Rugby:Leinster and Ireland fans may get an early chance to see Michael Bent in action away to the Ospreys in the Liberty Stadium on Sunday afternoon (4pm), after the tighthead prop's arrival from Taranaki.

The New Zealander, who qualifies for Ireland through his maternal grandmother, flew into Dublin yesterday and was immediately named in the training squad for the autumn internationals.

With South Africa first up for Irelaned on November 10th, an outing for Bent in the RaboDirect PRO12 will be beneficial, especially if the new man is in contention for the matchday squad at the Aviva Stadium a week later.

Bent could well be joined by fellow New Zealander and outhalf Andrew Goodman, who also arrived in Ireland following his ITM Cup commitments.

With 10 players on international duty, Leinster will field “a number of Academy players who have been in action for the British & Irish Cup side in recent weeks”.

David Kearney and Rhys Ruddock are likely to be involved again after both made successful returns from injury in the 59-22 win over Cardiff Blues on Saturday.

Damian Browne and Jordi Murphy are also in contention after their first tries for the province, “while in-form wing forward Shane Jennings is set to return to the panel after featuring in all of the province’s opening eight games of the season”.

There was also good news on the progress of Eoin O’Malley, Dominic Ryan and Quinn Roux, who “have stepped up their rehabilitation in recent weeks” and are “on course for a return to action in early to mid November”.

The Ireland duo of Luke Fitzgerald and Seán O’Brien are also “making progress” but their returns are likely to come closer to the end of the month.

The team will be named at lunchtime on Friday.