their feet, and repeat the process, while also having the energy to make the support runs, come up with the big plays and take their chances. This is where O’Driscoll, Nacewa, the enduringly excellent Fitzgerald and others come in.
It could be an unpredictable ride, like the weather forecast: dry and fair with the risk of showers.
But Leinster have it in them to silence all the naysayers once and for all.
Previous meetings: 1996/97 – Pool Leinster 10-27 Leicester. 1997/98 – Pool Leinster 16-9 Leicester; Leicester 47-22 Leinster. 1999/2000 – Pool Leinster 27-20 Leicester; Leicester 10-32 Leinster. 2001/02 – Quarter-final Leicester 29-18 Leinster. 2004/05 – Quarter-final Leinster 13-29 Leicester. 2007/08 – Pool Leinster 22-9 Leicester; Leicester 25-9 Leinster.
Routes to final: Leicester: 12-6 v Ospreys (h); 60-16 v Benetton Treviso (a); 38-27 v Perpignan (h); 20-26 v Perpignan (a); 52-0 v Benetton Treviso (h); 9-15 v Ospreys (a); q/f 20-15 v Bath (h); s/f 26-26 v Cardiff Blues (a) 26-26 (aet, 2-2 on tries, Leicester win 7-6 on penalty shoot-out). Leinster: 27-16 v Edinburgh (a); 41-11 v Wasps (h); 33-3 v Castres (h); 15-18 v Castres (a); 12-19 v Wasps (h); 12-3 v Edinburgh (a); q/f 6-5 v Harlequins (a); s/f 25-6 v Munster (a).
Leading try scorers: Leicester: S Hamilton, J Murphy 4 each; J Crane, T Flood, A Mauger, G Murphy 3 each. Leinster: B O’Driscoll 5; F Contepomi, R Elsom, L Fitzgerald 2 each.
Leading points scorers: Leicester: T Flood 76. Leinster: F Contepomi 64.
Betting (Paddy Power): 10/11 Leicester, 18/1 Draw, 10/11 Leinster.
Forecast: Leinster to win.
Ford replaces Flannery for Lions

SCOTLAND hooker Ross Ford has been called into the British and Irish Lions squad for the tour to South Africa as a replacement for the injured Jerry Flannery of Munster.
Ulster’s Rory Best, in Canada with the Ireland squad, had been considered a contender but has been overlooked for Ford.

Lions coach Ian McGeechan said: “Ross is a terrific player and he will naturally slot straight in as hooker. I look forward to welcoming him into camp tonight.”

A decision on a replacement for Wales wing Leigh Halfpenny has been delayed.

Farelly in the Indo:

Time for birth of a legend

Leinster's battle-hardened warriors can strike a blow for province and be crowned High Kings of Europe



By Hugh Farrelly

Saturday May 23 2009

LEINSTER has its share of legends from long ago. The Fir Bolg took a shine to the place back in the day and one of their tribes, the Laigin, gets the credit for naming the province.
Fionn Mac Cumhaill had a gaff next to the Bog of Allen in Kildare and then, of course, there was the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
That was when Brian Boru and the boys kicked out the Vikings (although the official King of Leinster was actually fighting with the Nordies at the time).
Since then though, not so much on the legend front.
Silken Thomas, the 10th Earl of Kildare, made of bit of a name for himself but, bar the odd rebellion here and there, the English have had Leinster pretty securely sown up.
However, legacies of the early days carry over, notably the symbol of the harp, which dates back to old Boru and his penchant for plucking the strings and a stylised version of the harp is on the jerseys Leo Cullen, O'Driscoll (another Brian with a Clontarf link) and the rest of the Leinster team will wear at Murrayfield this evening.
Timing
"Life is all about timing," said former Leinster great Victor Costello this week and today seems like the perfect opportunity for an identity-affirming modern-day legend to be created.
With the GAA constituting Ireland's most significant sporting body, the country is defined more by its county than provincial boundaries. It was Munster who got the ball rolling on the provincial identity front when their rugby team dismissed the All Blacks in 1978 and followed up with a remarkable run of achievements this decade which brought them all the way to their current status as world-recognised brand and premier rugby team in Europe.
Now, it feels like it's Leinster's turn to strike a blow for their province. They have a squad with origins in Carlow, Dublin, Louth, Meath, Wicklow and Wexford, with a couple of Australians, a Fijian/New Zealander and a Cook Islander thrown in for good measure. And they have earned their shot at glory.
After years of false dawns and wasted opportunity, garnished with cultural dismissal and withering scorn, Leinster have gradually developed their on-pitch and off-pitch arsenal to the point where they are ready for European coronation.
Written off in December after a debilitating defeat away to Castres, Leinster re-gathered and, steeled by a remarkable, shield-locking defensive line, battled their way to the semi-final where Munster were expected to put them to the sword but were, instead, expertly garrotted.
It has set them up perfectly for a shot at history and, once again, it is the English who stand in the way.
Leicester Tigers encapsulate the traditional Anglo qualities of indomitably and ruthless intent, a team laced with grizzled know-how and men for whom medals represent an annual acquisition rather than occasional offering.
And nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the front row, where the pugnacious George Chuter is flanked by a pair of bodyguards in Marcus Ayerza and Martin Castrogiovanni that would make the Visigoths think twice. Ben Kay's nous is partnered with Tom Croft's irrepressibility in the second row, while Craig Newby, Ben Woods and Jordan Crane have kept the proven abilities of Lewis Moody on the bench and Martin Corry out of the 22.
Behind them, Julien Dupuy is there to kick goals and test the Leinster cover, while the scoring threat out wide comes in the menacing presence of Ayoola Erinle, our own Geordan Murphy and Alesana Tuilagi -- the giant Samoan fresh from a five-week ban.
Leicester's performance last weekend when they ground their way past London Irish to claim the Guinness Premiership title was less than impressive but that may only serve to focus minds, whereas the question surrounding Leinster in the build-up is whether they can replicate the intensity they showed against Munster.
Though Leinster have lured us into misplaced faith before, this time you have to assume they can reach the mental level they achieved in the semi-final -- the consequences of another high-profile no-show are too great.
O'Driscoll, Bernard Jackman, Malcolm O'Kelly, captain Cullen, Gordon D'Arcy, Shane Horgan and Girvan Dempsey (on the bench) are Leinstermen who have served Irish rugby admirably for many years and may never get this opportunity again -- they cannot waste it.
To win, they need to at least contain the Leicester front five in scrum and line-out time. Props Cian Healy and Stan Wright have enjoyed stupendous seasons and, in many ways, are the story of Leinster's progress to this point. It is hard to see the Leinster front row dominating their opponents but Healy and Wright have the determination and the doggedness to hold their own.
If the right calls are made in the right areas, Jackman will hit his men and Devin Toner -- the tallest man in the competition -- is on the bench as the 'in case of emergency, break glass' option.
Then there is the breakdown. Shane Jennings was immense against Munster and he and his team-mates won a succession of crucial turnovers -- a repeat display would go a long way. Leicester have a decent back row but Rocky Elsom and Jamie Heaslip are now among the elite international players in the world and need to exert their superiority.
For Chris Whitaker at scrum-half, the prerogative is to give Jonathan Sexton ball he can work with, not ball with two Tigers attached. If this is potentially Elsom's last game in Leinster blue, it is undoubtedly Whitaker's and a carbon copy of his display against Munster would be a fitting farewell.
Sexton will be the focus of much of Leicester's attention. The St Mary's man played superbly when he replaced Felipe Contepomi in the semi-final but the psychological difference between coming off the bench and starting in the biggest match in Leinster's history are considerable.
Whereas before the Munster game all the pre-match hype surrounded Contepomi, now it's on Sexton (23) and that it is a severe test for the young man to deal with. He looks to have all the playing ingredients to become Ronan O'Gara's successor as Ireland's out-half; this evening will show if he has the temperament -- the signs are that he has.
The collision of Shane Horgan and Tuilagi will be worth watching while Luke Fitzgerald and his back-line colleagues have the cutting edge to slice open Leicester with the right ball.
In defence, Leinster will seek to maintain their high standards under Kurt McQuilkin. Dan Hipkiss is a route-one centre for Leicester and D'Arcy needs to meet him on the front foot or he will do damage.
Both benches have game-changing qualities with Harry Ellis, Moody, Julian White and Louis Deacon almost certain to see some action, while Leinster have impact in the form of Sean O'Brien and Rob Kearney. Above all else, however, today comes down to mindset.
Do Leinster have the same fear factor they had against Munster? Are Leicester mentally exhausted after a long season and last weekend's slog, or are they born winners?
It promises to be a compelling tussle and, while it is possible to see a scenario whereby the Tigers force Leinster into their shell before eking out a third Heineken Cup victory, this is not the same Leinster that succumbed to English strong-arm tactics when they went down to Wasps in January -- it is a team on a season-long upward graph with the intention of reaching its zenith this evening.
From Fionn Mac Cumhaill and Brian Boru we have two more legends in the making in O'Driscoll and Elsom -- the inspirations behind this team. Munster have dominated Irish provincial fireside tales for the last 10 seasons. It's time for the story to change.
Verdict: Leinster
- Hugh Farrelly

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