TOMORROW evening presents the first of four big tests in this month's Magners League fixtures for Leinster. The hectic schedule, with this week's away match against the Cardiff Blues, with Edinburgh,Ospreys and Munster to follow, could not of been any tougher.

The players should not mind too much as nothing can prepare you better for the crunch games than having really tough tests week after week. In that regard, the Leinster Blues should be well battle hardened by the time the likes of Munster come to visit.

The squad know they will have to hit the ground running and an away win may be a big ask first time out against a quality side, but it is well within the capability of the Leinster boys to go over and set their stall out early doors.

Headache

No doubt the ban enforced on prop CJ van der Linde in the Tri Nations has given Michael Cheika a bit of a headache.With Stan Wright injury and Stephen Knoop's illness last week the choices do become short.

Ronan McCormack has had a long time out through injury and may come in to the reckoning. He was really becoming a good performer before his set-back and I hope this season he can regain the form that he had a few seasons back.

The quality and depth is now there in the front row, especially with Wright, a stand-out player for me last year.

The competition for places will hopefully help to push each front row forward to another level.

That same competition exists throughout the squad now and will be a key ingredient to the team's success later in the year. The province has numerous combinations at fly-half and centre as well as depth in the back three, definitely a good problem to have at this stage.

The mark of Munster, Toulouse and Wasps, all Heineken champions, has been their squad depth and thankfully with Leinster's larger support base the coffers have been expanded to afford all these new overseas stars.

Crop

In the same breath it has been pleasing to see many of the younger crop getting a run, no doubt they are all getting massive benefit from those around them in the senior ranks.

The challenge is certainly there for a squad that Cheika has spent the past three years working towards and now I think he is close to what he always wanted.

While I'm happily retired, i cannot deny that part of me would love be involved in a team that I see putting it up to the best in Europe over the coming seasons, on paper anyway.

Other teams are definately sitting up and taking notice, and I'm sure the squad are full of confidence looking ahead. It's now time to deliver on its promise.

- ERIC MILLER