RUGBY: Leinster hope to have internationals full back Girvan Dempsey and winger Denis Hickie back in the side to face Swansea in their Heineken European Cup Pool Four match on Friday evening. Hickie twisted an ankle in Ireland's training stint in Lanzarote over Christmas, while Dempsey tweaked a groin muscle playing against Connacht last week.
Neither trained yesterday, but it is highly likely both will play in Friday's fixture, which the branch are confident will go ahead at Donnybrook.
Bective's All-Ireland League match at Donnybrook last Saturday was postponed because of the weather, but part of the pitch under the stand has been covered which should ensure a reasonable surface.
Gordon D'Arcy, who last week played 60 minutes against Connacht on the left wing, is also on the mend. It was D'Arcy's first game since he was injured in a late tackle after scoring a try against Montferrand in December.
Also back in the frame again is prop Emmet Byrne, who has recovered from gastroenteritis.
Once more Leinster will honour a player who has reached a milestone in his provincial career. Second row Leo Cullen will lead out Leinster for his 50th cap. The Blackrock player follows clubmate Shane Byrne, who won his 100th Leinster cap in the team's last European Cup match.
Munster will select today the team to line out against French side Perpignan for their European Cup round five match on Saturday, but will face the powerful French side with seven players unavailable through injury.
With lock Paul O'Connell recovering from a fractured thumb and Anthony Horgan sustaining another hamstring injury in the latest run of ill fortune, Munster will hope to avoid a possible three-way tie with Gloucester and Perpignon for the top spot in Pool Two in the scramble for automatic qualification.
Defeat would not end Munster's hopes of that goal, and they could still make it through to the last eight if they score a lot of tries.
But the province are leaving nothing to chance, and coach Alan Gaffney travelled to Stade Aime Giral earlier in the season with team manager Jerry Holland. Not surprisingly, it is an intimidating place. In addition, the Perpignon outhalf, Manny Edwards, is an exceptional playmaker who Gaffney knows well.
"I coached him (Edwards) for two seasons at New South Wales and he is a very good player," the Australian said. "He had two Tests for Australia, against Tonga and South Africa, but perhaps was always in the shadow of players like Steve Larkham. Nevertheless, we will have to watch him closely - he has already scored three tries in this season's Heineken Cup."
Perpignan have almost a full squad of players available, but in Munster's favour the team has not played a competitive match since they defeated Narbonne 39-0 at home on December 21st.
Ulster have plenty of injuries problems for their Saturday clash with Cardiff in Wales. Full back Bryn Cunningham has a lacerated ear, while wing/centre Sheldon Coulter sustained a heavy bang on the nose in their last match but both should be available.
Adam Larkin is out for three weeks with concussion while Warren Brosnihan faces a six to eight-week lay-off with a fractured wrist.
Centre Ryan Constable, who has already been concussed twice this season, will find out later this week more about a pinched nerve in his neck but must also be doubtful for the cup clash, while Tyrone Howe, Jonathan Bell and Paddy Wallace remain long-term injuries.
Connacht will select today for Saturday's Parker Pen Challenge Cup match against Pontypridd at Ericsson Park. It is expected that Eric Elwood, Darren Yapp, Marnus Uijs and Damien Browne, who missed the friendly against Leinster, will be available, while the injury to flanker Michael Swift, who was carried off in that match, is not as serious as initially believed.
All stand tickets are sold out for the Leinster match. Ground tickets, at €15 each, are available in the Spar shop in Donnybrook, Magee of Wicklow Street and The Club, Grafton Street.
Five hundred schoolboy tickets are available at the Spar in Donnybrook at €5 each. Schoolchildren will be permitted to the ground on the night if accompanied by a parent or guardian. No unsupervised schoolchildren will be allowed to enter the grounds unless they have a ticket bought in advance.
Tickets for the round-six fixture, Bristol Shoguns v Leinster Lions, will be available at the Leinster Branch office from Wednesday, January 8th. Alternatively, they are available online from the Bristol website, www.bristol-shoguns.co.uk
