Rugby Celtic League: One of the enviable decisions Leinster coach Gary Ella will have to make tomorrow, when the Leinster team is announced, is whether to play Gordon D'Arcy or Brian O'Driscoll at outside centre if both players are available. He will also have to accommodate his normal inside centre Shane Horgan, left wing Brendan Burke and right wing John McWeeney.
Leinster face struggling Glasgow Rugby, who are 12 points behind them, on Friday night at Donnybrook. D'Arcy and Ireland full back Girvan Dempsey are expected to be named in the side but the other Irish players, who now have time off and are being attended to for various niggles following the Triple Crown winning game against Scotland, will not be cleared until tomorrow at lunchtime.
But Ella, whose side is also struggling at ninth place in the 12 team table, hopes to have O'Driscoll, Malcolm O'Kelly, Shane Byrne and Reggie Corrigan available for the first time since their Heineken Cup defeat by Biarritz in January.
The straightforward selection and one that would serve Ella with some sort of continuity, if all the players are available, would be to play them according to their positions on the Irish team. That would maintain the D'Arcy and O'Driscoll partnership in the centre and keep Horgan on the right wing at the expense of John McWeeney, with Burke holding his position on the left wing. But when has Ella ever had a full squad from which to choose?
Munster will face similar problems to Leinster as their players return, although, coach Alan Gaffney does not expect to have all of them available for their away match to Celtic Warriors.
John Hayes, who has had back and shoulder problems, may be one doubtful starter, although Marcus Horan, who also had a back strain prior to the Six Nations game, declared himself fine after he had come on as a replacement for Reggie Corrigan. Outhalf Ronan O'Gara cut short his participation in yesterday's training session at Musgrave Park after going over on an ankle.
"Not all our current internationals will be available for the trip to Celtic Warriors on Friday night," said Gaffney.
"A fair number are pretty battered and bruised and will be spending time with the physiotherapists and doctors but it will be good to have the fit ones back and available for selection. Last week 21 of our 34 contracted players were not available and some of our internationals have played in just two of the 17 Celtic League rounds."
In Ulster, Roger Wilson will miss this weekend's match away to Cardiff Blues. He is still suffering from an ankle injury, which he picked up training in Dublin as one of the additional members of the Irish panel in the run-in to last week's match.
The back row player has had an x-ray and a scan on the ankle, which has shown some ligament damage. Despite hopes that he would be fit for this weekend, he is definitely out. The Ulster team will be announced tomorrow.
Connacht will be hoping for the perfect send-off for their Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-final against Harlequins on Sunday week when they take on Neath-Swansea Ospreys at the Sportsground on Saturday (2.30).
Connacht make two changes from the side which drew 33-33 in Llanelli on Friday night.Both changes are up front with Peter Bracken starting at tight head while Michael Swift moves to the second row as Mike McCarthy returns to the side at blindside flanker.
Ted Robinson returns from injury and is named on the bench.
CONNACHT: M Mostyn; C McPhillips, D Yapp, M McHugh, W Munn; E Elwood, M Walls; D McFarland, B Jackman, P Bracken, M Swift, A. Farley, M McCarthy, M Lacey, J O'Sullivan. Replacements: J Fogarty, A Clarke, D Browne, P Neville, C O'Loughlin, S Moore, T Robinson.
