The policy of Leinster and Munster is to give their 10 Lions players as much game time as possible in advance of the May 23rd tour opener against Argentina at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
That means up to nine should play the last round of Celtic League matches this Saturday as Munster host Edinburgh in Thomond Park and Leinster travel to Glasgow.
The odd one out is the injured Ronan O'Gara. The outhalf has another two, possibly three, weeks of rehab on his right knee ligament injury, sustained against the Newport Gwent Dragons on March 25th. O'Gara has been receiving treatment from his personal physiotherapist.
Recent Samoan signing Brian Lima has resumed training but will not be fit for the weekend.
Leinster name an enlarged squad today with all six Lions expected to feature.
"We talked to the players and they all made clear their desire to play," said manager Paul McNaughton. "They can't go without games right through to the end of May and there are potentially four more matches with the Celtic Cup."
Things are less clear-cut in Ulster, who hope David Humphreys can regain fitness ahead of Friday night's match against the Llanelli Scarlets at Ravenhill. A team will be named at lunchtime, with Tyrone Howe also a doubt. They lie in eighth place, three points clear of Connacht who travel to Newport to play the Dragons on Saturday.
The Lions are set to base themselves at Wales' state-of-the-art training base near Cardiff for a week before departure. The facilities, which include an indoor pitch, are based at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel and leisure complex, just outside the city. In addition to Mike Ruddock's Wales squad, the venue has been used by Arsenal and Liverpool before Millennium Stadium cup finals.
The Lions, it is understood, will assemble in Wales on May 17th, leading up to their pre-tour Millennium Stadium clash against Argentina. They depart for New Zealand two days later on May 25th.
And for 10 of the Lions squad - Welsh contingent Gareth Thomas, Shane Williams, Tom Shanklin, Gavin Henson, Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel, Gareth Cooper, Gethin Jenkins, Martyn Williams and Michael Owen - it will be like a home from home.
Some 45,000 tickets have already been sold for the Argentina game - which could feature Jonny Wilkinson - with Welsh Rugby Union chiefs confident of a 70,000-plus sell-out.
"It will be a big occasion in its own right," said Millennium Stadium manager Paul Sargeant. Argentina won't be coming along for the ride. They are going to bring a strong squad, and it has all the makings for a fantastic game of rugby. We are anticipating the game will sell out, kicking off probably the biggest the Lions tour to date."
Meanwhile, Alain Rolland will referee the Heineken European Cup semi-final between the Leicester Tigers and Toulouse at the Walkers Stadium, home of Leicester City football club, on Sunday, April 24th. Englishman Tony Spreadbury has been appointed to referee the other semi-final between Stade Français and Biarritz Olympique at Parc des Princes the day before.
Following on from the success of last year's triple-header at Lansdowne Road, all three divisional finals of the AIB All-Ireland League will take place at the venue on May 7th.
