Although IRFU officials are privately adamant that they will not cancel any AIL games involving Ulster players on January 23rd - the week before the province's historic European Cup final against Colomiers at Lansdowne Road - the Ulster director of rugby, Harry Williams, has repeated his plea for the said postponements to be made in the interests of his team's chances.

"We're calling on the Union to cancel the games on the 23rd," said Williams. In response to the IRFU's apparent refusal to do so, Williams said: "We haven't heard that yet." And until such time as this is formally the case, Williams is clearly not inclined to back down.

"I'd prefer them not to play on the 23rd," said Williams, pointing out that he has "a very limited squad at his disposal." The IRFU cite the fact that AIL club games are played the week before international matches, but Williams in turn cites one significant difference.

"I can only pick from our registered squad: i.e. those who were registered with the ERC before the start of the competition. I do not have all the players in Ulster to pick from. I cannot call on any player in Ulster. Realistically I'm picking from our current squad plus maybe a couple more - 25 or so."

Williams argues that postponing those matches on January 23rd involving Ulster players would "reduce the risk of injury, because as things stand we're stretched to the absolute limit.

"We were down to the bare bones in the back division on Saturday," added Williams, alluding to the gradual erosion of their back-line options resulting from injuries to Irish internationals Mark McCall and James Topping, plus Ireland A centre Stanley McDowell as well as the departure of their South African centre Chris van Rensberg, now with Swansea. "We're on a bit of a wing and a prayer."

The Ulster coach concedes that the province's two main sources of supply, Ballymena and Dungannon, are already experiencing a "backlog" but given the AIL is scheduled to finish over a month before the departure of the Irish squad to Australia there is some scope for flexibility there. Admittedly, the provincial cups may suffer from absenteeism but then again, don't they always? Hence, while it takes a lot to irritate the affable Williams and thereby prompt even the mildest rebuke for the Union, as he says himself: "It's a question of priorities really. Where there's a will, there's a way."

Williams has called his Ulster players up for three squad sessions next week (one more than the norm agreed with the clubs in weeks when Ulster have no matches) as well as three the following week before taking a noon train from Belfast to Dublin on the Thursday before the final and perhaps having a run-out at Lansdowne Road on the Friday. As for postponing some games on January 23rd, both the Dungannon coach Willie Anderson and his Ballymena counterpart, Andre Bester, have no problem with such a decision.

The kernel of Williams' argument that his players be freed from AIL commitments on January 23rd is that the European final constitutes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ulster and, by extension, Irish rugby. "I don't think I'll ever see anything like it in my lifetime."

Unprompted, Williams was also at pains to stress that "we want the whole of Ireland to come out and support us on January 30th. It isn't just Ulster. Sure, it's primarily about Ulster's achievements so far and it is Ulster who will be in the final, but this is for all of Irish rugby. We're all part of the four provinces' structure, and we're each of us here to help improve the Irish team. That's our raison d'etre and so we'd like all of Ireland to come and support us. All are very welcome."

As for Ulster itself, Williams said the interest in the final was phenomenal. "There's some buzz about the province and people are turning up every stone to get a ticket. We've had telegrams from all over Ulster, including one from the Archbishop of Armagh, Robin Eames. But in almost every one the message is the same: last Saturday was the greatest sporting occasion they'd experienced in their lives, for some even better than the days of Kyle and Henderson, and one of the best sporting days in Ulster's history. Perhaps the best ever in Ravenhill."

With the best still to come? "Now you're talking."