JOHN HAYES, Alan Quinlan and Jeremy Manning are back in contention for a starting place in the Munster side to face Cardiff in Musgrave Park on Saturday. The three were yesterday named on the Munster 22-man squad, with the starting 15 to be named tomorrow after training.
The Ireland tighthead prop Hayes was struck down with a viral complaint that forced him out of Munster's first Magners League game against Edinburgh in Scotland and also kept him out of contention last Sunday, when Munster ran in seven tries against Newport Gwent Dragons in a 50-6 romp at Musgrave Park.
Quinlan, who was named man of the match in Munster's Heineken Cup final triumph against Toulouse last May, also steps up for the first time this season following a groin problem picked up just before Ireland's tour to New Zealand and Australia earlier in the summer. Saturday's game is likely to give him his first competitive run of the new season.
The constant rotation of players also means there is no place for the free-scoring Keith Earls. The youngster ran in a hat-trick from fullback on Sunday but Munster's head coach, Tony McGahan, has gone for the former All Black Doug Howlett and Denis Hurley to start at fullback and wing.
Howlett has already played on the wing and at fullback this season, while Hurley was sent on last Sunday from the bench but was the regular choice at 15 last season.
Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer, Paul O'Connell and Jerry Flannery are all included in a typically powerful-looking Munster squad.
At the other end of the spectrum, disappointment over their poor starts to the league in Ulster and Connacht has put the microscope on both provinces for the wrong reasons.
Connacht's head coach, Michael Bradley, announced a 24-man squad yesterday to face Glasgow tomorrow night at the Sportsground and included the fit-again former Ireland openside flanker Johnny O'Connor as well as John Hearty and Robbie Morris, who are also back from injury.
"It is a massive match and one we must win," said the Connacht skipper John Muldoon yesterday. "We were very disappointed with our performance away to the Scarlets and we want to correct that."
Connacht have lost their opening two matches and are the only club with no points on the board.
Ulster too are struggling ahead of the visit of the Dragons; they have suffered two defeats from two engagements but have the consolation of two losing bonus points to keep them off the bottom.
Leinster are unlikely to be too disappointed to hear that Jamie Nutbrown, Ospreys first-choice scrumhalf, will not be available for tomorrow night's game in the RDS. The former Waikato number nine injured a foot in the game against Glasgow last Friday and is wearing a cast.
The injury is a huge blow to Ospreys, who have lost their Wales scrumhalf Mike Phillips to a severe knee injury and Justin Marshall to Montpellier.
MUNSTER (squad v Cardiff):D Hurley, D Howlett, L Mafi, B Murphy, R Tipoki, I Dowling, P Stringer, M Prendergast, J Manning R O'Gara, T Buckley, F Pucciariello, J Hayes, J Flannery, D Fogarty, P O'Connell, D Ryan, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, J O'Sullivan, N Ronan, J Melck.
ULSTER (squad v Newport Dragons): J Fitzpatrick, N Brady; T Court; R Best; B Botha; C Del Fava; E O'Donoghue; R Caldwell; C Henry; M McCullough; K Dawson; R Diack; T Anderson. N O'Connor; Bryn Cunningham; P Wallace; T Nagusa; R Dewey; D Cave; A Trimble; C Schifcofske; C Willis; I Boss; P Steinmetz.
CONNACHT (squad v Glasgow):L Bibo, A Browne, K Campbell, F Carr, S Cronin, M Deane, G Duffy, A Dunne, A Flavin, A Farley, J Hearty, I Keatley, R Loughney, K Matthews, M McCarthy, B McGovern, R Morris, J Muldoon, F Murphy, J O'Connor, R Ofisa, C Rigney, B Wilkinson, A Wynne.
