EUROPEAN CUP QUARTER-FINAL:NEVER HAS there been so much speculation about a Munster selection and never has the rumour mill been so far into overdrive.

The bowl in the University of Limerick is hardly conducive to extreme secrecy, and fuelled by the way Munster lined out in training there earlier in the week, the word on the street in Limerick is that the brains trust may today unveil a couple of surprises in the selection of the team and replacements to play Gloucester at Kingsholm in tomorrow's Heineken Cup quarter-final.

One website run by Munster fans, whether by good fortune, the accessibility of UL or insider information, has had a pretty accurate advance read thus far this season and is among those speculating that Tomás O'Leary and Denis Hurley are set to start ahead of Peter Stringer and Shaun Payne.

Furthermore, there is speculation that besides Paul O'Connell and Alan Quinlan returning to the starting line-up ahead of Mick O'Driscoll and Anthony Foley, another change from the team that kicked off the pool-deciding 19-3 win at home to Wasps will see the return of Ian Dowling ahead of Brian Carney on the wing.

It is, however, the positions scrumhalf and fullback that are causing most debate.

Only Foley and John Hayes have made more Heineken Cup appearances for Munster than Stringer (74) and only Hayes has started all of their previous nine quarter-finals.

Admittedly O'Leary, who has started three Cup matches when Stringer has been injured as well as putting in 10 appearances off the bench, is one of the most improved players on the provincial circuit in the last year or so, sharpening his pass considerably to augment his strength and fast break.

All of this was in evidence in a starring role in the 42-6 win over Ulster last Saturday week.

Hurley also impressed in that game, and significantly started the last outing against Connacht as well, whereas the 36-year-old Payne played 80 minutes for UL Bohemian.

Even so, it would be quite an uncharacteristic gamble for Kidney to pitch the promising 23-year-old fullback into his first Heineken Cup appearance ahead of Payne, who was as solid as the proverbial rock in the pool stages and has made 55 appearances in the tournament - 33 of them for Munster.

Normally, the speculation focuses on the back row, where Munster have always had an abundance of riches, and Niall Ronan's form has left the brains trust with the difficult task, once again, of perming three from five.

This is nothing new for Alan Quinlan, either provincially or nationally, and having forced his way into the Ireland squad on the strength of his versatility and his form in Argentina, he spent the World Cup kicking his heels as a non-playing member of the squad.

He was also a frustrated outsider looking in during the Six Nations when Ireland were crying out for his ballast off the bench.

"I'm sure there might be one or two surprises in the team," he says. "Predictably, the press and the public will pick the Munster team . . . but I think it's going to be a difficult one to pick now.

"Unfortunately, I'm kinda used to being in that situation, being on the fringes of teams, being a utility player, if you like, with Ireland and Munster over the years . . . it's happened to me a few times," he adds with a slight weariness.

"But certainly the hunger is there for me personally. I want to try and play in the team; it's a great place to play. It's a difficult choice and there's going to be good players - even leaving the back row out of it - not even in the 22 on Saturday.

"But everybody has a fantastic attitude in the Munster squad and everybody realises that."

If it were not for Quinlan's bad luck in the last five seasons, he wouldn't have had any luck at all.

Typically, having put together a run of seven high-quality performances for Munster, he was sidelined by a dislocated thumb into the new year, but he also started and impressed in the wins over Ulster and Connacht, when he added another man-of-the-match award to his collection.

Quinlan made an extraordinary recuperation to earn a late cameo role in the victorious final against Biarritz two seasons ago.

He is now 33 and engaged to be married to his girlfriend, Ruth Griffin, and you sense that this year, after all the disappointments, a starring, starting role in this campaign would mean even more.

"I feel pretty happy just to be playing really. I've had a pretty stop-start career with some of the injuries and it's just nice to be playing and I enjoy playing.

"I always really enjoy playing with Munster. There's a great competitive edge there and I think it's got stronger and stronger in the last number of years with the quality of the players that are in the squad. They're all high achievers and I think that maybe spurred me on this year.

"I'm not getting any younger, and that certainly spurred me on to make the most of my time left in the game and to try and play on the Munster team. I believe there's a lot of ambition in the squad but then you never know - sport can be cruel to you.

"We're all under no illusions that either Gloucester or ourselves are going to go through on Saturday. It's a two-horse race and one really good team is going to be going out."

That should concentrate the minds.