CELTIC LEAGUE/Team News: Munster coach Alan Gaffney will stay loyal to the players from within his squad for tomorrow evening's Celtic League quarter-final against Connacht at Musgrave Park. Colm McMahon will play on the wing rather than in the back row and Killian Keane is at full back.
Gaffney, working hard with positional changes to get around the unavailability of Jeremy Staunton and Dominic Crotty - who could both play at 15 - and John Kelly, Anthony Horgan and John O'Neill on the wing, decided not to look for players from outside the provincial squad.
Jim Williams captains the side, which also sees the return of Paul O'Connell, who last played for Munster in the European Cup final, and Donncha O'Callaghan in the second row.
The replacements have not yet been selected as Gaffney seeks the best permutations. Musgrave Park is expected to be playable for the game and also for the Sunday's Well All-Ireland League match on Saturday against rivals Dolphin in what should be the club's biggest gate of the season.
Ulster have named their team to face Glasgow Rugby in Scotland, with Irish second row Gary Longwell not included. Longwell has not recovered from a shoulder injury he sustained playing against Argentina last weekend. Winger Tyrone Howe is also out, but coach Alan Solomons welcomes back former Irish captain Andy Ward, who has recovered from an ankle injury and takes his place on the bench.
Jan Cunningham is also named as the 23rd man and will travel to Glasgow as a precautionary measure as his brother Bryn, at full back, and right wing James Topping have niggling back injuries. In the back row, Tony McWhirter is preferred to Russel Nelson.
Meanwhile, forward Owen Finegan has begun the long haul back toward Wallaby contention after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction. Finegan was forced home on Australia's tour of Argentina and Europe after badly dislocating his shoulder in the Ireland match. The flanker had the operation last week, and was told he "couldn't have done more damage".
"I did the lot so I've had the shoulder reconstruction and a rotator cuff repair," the ACT Brumbies stalwart said yesterday. "The good news was that it won't take any longer than expected to recover from, so I'm still looking at five or six months."
MUNSTER (v Connacht): K Keane; C McMahon, M Mullins, J Holland, M Lawlor; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, P O'Connell, D O'Callaghan, J Williams (capt), A Quinlan, A Foley.
ULSTER (v Glasgow Rugby): B Cunningham; J Topping, S Stewart, J Bell, S Young; D Humphreys (c) , N Doak; J Fitzpatrick, M Sexton, R Kenpson, M Blair, J Davidson, W Brosnin, T McWhirter, N McMillen. Replacements: S Best, P Shields, M McCullough, A Ward, K Campbell, A Larkin, R Constable.
