BOTH OF Ireland’s contenders in next weekend’s Heineken Cup semi-finals are nearing full strength, with Ulster yesterday making confident noises about Paddy Wallace and Pedrie Wannenburg being fit for their semi-final against Edinburgh at the Aviva.

Eoin O’Malley remains Leinster’s only injury concern in advance of their clash with Clermont Auvergne the following day. Wallace, playing some of the best rugby of his career, and a hugely important cog in the Ulster backline, was “feeling unwell” during their defeat at home to Leinster last Friday night, “and left the field having suffered visual disturbance due to migraine which resolved within an hour of on-set” according to an Ulster statement yesterday.

The groin injury which forced Wannenburg to depart “is responding well to treatment,” but the medical bulletin was slightly less optimistic regarding Chris Henry’s ankle sprain and Paul Marshall’s injured elbow, with both “subject to ongoing treatment and re-assessment”.

A false rumour on the Ulster grapevine over the weekend suggested that Saturday’s semi-final is already a sell-out but another 8,000 tickets are still on sale through Ticketmaster.

Citing the demands on Edinburgh during the World Cup and Six Nations windows, Neil Doak, Ulster’s highly regarded backs coach, maintains Edinburgh’s position in the Pro12 “gives a false account of how good a team they are” and hence he discounts Ulster’s two bonus-point league wins over Saturday’s opponents.

“It’s a semi-final of the European Cup so that won’t come into it. It will be about who handles the pressure best on the day. It will be about who does the basics well, who defends well, who gets their set-piece right.

“A lot of hard work has gone in over the past two or three years. While the players and coaches get the plaudits, it will be nice for everyone in the organisation if we can make it through. Success at senior level will hopefully allow the game at all levels in the province to flourish.”

O’Malley’s calf injury, which ruled him out of Leinster’s trek to Ravenhill, will be further assessed by the medical team and he has not been ruled out of contention ahead of the team announcement on Friday.

Isa Nacewa, Gordon D’Arcy and Jamie Heaslip – rested last Friday night – have all been restored to the Leinster squad. “It’s a good position to be in,” admitted scrum coach Greg Feek. “We’re thankful to have good medical, strength and conditioning staff, to be looking after the boys. The guys have been putting in some rehab and it’s a credit to their professionalism.”

Pointing to Clermont’s strength in depth, Feek added: “They’re tough, dynamic, powerful. They can kick and read the game really well. So they cover all the bases really well. But it’s the powerful ball-carrier, the pick and go stuff. It’s hard to maul against them. With Nathan [Hines] and Jamie [Cudmore] there, they’ve guys who can go into the trenches and battle it out.

“They’ve props who scrum and lift lineout, carry out wide and defend. So it’s a good mix and obviously with [Julien] Bonnaire in there, he brings huge experience defensively.

“Clermont in Bordeaux is huge regardless of all that other stuff. We need to bring our A game to Bordeaux and just worry about the performance.”