Cheika on course for Heineken Cup glory

The Tigers lifted the Guinness Premiership honours at Twickenham last Saturday with a 10-9 victory over London Irish but Leinster coach Michael Cheika is focusing on his own side - and attempting to keep feet firmly planted and emotions in check.

"This week is just about trying to stay relaxed and focused - while also making sure we don't get hijacked emotionally by the whole occasion," he said after a below strength Leinster went down 18-9 to Newport Gwent Dragons in their final outing before their Heineken Cup final debut.

"We are not short of confidence and we have to make sure we don't get carried away with the moment, that we simply concentrate on the job to be done."

Cheika will have been particularly happy to see British & Irish Lion in waiting Rob Kearney come through the full 80 minutes at Rodney Parade unscathed after the full back missed the semi-final triumph over Munster at Croke Park suffering from mumps.

"We just have to be composed and focused about everything we do this week.

"And as we have not been in a final before we have to make sure we don't get too hyped up and realise that the battle is still there to be fought against the team who could easily be called the cup kings of Europe," said Cheika.

"They have won the tournament twice and are now through to their fifth Heineken Cup final so they certainly know just what to expect on the day.

"What we have to do is make sure we prepare in every way to achieve our goal and, while we were delighted with some of the huge performances in both the quarter-final against Harlequins and the semi-final against Munster, we still hope we can produce our best game of the lot in the final.

"Against the Dragons I wanted guys to put their hands up ahead of the Heineken Cup and I thought there were a few good performances out there."

Meanwhile, although The Tigers have already got one piece of silverware safely under lock and key at Welford Road, coach Richard Cockerill was quick to stress the need for going up at least another gear at Murrayfield if they want to emulate the Leicester Tigers' classes of 2001 and 2002 by achieving the domestic and European double.

"If we play like that in Edinburgh we won't beat Leinster in the Heineken Cup final - they are a better side than the Irish with more world-class players," he said.