Irish squad unscathed

Much to Donal Lenihan's relief, as he waited anxiously at the team's base in the Glenview Hotel, Wicklow last night, the 25-man Irish squad seemed to come through the weekend relatively unscathed.

The only apparent casualty, per se, of the weekend was centre cum winger Kevin Maggs, who scored a try in Bath's 32-22 win over Bedford on Saturday but was taken off 15 minutes before the end with a "slight hamstring strain."

With both starting places and squad places up for grabs, in a discernible change from a fortnight ago, all bar one of the 25 man squad played over the weekend. The exception was Jeremy Davidson.

"He didn't play for Castres but we're assured it was only precautionary and that he will be fully 100 per cent fit when he comes in."

The team and replacements will be announced tomorrow after the week's sole open session of the week at Dr Hickey Park in Greystones, with three of the squad being re-routed to the A squad.