European Cup: With some relief, Leinster coach Gary Ella was able to welcome back Christian Warner to outhalf for Leinster's final Heineken European Cup pool match at Parc des Sports Aguilera, Biarritz, tomorrow, writes Johnny Watterson.
It has been a season of small sighs of relief and great fluctuations of personnel. This week's line-up is as good as he could have expected with 11 players on the injured list.
Eric Miller, who departed from Lansdowne Road last Friday night against Cardiff, was never in a position to return, which gives Aidan McCullen a chance to burn up the Biarritz turf.
Miller's loss was pivotal to the depressed Leinster performance in the latter part of last week's game and here McCullen, who has satisfactorily filled the gap before, will be looking for a big game. McCullen will join openside Keith Gleeson and number eight Victor Costello, who makes his 50th appearance in a European Cup tie.
Once again Girvan Dempsey goes in at full back, where his form was patchy and atypically unsteady last week. As the incumbent Ireland full back and with the Six Nations approaching, Dempsey will be looking for something more against Biarritz, who must win the match to hold out any hope of qualifying for the knock-out phase.
Otherwise the back line remains the same, with the impressive Gordon D'Arcy at outside centre and Reggie Corrigan, one of the five Irish vice-captains, again skippering the province from the front row.
"The preparation all this week has been forwards-based," said Corrigan yesterday. "We know it's going to be physical but I also think that this week it's going to be a huge psychological game.
"If you can get an edge whether in the scrum or lineout, or plant a little seed of doubt early on, you'll see cracks appearing in their forwards. And if forwards fold it generally means that the rest of the team will follow. But it works both ways. We've got to be unbelievably steely out there."
Steely or not, Ella will also look to Warner for more control, although, with Horgan and D'Arcy outside, his return offers more options than from the boot alone.
"Yeah, it is a bit of a relief to have Christian Warner back there again," said Ella. "He's a little more experienced and I think he adds some pace to the side as well. Biarritz have got to win the game so I think they will come out and attack us."
In Munster coach Alan Gaffney succinctly explained the situation regarding his team's final pool match, against Bourgoin in Thomond Park tomorrow.
"We can qualify as one of the top two seeds; we can qualify as the seventh or eighth seed - or we can fail to qualify at all," he said.
In that light Munster go in with a win in mind. A cautionary reticence has little place in Limerick battles and to that effect Gaffney must also seek a home bonus point to chase top seeding for the knockout phase.
He will attempt to do so without hooker Frankie Sheahan. Sheahan was forced to withdraw from the side that played Treviso and he underwent minor surgery yesterday morning - a scope to clear up some loose matter in the knee. He is expected to be back training late next week, with James Blaney stepping in for tomorrow.
Marcus Horan returns to the side at loosehead prop but some doubt remains over the fitness of full back Shaun Payne, who like Sheahan is troubled by a knee injury.
Payne, who has been one of Munster's strong performers this season, had a scan last Monday, which showed bruising. His recovery has been rapid enough to allow him train yesterday in Cork, but Gaffney has delayed the decision and in the event of Payne not making the pitch, Jeremy Staunton is lined up.
A straightforward contest on paper, but Gaffney sees the match as one fraught with danger. The French team arrive with little to play for but pride and with a different coach on board following the sacking of Philippe Saint-Andre.
"We had a double session in Limerick on Tuesday and the afternoon part was as good a session as the boys have done all year," said Gaffney. "That was very pleasing because the pressure is back on us this game.
"We don't know what to expect from this Bourgoin side because there are a lot of changes and they have a new coach.
"It would probably be better from our point of view if that wasn't the case. We simply don't know what to expect and that makes this a very dangerous game for us. They have nothing to lose and have a lot of young guys in the side, who will be out to impress. We must expect them to throw everything they possibly can at us."
The draw for the semi-finals of the competition, scheduled for the weekend of April 24th/25th, will be made in Dublin on Tuesday.
MUNSTER (v Bourgoin): S Payne/J Staunton; J Kelly, M Mullins, R Henderson, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Blaney, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, J Williams (capt), D Wallace, A Foley. Replacements: G McIlwham, J Flannery, S Keogh, D Pusey, E Reddan, J Holland, J Staunton/M Lawlor.
LEINSTER (v Biarritz): G Dempsey; J McWeeney, G D'Arcy, S Horgan, B Burke; C Warner, B O'Meara; R Corrigan (capt), S Byrne, P Coyle, M O'Kelly, B Gissing, A McCullen, K Gleeson, V Costello. Replacements: E Bohan, G Hickie, A Kearney, S Jennings, B O'Riordan, M Leek, D Quinlan.
