By its nature, the onset of a new rugby season brings with it ominous warnings of winter around the corner - apparently, this is summer. Thus, to go with the unseasonal flooding, it's utterly fitting that rugby makes an unseasonal and unseemly August return.

The six-game group stages of the European Cup begin on the first Saturday in September and, with one eye on qualifying for next season's European Cup, the interprovincial series takes place with indecent haste over the final three Saturdays in August. So it is that the provinces are already cranking into gear. Two of the provinces continue their early-season programmes this evening, with Munster playing Edinburgh and Districts at Heriots, while Connacht have a stiffer task at home to newly-promoted Richmond at Keane Park in Athlone.

Keane Park would seem an unlikely setting for one of England's nouveau riche clubs, as Richmond prepare for their inevitable arrival amongst the Division One elite after their heavily financed and successful promotion bid last season along with kindred spirits Newcastle.

Connacht coach Warren Gatland is expecting a severe work-out against a "very strong, fully professional side with a couple of big benefactors". They must also contain Lions hero Alan Bateman, as well as one-time Irish full-back Simon Mason and English back-row forward Ben Clarke, and a strong Welsh contingent of Barry Williams, John Davis, Craig Quinnell, Andy Moore and Adrian Davis. Also included in their squad are the Argentinians, Rolando Martin and Augustine Pichot.

Nevertheless, this continues a far more demanding and informative preparatory programme than was the case last season when Gatland began his stint on Connacht's pre-season tour in Sweden.

Connacht have just returned from England where the province's senior side beat Newbury by 34-7 last Tuesday and the `A' side accounted for their London Irish counterparts by 57-22 on Friday. The latter's first-choice side beat Connacht by 45-38 on Saturday.

"We've still got a lot of work to do but we made a lot of progress," maintained Gatland. "It was a struggle for us man to man, sizewise, but from 21-6 down against London Irish we came back to 31all before a few bad decisions cost us the game."

Gatland is using the remaining two preparatory games to look at everyone in his squad and could conceivably change his entire starting line-up for Saturday's visit of the Scottish Borders to the Sportsground. "I haven't really settled on a number one side as yet, but lots of players are pushing for contention who've come out of nowhere."

Gatland has been particularly taken by the physical work over the summer and ensuing improvement of 23-year-old right-winger Pat Duignan, an Australian of Irish parentage who came to this country last year and played a few games for Connacht A. "He's worked his butt off and his pace set him apart on our tour."

Another to fall into this category is Jimmy Duffy, the 21-yearold Galwegians' second-row who has emerged from last season's under-20s. According to Gatland, he will get much heavier still and stronger, while Connacht's Kiwi director of rugby is also intent on increasing the bulk of the Clontarf hooker, Bernard Jackman.

He also has his five, full-time professionals to call on for Saturday's game: his compatriots Mark McConnell and Junior Charlie, as well as Michael Finlay, Alan Reddan and Graham Heaslip.

After Saturday's game, Gatland will trim his squad down to about 24 or 25 for the interpros, which begin with a home game against Munster on Saturday week. But Gatland plays down Connacht's chances of qualifying this time in deference to a three-year plan.

"Most of the squad are in their early 20s. They're jumping out of their skins and are mustard keen, but very inexperienced. In three or four years they could be a serious side, but my main aim is to have them training every day as a professional side," says Gatland, who concludes with a moot point about the half-hearted way Irish rugby is embracing professionalism.

"Apart from my five full-timers, I have the rest two nights a week. For the 11 part-timers I doubt it's any different to what Connacht were doing 10 years ago. They're just better paid amateurs."

This time last year Munster had the likes of Gabriel Fulcher, David Corkery, Richard Wallace, Rob Henderson, Barry Walsh, Gary Halpin, Brian Walsh and Ben Cronin at their disposal. Along with that drain to Britain, John "Packo" Fitzgerald, Terry Kingston and Pat Murray have retired from representative rugby.

But, necessity being the mother of invention, Munster optimistically take to the new season in Edinburgh this evening when they will blood five men: Anthony Horgan, Conor Mahony, Ronan O'Gara, John Hayes and David Wallace. And then there's still "the Munster thing".

"There's a degree of resoluteness still there," says manager Jerry Holland, "and some of these guys are getting chances which they wouldn't have got if the other names had been around."

Munster are operating off a squad of 28, to be supplemented by Shane Leahy's arrival tomorrow, following the return home of Eddie Halvey last Sunday for family reasons, and the absence of Stephen McIvor, with a virus, and Killian Keane, likely to be sidelined for a fortnight after an exploratory operation on his knee.

Munster also boast an experienced newcomer in the shape of 30-year-old New Zealand-born prop Gavin Walsh, who will play with the province and Garryowen this season. Unhappy at Northampton last season and having explored other English clubs, Walsh linked up with his new provincial teammates on Sunday.

Walsh, whose paternal grandfather hailed from Cork, said yesterday: "It's something that I wanted to do. My wife's four months' pregnant and, to be honest, I couldn't stand the thought of having an English baby."

Leinster manager Jim Glennon has played down his side's 62-28 defeat to Sale last Saturday, when the home side treated the match as a game of four quarters and used 36 players. Unfortunately, next Saturday's opponents Moseley, appear intent on doing the same.

Nevertheless, Glennon was encouraged by the debut of American-born second-row Aaron Freeman, who dominated the lineouts, and adds: "We are treating this as a pre-season training camp with a couple of work-outs thrown in. Eleven of the 33 players we have over here are under 22 and 12 are experiencing their first-ever involvement with the Leinster senior squad."

Connacht XV (v Richmond today): R Southam (Suttonians); P Duignan (Galwegians), M Murphy (Galwegians), N Barry (Clontarf), N Carolan (Galwegians); E Elwood (Galwegians), C McGuinness (St Mary's); J Maher (Bective Rangers), P Mulcahy (Skerries), M Finlay (Galwegians), M O'Neill (Blackrock), J Duffy (Galwegians), M Reilly (St Mary's), B Gavin (Galwegians), S McEntee (Wanderers).

Munster XV (v Edinburgh and Districts): D Crotty (Garryowen); A Horgan (Cork Constitution), C Mahony (Dolphin), M Lynch (Young Munster), J Lacey (Shannon); R O'Gara (Cork Constitution), B O'Meara (Cork Constitution); N Healy (Shannon), P Cunningham (Garryowen), G Walsh (Garryowen), J Hayes (Shannon), M Galwey (Shannon, capt), K Murphy (Cork Constitution), U O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution), G Tuohy (Sunday's Well).