Cheika talks Toulouse

[Duke Raoul]

Michael Cheika has insisted that while his players have plenty of respect for their Heineken Cup opponents this weekend, Toulouse, they are certainly not afraid of the famous French club.

Guy Noves' men are the only side in the competition to have lifted the trophy on three separate occasions, and are considered heavy favourites for Saturday's clash at Le Stadium Municipal.

However, Cheika is confident that his players will have the strength of character to overcome the aura of invincibility which surrounds the defending champions.

"We've had the opportunity to watch a lot of Toulouse games on television while our internationals have been away, so we've done a lot of homework on them," the Australian explained at Wednesday's press conference at the RDS.

"And the combination of the knowledge that our players already have of Toulouse, and our analysis of their recent matches, has enabled us to come up with a plan that we think is going to work for us.

"But we know that they're a very good team. You don't become one of the biggest teams in Europe by chance.

"You've got to be doing the business regularly to create that aura that Toulouse have around them.

Cheika continued: "I was in the changing rooms at Riverview yesterday and the guys that were next to me obviously didn't know I was the coach of Leinster, and they were all like 'oh, Leinster have got no chance on Saturday'!

"So, Toulouse definitely have that aura around them. But we've just got to respect our opposition, while at the same time realising that we're a very dangerous team ourselves.

"We've got our own confidence, and I've seen the way the players are preparing. I can see it in their minds that they know they've got a big game on Saturday, and that they're going to have to perform.

"And I'm confident that they will."

Much of the pre-match build-up has been focused on the respective back-lines of both sides. However, Cheika feels that Toulouse's threat isn't just restricted to their star-studded back-line.

"They've all got very good basic skills so when they break the gain line, they're all supporting the play. You never see them put the ball down once they make a clean break.

"When there's a line in front of them, and the game is contained, they'll make mistakes - like every team.

"But when they get into the open, they finish very well because they've got a lot of pace.

"They have pace not just on the extremities of the field, but right through the middle as well. Even their back rows and locks have a lot of gas.

"But for our point of view, we've just got to try to give them too many problems to deal with so it's more difficult for them to focus on their own game."