The chances of Matt Williams continuing as Leinster coach beyond the end of this season appear to have strengthened slightly over the course of the last week following intensive negotiations between the IRFU and Williams. His future, however, will remain very much undecided until next week at least as he weighs up the Union's improved terms with a lucrative offer to take over from the departed Francois Pienaar at Saracens, writes Gerry Thornley

The IRFU's chief executive Philip Browne and Williams's agent John Baker continued their almost daily dialogue with further discussions yesterday. It would appear that the two sides have moved a good deal closer than would have seemed possible at the beginning of the week when comparing the average salary of Irish provincial coaches with their counterparts on the Premiership circuit in England (estimated to be three or four times greater) - though it is believed that these negotiations extend beyond mere financial matters.

"All sorts of things have been discussed," said Browne, who described these discussions as "reasonably positive".

Elsewhere, Terenure will be looking for a new coach for next season as their current director of rugby and head coach Kevin Putt has been confirmed as the new Super 12 coach of the Natal Sharks team in South Africa. Putt, who also plays with Terenure at scrum half, will be taking over from Rudolf Straeli, the recently named new coach of the Springboks.

The under-siege Italian coach Brad Johnstone has called up three players to an expanded squad of 24 for their Six Nations game against Ireland in Lansdowne Road this day week after injuries to key players further disrupted their preparations.

Carlo Checchinato, a mainstay of Azzurri packs since the early 80s who has won four of his 73 caps against Ireland, has been forced to withdraw from the squad due to a pulled hamstring, as has the understudy scrum-half Juan-Manuel Queirolo. This compounds the continuing absence of two other stalwarts, full-back Paolo Vaccari and loose-head Andrea Lo Cicero.

As a result, Johnstone has recalled the naturalised Matthew Phillips after the New Zealand-born number eight had been dropped following two undistinguished performances in the defeats by France and Scotland. He has also called up the talented centre Walter Pozzebon after his three-month absence with a broken hand, as well as the Treviso scrum-half Matteo Massantini as back-up to Allesandro Troncon.

The team is expected to be finalised before the squad's arrival in Dublin on Thursday and, though it would seem unthinkable, all the more so after Ramiro Pez's nerve-riddled display as a late call-up for Diego Dominguez in the corresponding match in Rome last season, apparently Johnstone may be considering leaving the great Diego (scorer of 946 test points) on the bench.

Dominguez was responsible for all his side's 24 points in their opening two defeats by France and Scotland but was also held culpable for the backs' failure to offer even a hint of a try in the process. By contrast, this aspect of the Azzurris' game did improve in his injury enforced absence against Wales when they finally ended a run of three games without a try with couple of tries in the 44-20 defeat.

St Mary's second-row Gareth Logan has been suspended by an IRFU Disciplinary Committee for 20 weeks following a punching incident in the club's AIL division one game against Dungannon on February 23rd.

Logan admitted to punching Mike Haslett during the match, which resulted in Haslett's jaw being broken in two places. Although St Mary's handed down a six-month suspension to their player after the incident on the basis of video evidence, the IRFU decision, which found him guilty of a breach of rule 10.4(a), now ensures that Logan will not play until September of next season.

The 20-week suspension comprises the remaining 10 weeks of this season, an eight-week tour to New Zealand with the club and two weeks at the beginning of the 2002-2003 season. At the time of the incident it was believed that Haslett would be out of the game for eight months.

ITALIAN SQUAD: Backs - G Peens (Piacenza), R Pedrazzi (Viadana), C Stoica (Castres), D Dallan (Treviso), D Dominguez (Stade Francais), A Troncon (Montferrand), R Pez (Rotherham), G Raineri (Roma), C Zanoletti (Calvisano), M Mazzantini (Treviso), W Pozzebon (Treviso). Forwards - A Moscardi (Treviso), A Muraro (Padova), G de Carli (Calvisano), F Pucciarello (Gloucester), S Perugini (L'Aquila), S Dellape (Viadana), M Bortolami (Padova), M Phillips (Viadana), M Giacheri (Sale), M Bergamasco (Treviso), A Persico (Viadana), S Garozzo (Treviso), A de Rossi (Calvisano).