Rugby Digest: Any prospect of Eoin Reddan moving from Wasps to Leinster at the end of the season was dashed yesterday with the confirmation the Ireland scrumhalf had signed a new two-year deal with the London club.

Reddan had earlier in the week indicated his intention to prolong his stay with the European champions, despite media speculation to the contrary, and has put pen to paper on a deal that will keep him in England until the end of the 2009-10 season.

The 27-year-old, whose game has flourished since he moved to Wasps from Munster in 2005, was believed to have been offered a deal with Michael Cheika's side but when questioned on Tuesday had said, "I'm staying at Wasps. I don't know why it has become such an issue. Things are working for me at Wasps so there's no point in breaking something that is fixed."

Vickery in doubt

England suffered yet another injury setback before Sunday's game against Italy when captain and prop Phil Vickery strained a calf in training yesterday.

"At this stage it is too early to say definitively whether Phil will be fit for Sunday's match," the RFU said in a statement, adding that Bristol's uncapped Jason Hobson had been drafted in from the Saxons squad and would travel to Rome, as will Vickery.

England lost their other first-choice prop on Wednesday when loosehead Andrew Sheridan was ruled out with a leg abscess after a cut got infected.

Matt Stevens, named on the bench for Sunday, is the natural stand-in for Vickery, having replaced him regularly during the World Cup and started three games following Vickery's suspension.

Tim Payne has been named to start in place of Sheridan, and though he is a great scrummager, the loss of Sheridan removes some of the power from England's front row.

Rougerie on guard

Aurélien Rougerie insists France will pay a heavy penalty if they underestimate Ireland in Saturday's clash in Paris.

"We have prepared for this match with total seriousness all week," said the Clermont-Auvergne winger, who is back in the starting line-up after being on the bench for last weekend's 27-6 triumph over Scotland at Murrayfield.

"There is a lot of talent in this Ireland team, in every position, and I wouldn't like it if they rediscovered their unity against us on Saturday.

"We have to know what to do when faced with Ireland's cutting edge. And they are going to be more organised than the Scottish and therefore more difficult to overcome as a result.

"We have to take one match at a time and not underestimate our opponents. That would be a massive error on our part."

Connacht dates set

The Connacht Senior Schools' Cup semi-finals have been finalised and are to take place on the 25th and 26th of this month.

Sligo Grammar School will take on Coláiste Iognáid in Sligo on Monday 25th February. St Joseph's College, who knocked out last year's winners, Garbally College, in their quarter-final, will travel to Athlone on Tuesday, the 26th to face Marist College.