Coaches play a waiting game

Munster coach Declan Kidney and his Leinster counterpart Michael Cheika will not name their sides for Saturday’s Magners League clash at the RDS (6.30) until noon tomorrow.

Munster completed their preparations with a training spin in Cork this morning and will travel to Dublin tomorrow evening. Their main injury concerns centre round Marcus Horan (back) and David Wallace (facial) who both attended training during the week.

For their part Leinster will be without Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll while Michael Berne is rated extremely doubtful, with Cheika saying, ?I’d say Brian O’Driscoll chances of playing are low. He’s training as much as he can and he’s doing everything he can to get ready for the game, but I’d say his chances of playing are low. But we’re not giving up on it yet and we’re not going to risk him in any way. If we think he can play, then he will be involved at some stage.

?Gordon is going to be out for a few more weeks. We’re probably going to be looking to play this weekend and next without him and then we have a weekend off, so we’ll see how he is then. Mick Berne has an ankle problem from the Llanelli game when he had to come off, while ChristianWarner has a back problem which is why Eoin O’Malley is in the squad.

?We need some cover in the centre and Eoin is an out-and-out 13. I know that it’ll be a big game for him to play, with it being at home, but he has had some good form in the Ireland Under-20s so we’ve got a lot of confidence in the young fella.?

?I think that weeks like these are the most enjoyable because it’s like a cup final atmosphere. Obviously there’s a lot of tension that goes down when two provinces meet but there’s a lot of respect between the two teams.
Asked is there any envy towards Munster, Cheika replied, “No, they deserve all the plaudits they get. There’s a quantum shift that has to go on, and we don’t worry about what goes on with Munster. We worry about what happens with Leinster. If they go on to win it, and I think they will, then good on ’em.

?Jealousy will get you nothing. Hunger will get you everything.”