Leinster boss Micheal Cheika knows Edinburgh will come with all guns blazing as they try to save their European season
Leinster claimed the local bragging rights with their 10-3 weekend victory over Munster at Musgrave Park that took them to the top of the Magners League - but now it is all about the grand European stage when they clash with Edinburgh in Round 3 of the Heineken Cup under the RDS floodlights on Friday night.
Leinster's first win at Musgrave Park for 22 years edged them ahead of Cardiff Blues and gave them a huge lift ahead of the Pool 6 meeting with Edinburgh but coach Michael Cheika knows they still have it all to do after beating Leicester Tigers 22-9 in Round 1 only to go down 33-6 in Toulouse in Round 2.
And the Irish province will be wary of any hint of a bit of déjà vu creeping in with the trip to the Scottish capital following eight days later. In last season's tournament a 25-24 defeat in Edinburgh contributed to Brian O'Driscoll's team losing the chance of a home quarter-final rather than a trip to eventual champions London Wasps.
And this season has been something of a rollercoaster ride, that superb home win against Leicester followed by the heavy defeat in the South of France.
"We have got to focus fully on the home game against Edinburgh and make sure we play smart," said Cheika.
"It is going to be a really tight group. We lost a bit of the initiative when we gave away the bonus point down in Toulouse, but they have got to come to Dublin and there is still all to play for.
"Let's hope we go back to the way we started and that trend goes up. It is a tough group and you need to play well all the time because even if you play at 70 per cent then sides will carve you up.
"We were not smart enough in that situation in Toulouse, but we have got the opportunity to do that to them so it can ebb and flow.
"It is still early in the competition so we have to try to get a bit of consistency going into these next two games to try and put ourselves in the hunt going into the last weekend."
