Johnny Watterson talks to Stephen Rooney, an old head in a Lansdowne team that is spearheaded by youth

When Lansdowne were given the option by the IRFU of playing their AIB All-Ireland League semi-final against Ballymena on the back pitch or the stadium surface, they chose the less glamorous surroundings they have played in all season.

Lansdowne have been reducing their age profile for the last number of seasons and today, although the attraction of a spectacle in rugby's High Church was considerable, the club made a pragmatic call and averted their eyes. The main pitch was judged more of a hindrance than a progression. The lads could be baptised on the international surface another day.

But while the young names have percolated through, Lansdowne has in Angus McKeen and Stephen Rooney two players with over 100 league appearances each. McKeen has hit the 125 mark and Rooney played his 100th against Carlow this season.

The blending by a coaching staff of Harry Williams, Kurt McQuilkin and Andy Doyle has not only rewarded Lansdowne with six wins from their seven home matches but has allowed the side to score prolifically, particularly in the second half of the season.

The Dublin side have annexed eight bonus points for tries scored from their last nine league matches and are the third highest try-scoring side in the division, behind 60-try Clontarf and their opponents today, Ballymena, who have run in 53.

Lansdowne are brewing up a quiet confidence. Rooney, a Leinster veteran who played in the club's defeat by St Mary's in the 2000 final, has watched the evolution.

"The last couple of seasons we've been looking to improve," says Rooney. "After we played a few matches we were very happy with the squad we had. We'd ambitions to finish top four but mid-table might have been more realistic. But we made progress in the season and I'm not surprised now that we're here.

"We lost to Clontarf on December 28th and the magnitude was pretty sickening, but we took a lot from that failure and we moved on quite a bit since that game.

"The combination of Harry, Kurt and Andy has worked. Rather than Harry doing all the work himself, there are three people. Last year was Harry's settling in period. This year he has put his shape on the team and in the summer brought through younger players. Compare that to last year when his cards were pretty much dealt to him."

Like Ballymena, Lansdowne have been playing a fairly open game, and despite the 192-point tally from 13 matches of Matt Leek - 48 points more than any other kicker in Division One - Lansdowne have not relied too heavily on that weapon.

"We're scoring a lot more points," says Rooney, "but we haven't relied on penalties to win games. Against Galwegians he (Leek) banged over a drop goal in injury-time to win, but we can also score tries whereas last year it was a novelty if we ever got bonus points from scoring tries."

With their youth brigade combined with seasoned players such as Rooney, McKeen, Adam Magro, Brian Cusack, seven-try Karl Becker and Liam Toland, Lansdowne go into the match against a settled Ballymena side. Since Ulster's early departure from European competition, their contracted players have been back with Tony D'Arcy at Eaton Park. That increases the magnitude of Lansdowne's task.

"Up to last week, we didn't play against too many teams with contracted players. Ballymena have been together for quite a while. The squad will have a settled look and I'd be very wary of them," says Rooney.

Today, the Ulster side will be seeking a hat-trick of wins in Lansdowne Road, enough to test just how much progress the local club have made.