Captain Hickie ruled out

Leinster are fortified by the return of their international players who missed the province's emphatic defeat by Argentina for Friday night's Guinness Inter-provincial championship clash with Connacht at Donnybrook (6.30).

Girvan Dempsey, Brian O'Driscoll, Malcolm O'Kelly, Angus McKeen and Trevor Brennan were required by Irish coach Warren Gatland but are now available to reclaim their respective positions. Their presence will offset the loss of the injured captain Denis Hickie (ankle), Gary Halpin, Emmet Byrne (toe) and Ciaran Scally (knee).

Scrum-half Scally is especially unlucky as the knee injury that has dogged him for several weeks may require an exploratory operation. Coach Mike Ruddock has made three changes from Leinster's last Inter-provincial fixture, the defeat by Ulster at Donnybrook.

Peter McKenna replaces clubmate Hickie on the right wing, Shane Horgan deposes Gareth Gannon in the centre and Derek Hegarty comes in for Scally. The Terenure scrum-half is preferred to former All Black Stu Forster who played in the Argentina game.

In Hickie's absence, Blackrock College hooker Shane Byrne will captain the team, a logical progression for the vice-captain according to Ruddock. "We looked at several options available to us but felt that Shane's experience made him the outstanding candidate. He has won over 50 caps for Leinster and has captained teams in the past."

Of particular interest in the replacements is the presence of long-term injury victim Gordon D'Arcy and St Mary's College out-half Mark McHugh. D'Arcy has played in a couple of under-21 matches and in the process proved his fitness after a serious hamstring injury.

McHugh enjoyed a fine tournament in Argentina with the under-21 national side during the summer as did Terenure prop Steve Baretto. Ruddock is aware of the pressure on Leinster to kick-start their championship on Friday with a victory, particularly in the light of such an inept performance against Argentina, but remains optimistic. "We have systematically analysed every aspect of the three matches that we have played and the deficiencies in various areas were obvious. We have worked to put those right in the interim. This is a new team with new combinations and there have been bedding in problems," he said.

"We are hoping now that the players have had an opportunity to play together for a few matches (and) that there will be an improvement. If you look at Wales, and their start to the Five Nations, it wasn't too inspiring. But they got there. One victory could spark a change in our fortunes."

There can be no doubting Leinster's potential, manifest in one way by the pairing of young centres Horgan and O'Driscoll - the latter is still carrying some bumps and bruises from the weekend but is expected to play - but the onus is now firmly on the province to offer something more tangible. Connacht's early season form was even more worrying, as they suffered thrashings at the hands of Munster and Ulster before offering a performance of greater substance against Ireland.

Coach Glenn Ross pointed to the mitigating circumstances of injury and illness that ravaged his playing resources prior to the two inter-provincials. "Many people did not realise the exact extent of our problems during those two weeks. I am not looking for excuses, but against Ulster and Munster our playing resources were stretched to breaking point.

"We did not and do not have the strength in depth to absorb these setbacks. Our backrow was severely affected and we played accordingly. We had a full week of preparation prior to the Irish match with most of the squad and the difference was pronounced."

Connacht will confirm their team later today and are buoyed by the return of Martin Steffert and Gavin Webster following injury. Jimmy Duffy (contract problem), Conor Kilroy (broken hand) and Jimmy Screene (broken elbow) are definitely out.

Ross was upbeat about his team's chances on Friday. "Leinster are a good side with great depth unlike ourselves. But like ourselves they have no championship points so this match is of huge importance to both teams. We will be looking to build on the Irish match and transfer that improvement to this game."

Ulster, who host Munster at Queen's University on Saturday, will not announce their team until tomorrow. Coach Harry Williams cited wear and tear, the legacy of Ireland's Test match against Argentina last weekend, for the delay. Munster are also expected to finalise their team tomorrow.