Slattery: Kearney a bluffer

Kearney: misses Munster match through illness

I think Kearney's exclusion through default is a plus for Leinster. Girvan Dempsey is good. He's not great but he's dependable and I'd be happy with him.

John Fergus Slattery
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Ireland and Lions legend John Fergus Slattery believes the absence of Rob Kearney through illness is a blessing in disguise for Leinster.

The Irish province come up against bitter rivals Munster in the Heineken Cup semi-final this weekend, and speaking exclusively to skysports.com, Slattery believes having the dependable Girvan Dempsey at full-back is a much better option.

"I'm happy about Dempsey being full-back because he's more of a straight runner," said Slattery, who won 61 caps for his country. "I don't rate Kearney; I don't think he's got the pace. He runs all over the place, he can sidestep on his left or right foot but he hasn't the pace.

"Kearney's got a big boot, he can lash the ball down the field but I think his defence is very ordinary. Also, having booted the ball 60 yards downfield he doesn't do an awful lot about it when he gets up there. He's fooling people but he won't do that for ever.

"I think Kearney's exclusion through default is a plus for Leinster. Dempsey is good. He's not great but he's dependable and I'd be happy with him."

Slattery - a member of the 1974 Lions squad that went unbeaten in South Africa - believes the game is balanced "60-40 in Munster's favour". However, he feels that if Leinster adopt a quick running game they could pull off a shock result.

"I think Leinster need to go out with the gameplan of running Munster off the park," he said. "I know it's risky but I don't think they have any choice. I think one or two Munster players might suffer in that kind of environment.

"Leinster have to stretch Munster, particularly up front. The back rows are evenly balanced but out of those six players, I think Rocky Elsom is the key guy. He's physical and throws himself around the place, and for a big fella he can really move around. He was fantastic against Harlequins.

He continued: "Leinster need to have a go. They could easily go behind by 14 points after 20 minutes trying it, but I think if they persevere it might pay off. They also need to attack Ronan O'Gara off the scrum; that'll be the plan and it should be. I think Leinster's scrum is an area where they could edge ahead of Munster.

"The lineouts should be fine; both will win their own throw. But I think Leinster should nudge it in the scrum. To close that 60-40 they've got to edge it somewhere.

"If Leinster go out and start trying to shape up and neutralise Munster they'll lose. However, I still think on an overall basis that if Leinster can run the legs off Munster their pack will travel better in that environment."