Leinster move on officials

RUGBY:The Leinster Branch have made a request through official Magners Celtic League channels for the practice of "home" touchjudges to be abandoned next season.

Leinster coach Michael Cheika was critical of a "sequence of decisions" made by Scottish referee Peter Allan and the Welsh touchjudges during last Friday's 19-17 defeat to the Ospreys in Swansea, a result that could decide the title race.

The Ospreys were awarded a late penalty, converted by James Hook, when Welsh touchjudge Nigel Owens intervened after Shane Horgan was adjudged to have obstructed Shane Williams.

Cheika also paid tribute yesterday to the contributions of Reggie Corrigan, Guy Easterby and Will Green who all retire after this season. Saturday's game against the Border Reivers at Donnybrook is the trio's last home game for the province.

Other players expected to depart, as Cheika reduces his squad, are Owen Finegan, Harry Vermass, Adam Byrnes and John Lyne. Kieran Lewis and Niall Ronan move to Munster, while Andy Dunne goes to Connacht.

Cheika admitted enticing world-class replacements to Leinster is proving difficult because of the open-market competition. "A player like Carl Hayman (All Black tighthead prop) who has gone to Newcastle, reports are he got around £350,000. I haven't worked in the business world for a while but I think that comes to about €500,000. It's not going to happen within the structures I know, unless there is something going on that I don't know about."

On the injury front, Brian O'Driscoll will not play again this season while a decision on Denis Hickie and Horgan's fitness will be made today.

LEINSTER SQUAD (v Border Reivers): Forwards: R Corrigan, C Healy, W Green, S Wright, B Blaney, B Jackman, O Finegan, T Hogan, M O'Kelly, C Jowitt, S Keogh, K Gleeson, J Heaslip, S O'Brien; Backs: G Easterby, P O'Donohoe, C Whitaker, F Contepomi, C Warner, G D'Arcy, S Horgan, K Lewis, D Hickie, R Kearney, G Dempsey, L Fitzgerald.

CONNACHT SQUAD (v Dragons): G Duffy, P Durcan, A Farley, A Flavin, J Fogarty, D Gannon, J Hearty, C Keane, S Knoop, R Loughney, D McGowan, M McHugh, C McPhillips, J Muldoon, R Ofisa, C Rigney, D Riordan, T Robinson, M Swift, P Warwick, B Wilkinson, D Yapp.