European Cup:Last year's 45-31 win by Leinster away to Toulouse at the same quarter-final stage of this competition indicated then that Leinster have an underlying grit for which they are not always given credit.

Great backs, as ever, but the pack have always had to suffer in silence. Every compliment to the backline without mention of the forwards has been a backhanded criticism that many of the players have had to endure over the years.

Of them all, Malcolm O'Kelly has had to throw his eyes to heaven more often than most. Although the international lock has his own considerable band of admirers for the athletic way he plays, he has been at the heart of this Leinster side now for almost 12 years.

And while Munster's Declan Kidney opted to rest his international players for their Magners Celtic League match against Ulster last Friday, Leinster coach Michael Cheika appeared to line out the way he expects to face London Wasps on Friday. The international players were out en mass in Donnybrook and included was the much-missed experience of O'Kelly.

The secondrow has witnessed the constant evolution of the side from an Irish provincial team to one of the dazzling sides of Europe. Amazingly, O'Kelly played on the Leinster side that beat Milan in November 1995 at the beginning of the team's European journey and has been ever present since.

Not so surprisingly, the 32-year-old, who has just come back from a knee injury that kept him out of Eddie O'Sullivan's plans in the Six Nations Championship, is one of the growing band of professionals who have played more than 50 times in the competition. His current count for Leinster stands at 54 Heineken European Cup matches.

"Our quarter-final performance in Toulouse last season attracted a huge amount of comment and praise and it still does," says O'Kelly. "But that is the way we like to play and that is the way in which we are most successful.

"We have reached two semi-finals in the last four years. We were fancied both times but failed to produce on both occasions. It would be huge to get to a final, we all want to be involved in that, but first things first and we have a tough quarter-final to play on Saturday."

In Wasps, Leinster face a side, who have a proven hard centre for home games and so the match will bring together the home side, who have one of the best defensive records in the competition, and Leinster, who have been widely recognised as a naturally adept attacking unit.

"Wasps are unquestionably one of the greatest defensive sides in Europe and Leinster are one of the greatest offensive sides in Europe so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top and goes through to the semi-finals," says O'Kelly.

"It does not really matter to us that the match is being played at Adams Park. With the work going on at Lansdowne Road we would have been away somewhere anyway so the fact it is there is not that important. We are happy enough to be going to Wasps and it has all the makings of being a really great game."

Set-pieces also play a pivotal part in Leinster's strategy and O'Kelly's return to the side has brought an expertise and experience, especially in the lineout, which is seen as critical for Leinster to build their attacking platforms. But as usual, the team's lack of predictability is seen as one of their greatest strengths as it is occasionally seen as a weakness. "Set-pieces seem to take on greater importance in European Cup matches than in the other tournaments so we are trying to break that mould," says O'Kelly.

"Wasps are a very rugged and aggressive side, strong at the breakdown area and good at stopping other teams from playing, so it will be very important that we create plenty of phase play to counter their strengths."

As for the whispers that captain Brian O'Driscoll could make a remarkable recovery from his torn hamstring, O'Kelly leaves one in no doubt: "Obviously Brian is a great player and a great captain and losing someone as talented as him is a blow, I really feel for him because he works so hard.

"But Leinster will survive. Yes, it is disappointing not to have Brian but we are more than a one-man team."

And so after an error-strewn match against Connacht at the weekend, they will have to prove it. Again.