Johnny Watterson looks at the influence of a legendary Kiwi backrower on the Leinster pack

Perhaps the first thing to consider about the All Black legend Mike Brewer arriving into the Leinster camp at the beginning of the season is the why. Why has Leinster coach Michael Cheika invited Brewer into an area of the Leinster set-up, where he, Cheika, a number eight in his playing days, has a particular knowledge? Cheika's natural instincts would be for forward play, more specifically the back row.

Capped 32 times for New Zealand, Brewer was also a backrower, and a versatile one at that. Cheika's invitation to come in and help in an area where he himself has vast experience says something about his belief that Brewer can brings unique expertise to the Leinster set-up. It also speaks of Cheika's maturity and shrewdness as a coach.

The 41-year-old Brewer made his debut for the All Blacks as a 21-year-old. Back then he was destined for greatness. He was made captain of his province, Otago, the year before his international debut, and it seemed only a matter of time before he would captain the All Blacks. As it happened, he never did lead his country in an official test, partly because of ill-timed injuries and possibly because of his versatility.

He was for much of his career a loose forward of enviable ability and was extensively used in all three backrow positions. He made his test debut, against France, at number eight and also played at top level both sides of the scrum. That may have been his undoing during selection for a number of tests.

His contemporaries included such New Zealand greats as Wayne Shelford, Zinzan Brooke, openside flanker Michael Jones and Alan Whetton, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest blindside flankers.

A measure of the All Blacks' strength at the time was that during the 1988 tour of Australia, Brewer, Andy Earl and Brooke were the second string back row to Jones, Whetton and Shelford. And Keith Gleeson thinks he has problems holding down his Ireland place.

Anecdotally, Brewer has been seen to have become more involved in Donnybrook in recent weeks and months than at the beginning. Cheika has clearly seen something he likes about the 1995 World Cup finalist, who was on that day in Ellis Park a blindside flanker.

Since the beginning of the season, though, Brewer has been involved with Barnhall, having finished his contract with Old Belvedere at the end of last season.

In the eight months or so he has spent in Celbridge, he has made a deep impression.

"He's a very down-to-earth individual and it does not matter to him who he's talking to," says Barnhall's director of coaching, Eddie Fitzgerald.

"But what has impressed everyone here is his knowledge of the game. He's technically one of the best, if not the best, I have ever seen in terms of pinpointing strengths and weaknesses in the opposition and in his own side.

"He also seems to have an ability to do it all. We use him more for forwards than backs but he also makes a lot of points about the back play as well. The players here would see him as a player who played for the All Blacks and in a World Cup final and he has commanded instant respect. He's a hard taskmaster but nobody has anything but the highest degree of respect for him."

Brewer's input against Munster is likely to be particularly telling, and with Jim Williams playing a similar role with the Munster back-room team, Leinster, Cheika and Brewer realise it will take sensible management by Leinster to gain any purchase in the forward contest.

Former Aussie international Williams, like Brewer, is steeped in the Southern Hemisphere ethos of hardness as well as knowing the value of an edge. Both men are bringing experience at the highest level into an arena where there is already plenty.

"Based on my own experience I couldn't see that his dedication to fine details, his superb knowledge and his ability to communicate would not have been a help to the Leinster team," says Fitzgerald. "He talks the game like an enthusiast and I don't believe he could fail to influence people at the highest level.

"I think Mike Brewer would have made a significant contribution to those areas in the forwards and backrow play. He reads the game very, very well and makes it absolutely clear, as New Zealanders usually do, what it is he sees."

Brewer was also seen as one of the most influential voices among leading players when many came close to joining the rebel World Rugby Corporation as the game moved toward professionalism in 1995. That voice remains loud, direct and usually on the mark.