Le Roux to head home next month

RUGBY:OLLIE LE ROUX is set to return to South Africa next month at the end of his one-season deal with Leinster to coach the Cheetahs' forwards as assistant to his former team-mate Naka Drotské. It is understood that in addition to the highly promising 20-year-old prop Cian Healy, Leinster have lined up an international prop as well as a couple of other notable overseas' captures.

Le Roux, who was always set to announce his retirement at the end of this season, will turn 35 on May 10th - possibly the date for Leinster's last game of the season away to the Dragons.

He may take up his new role as early as May 15th with the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup initially, and is then expected to stay in Bloemfontein to take on a similar role for the Cheetahs in next year's Super 14.

Le Roux and Drotské were frontrow partners both for the Cheetahs and the Springboks, with Le Roux playing 108 Super Rugby matches and 68 times for the Springboks, as well as 159 provincial games.

The South African legend scored two tries for Leinster, his first in 13 appearances, in their win away to Llanelli at the weekend when his 130kg frame and leadership again proved invaluable in another of the province's mud wrestles away from home.

Leinster's player of the month for February, le Roux's signing was a stick which Michael Cheika's critics were poised to beat him with, but he has proved an excellent signing.

Munster coach Declan Kidney is expected to name an expanded, relatively full-strength squad today in advance of next Saturday's Heineken Cup quarter-final away to Gloucester after Rua Tupoki came through Friday's win away to Connacht unscathed. Similarly, Gloucester were boosted by full-back Olly Morgan's first appearance since he suffered a dislocated shoulder in December and lock Alex Brown also returned following surgery on a fractured jaw in their last-ditch 17-14 defeat to Worcester at the weekend.

Although leading the Guinness Premiership, that constituted Gloucester's sixth successive away defeat and fifth loss in their last seven outings, as well as their first Premiership defeat to their nearby rivals at the 10th time of asking.

New Zealand outhalf Daniel Carter is expected to be out of action for at least six weeks after badly spraining his ankle in the Super 14.

The Crusaders' outhalf was forced off against the Hurricanes on Saturday after sustaining a high ankle sprain, which is set to rule him out of action for around six weeks.

The initial X-rays showed no broken bones, but an MRI scan revealed the damage is serious enough to keep the outhalf out until mid-May, if not longer.

If the diagnosis is correct, Carter will not return until the penultimate round of Super 14 fixtures, when the Crusaders travel to Brisbane to take on the Reds.

Coach Robbie Deans said Carter was pragmatic about the injury. "He's in great shape mentally. Now, he's got the chance to get himself back in better shape. Potentially, he could be out for longer than six weeks, but it's just a matter of seeing how the ankle responds over the next few weeks."

The Super 14 final will take place a week before the All Blacks play Ireland and conceivably one or two New Zealand sides could be contesting the decider under the Experimental Law Variations before reverting to the existing IRB laws at a week's notice.

As things stand, the Crusaders are setting a storming pace at the top of the Super 14 after seven wins from seven games, with the Auckland Blues and the Wellington Hurricanes in the top four as well. The Waikato Chiefs are also in contention for the semi-finals in seventh place, just a point adrift of the leading quintet.