Celtic League: Johnny Wattersontalks to Stephen Keogh who is expected to play a big part in Leinster's trip to the Arms Park where they take on Cardiff

Stephen Keogh was voted by his peers in the Irish Rugby Professional Players Association the "Unsung Hero" of the year. For Munster "fellas" who become Leinster "goys", there is still a reputation to uphold. Stephen Keogh is very much a player in Leinster blue but that put-down Munster locker room banter, which possesses them to say grievous things about each other in public, has not been diminished in his move from Limerick to Dublin.

Keogh's view of the "Unsung Hero" award follows that great line of disparaging remarks - Ronan O'Gara saying in print that his Irish captain, Brian O'Driscoll, has a head like a wrecking ball, the Leinster players joking that Shane Byrne only got double glazing in his house so that the kids wouldn't hear the ice cream van.

So Keogh continues in that knock-about vein as the "Unsung Hero" winner.

"Keith Gleeson was telling me that you have to be going on 29 or 30 (years old), probably going bald, and about to retire so he thought he was in with a big shot and was very disappointed that he didn't get it. So I guess I'll have to give it to him," says Keogh, casually taking out the international flanker.

Keogh is the former Shannon player, a graduate from St Munchins, brought up to give the Leinster pack a little more bite and he has proved very adept at doing so. His aggression around the pitch from the blindside has allowed him cement his place along with number eight Jamie Heaslip and Gleeson, so his move to Leinster has been profitable.

As part of last year's Munster squad, his was a peripheral role. Dropped for the final and only intermittently playing, game time was what he sought in Dublin.

"I wasn't playing in the Heineken Cup and I got dropped for the final," he says.

"The Celtic League probably means more to a squad in its entirety. About 20 or 22 players play the Heineken Cup but in the Celtic League about 35 to 40 players play during the year so everyone feels a real part of it.

"Having to play week in week out in a side for the whole year will improve your game. In Munster I was playing once every five or six weeks and I was playing AIL. No disrespect to the AIL but it's not professional rugby. So playing regularly would naturally improve your game."

Tomorrow night, one of his duties will be to keep a close eye on Cardiff's running scrumhalf Mike Phillips. At 6ft 3ins, he's far from the stereotype. With pace, strength and aggression, Phillips will draw particular attention from the backrow.

"Obviously he's a very strong runner of the ball and along the fringes we just have to keep our system intact and not buy any dummies," he says.

"He's good at throwing dummies and he's a strong runner. He's like a flanker with a good pass playing scrumhalf. You just have to get good hits going on him."

Players like Keogh will play a huge roll against Cardiff. As packs like to dominate on their home grounds, so Leinster will be faced with a side eager not to roll over. But all this week the difficulty of winning away has been emphasised.

"I don't know," the unsung hero sings in trying to explain the difficult of winning on the road. "It's probably what you're used to. We're used to playing here in Donnybrook. Cardiff are used to playing in the Arms Park. We've a home record here and we don't want to let that go and Cardiff don't want to let their home record go either."