heater bypass

Hi guys, does anybody know if i can bypass my leaking heater matrix on my lovely 2.5dse, iv'e had a look at the pipework and it seems a nice simple job to reroute the heater pipes, i'm sure iv'e read that it needs to be connected as the coolant circulates through it until the thermostat opens? but i can't find any info on it, any idea's? cheers

Just link the two pipes together where they go to the matrix pipes.