Leinster v Castres - RDS (1.35 live on Sky Sports): THE PRIORITY for Leinster will be to avoid stepping in the cavernous potholes of expectation that surround this Heineken Cup tie and instead focus on dispassionate professionalism. On a superficial level, the gulf between today's protagonists at the RDS couldn't be more pronounced, Leinster blemish-free on their opening two weekends in Europe, Castres pockmarked by bitter disappointment over that fortnight.
Domestic fare has offered the French club no respite as they languish second from bottom in the French Championship, the latest setback coming in a home defeat to fellow strugglers Bourgoin last weekend.
Leinster's Magners League form might pale slightly in comparison to last season's but they are comfortably ensconced at the right end of the table.
Leinster coach Michael Cheika is much too intelligent to permit a paper veneer of superiority to distract his charges. "I used to play down there and I know what their mentality is like. We are expecting a good physical confrontation and expecting to have to work hard for the full 80 minutes. We need to bring a Test match mentality."
His words should carry a resonance that alerts the players as to what to expect this afternoon. Castres have ostensibly nothing to lose and unburdened, could make for awkward opponents the longer the match remains a contest. The priority for the home side is to begin the process of discouragement from the first whistle.
The presence of former Ireland internationals Jeremy Davidson and Mark McCall in the coaching team guarantees they will be well versed with Leinster's patterns. To this end, they have selected two openside flankers in a bid to counter Leinster's expansive inclinations.
The visitors will be physically abrasive up front, particularly at set-pieces and around the fringes of rucks and mauls: they will look to supplement this with a low risk, pressure/territory philosophy. They will do so, though, with what is very much a second string team as there are 10 alterations to the side that started the Bourgoin match.
The integrity of their challenge will be compromised by the absence through injury of French secondrow and captain Lionel Naillet, through the non-selection of former All Blacks Chris Masoe and Carl Hoeft, chief place-kicker Romain Teulet, stand-in captain Rodrigo Capo Ortega and a decision not to start French scrumhalf Sebastien Tillous-Borde; the latter is named among the replacements.
While it's difficult to counter the assertion that Castres travel more in hope than expectation and that they will be a completely different prospect, personnel wise, in six days time, Leinster must still sport a hard-nosed attitude to this encounter.
The priority for the Irish province will be to focus inward in ensuring the mindset is correct.
Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip and CJ van der Linde return after a weekend off and Cheika has charged them with "re-energising" the team. The Australian admitted he has been very happy with the preparation and there has been a good atmosphere on the training paddock.There's no doubt it's been facilitated by the performance of fringe squad players like Fergus McFadden, Simon Keogh and Stephen Keogh, in particular, during last weekend's victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons. Cheika craves a depth of quality and competition and there is evidence he is getting closer to that wish.
Shane Jennings would be a loss to any team but Seán O'Brien's performance seven days ago suggests it will be less acute. The former could be fit for next Friday's reverse fixture at the Stade Pierre Antoine, while the suggestion is either Isa Nacewa or Felipe Contepomi could also travel. In the meantime David Holwell's return to Leinster on a short term contract has been welcomed by the players, with whom he is both highly regarded and popular.
There was further good news for Leinster and Ireland supporters during the week when Gordon D'Arcy returned to the training pitch to begin his rehabilitation in earnest following a nightmarish 10 months out of commission with a badly broken arm. This match represents another platform for talented young players like Devin Toner and Jonno Sexton to copperfasten their aptitude to progress further.
The RDS is expected to be bathed in a cold, winter sunshine that should nudge the attendance - 16,500 tickets had been sold by yesterday evening - closer to the capacity mark. The projected atmosphere should offer an ideal soundtrack to galvanise the home team to a bonus-point victory.
In their last European outing against Wasps, the essence of Leinster's performance was an unrelenting physical intensity that forced the English club to first buckle and then collapse. Today's remit is no different, irrespective of the perceived merits of the opposition.
