DEREK RYAN'S struggle to find some consistency on the international squash circuit is reflected in the latest Professional Squash Association ranking list on which the Dubliner continues to hover just outside the world's top 16 players.
Despite a couple of good performances in recent months, Ryan, who plays in the German Masters next week, moves up just one place to 17 while one, player, Zubair Jahan Khan of Pakistan, has leapfrogged the Irishman on the way from 20th to 16th position.
At the top of the list Jansher Khan and Rodney Eyles remain, secure in their respective first and second places, while Scotland's Peter Nicol moves to number three, replacing Brett, Martin of Australia who has, dropped two places to five.
Back at home, meanwhile, Ryan's international team mate. Chris Collins returns to championship competition this weekend at the Telecom Eireann sponsored Munster Open, where he is the top seed in a field that includes a particularly strong local contingent.
John Griffith, Kevin Power and former number one Irish junior John Hurley all return to action at the event after some intensive canvassing by tournament director Eddie Murphy.
"I've been pestering them to come back and last year a couple of them said they were available for the Munster team in the Inter pros, but I said they had to play in the tournaments and so here they are," he says. "It's a great boost for us and it should lead to the Munster team being considerably stronger this season."
The appearance of the trio will certainly be a boost to the event but whether any of them will be quite ready to upset Collins - who has been playing Leinster League since the start of the season but has yet to fully shake off a back problem that kept him out of last season's European championships - or second seed John Rooney remains somewhat doubtful.
Similarly, the two favourites in the women's event, former junior international team mates Anna McGeever and Eleanor Lapthorne appear likely to make it safely through to tomorrow's at final Sunday's Well, although they too, face some tough competition.
