RUGBY LEINSTER v EDINBURGH:The recent case of Shane Jenning highlights the importance of having a strong legal representation on your side, reports  JOHNNY WATTERSON.

IN A quieter moment outside the fizz and bang of a press conference, Leinster flanker Shane Jennings may well conclude that he owes a lot for his place on this week’s Heineken Cup squad to a former Irish number eight.

When he went into the disciplinary meeting last week to appeal his three-match suspension, he had Leinster honorary secretary and barrister Dorothy Collins at blindside, Jennings in his usual number seven shirt, and solicitor Donal Spring at number eight.

That backrow partnership emerged from the meeting with the player – originally suspended until January 27th for punching Connacht’s Andrew Farley – cleared to play.

Jennings wouldn’t be Jennings, and wouldn’t be doing his job properly, if he wasn’t in the wars in every match.

But his case has also highlighted how important strong legal representation is when it comes to teams facing the prospect of having to play pivotal Heineken Cup matches without their key players.

Just yesterday Malcolm O’Kelly was given a two-week suspension for foul play against Wasps frontrow Phil Vickery.

That would be seen as a ban at the low end of the scale and again Spring was backing him up on the legal front.

The former Munster player was also on the legal team when prop Freddie Pucciariello walked free from a disciplinary hearing a few weeks ago and also with Trevor Brennan’s sanction being reduced from a life suspension.

But players being as players are, the match against Edinburgh is the only thing currently on Jennings’ horizon.

O’Kelly is out for now but back soon and Jennings takes his place, probably with Jamie Heaslip and Rocky Elsom in the backrow.

The now is Edinburgh on Sunday and the flanker points to the hurt of Leinster’s failure in the past as a spur for winning this match. Anything short of the knockout stages is seen as failure by the province.

Since 2000, Leinster have made it to the quarter-finals twice and the semi-finals twice, last time going out to Munster in the 2006 season. It is a win or bust at the RDS

“I think the hurt we’ve had in the past could drive us on,” says Jennings. “Different individuals have different motivations. Personally the hurt of losing and not getting to quarter-finals can drive you on.

“But it doesn’t really do an awful lot on the day. You have to be prepared and you have to work very hard to beat a team like Edinburgh.

“We know we are in for a very, very tough game against a good side especially in my position in the backrow.

“It’s going to be very competitive but these are the games you want to be involved in. A lot of teams are in the same position as us.

“Edinburgh . . . people think that they don’t have a lot to play for but they’d love to come over here and blow out our candles. We’re not taking them for granted because we know it is in our control.

“But we’re very excited at the prospect of having it in our control. We know if we can put in a performance and win the game we’ve a good chance of getting through to the quarter-finals.”

A three-week ban may also have kept Jennings on the margins of the thinking of Irish coach Declan Kidney.

With Ireland’s first Six Nations match against France scheduled for February 6th in Croke Park, an upheld ban would not have left much time to seriously compete with the likes of battle-hardened David Wallace, Denis Leamy, Alan Quinlan, Stephen Ferris and Heaslip.

“People are obviously very delighted to get on the squad. To be honest I wasn’t thinking that way about the Six Nations,” he says.

“Personally yes, I’m obviously very happy. But everybody at the moment is not really thinking about that. For the time being everyone is concentrating on this weekend because we realise how important it is for Leinster. I certainly want to be playing my best and putting a big effort in before that game.”

Back-room teams in rugby have mushroomed since the game turned professional and Clive Woodward brought legal expert Richard Smith QC with him on the last Lions tour. Smith was also despatched to New Zealand last summer to deal with more serious allegations against England players. This month Leinster have experienced the value of good legal expertise in their camp.