O'Driscoll expected to face Toulouse

RUGBY MAGNERS LEAGUE:BRIAN O'DRISCOLL may have looked in some trouble at the end of Leinster's defeat by Connacht on Wednesday night but the club say their key player should be fine for their Heineken Cup semi-final next week against Toulouse.

O'Driscoll played the match with his right knee heavily strapped and finished the game in some discomfort after treatment to his left ankle.

But management say they are not unduly concerned for their talismanic player. There is more disquiet over Girvan Dempsey, who shipped a neck injury following a tackle and had to be replaced and was undergoing medical examinations yesterday, while Rob Kearney continues to recover from a knee injury.

With regard to fullback Kearney, Leinster are also hopeful he will be fit to take to the field tomorrow week.

Outhalf Jonathan Sexton, like Kearney, remains on a wait and see watch.

In Ulster, Brian McLaughlin has named a 26-man squad to face Edinburgh on Sunday. The beleaguered Ulster coach welcomes back Ireland hooker Rory Best from injury and also calls up lock Neil McComb. Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris, who missed last Friday night's match against Glasgow, is also healthy and Paddy Wallace makes a return from the injury he sustained when Ulster lost to Ospreys.

"Our main problem has been that we have not been able to hold on for victory in games we should have won," said McLaughlin. "So we have focused on fitness levels and our set-pieces.

"We are all very positive heading to face Edinburgh. We have played them quite a few times this season. The last time was at Ravenhill in Europe, where we gained the victory. We will be going to Murrayfield with the belief we can win."

Michael Bradley makes eight changes to his Connacht side for Sunday's game against the Scarlets on Sunday in Parc Y Scarlets.

Liam Bibo, Tiernan O'Halloran, Eoin Griffin, Ray Ofisa, David Nolan, Dermot Murphy, Conor Higgins and Eoin McKeown have been called up to the squad. Connacht will be looking to continue their recent good form and complete the double over the Welsh side, having beaten them 16-10 when they visited the Sportsground back in October.

Sunday's game could turn out to be season-defining. Both Connacht and Ulster are on 26 points each and, depending on what happens over the weekend, their final match next month against each other in Belfast is a possible winner-takes-all decider.

Last season Ulster finished on 36 points and to equal that they would need unlikely try bonus points wins over both Edinburgh and Connacht.

CONNACHT:Backs - L Bibo, K Campbell, E Griffen, I Keatley, T Nathan, M Nikora, T O'Halloran, C O'Loughlin, B Tuohy, A Wynne; Forwards - A Browne, A Flavin, C Higgins, R Loughney, M McComish, E McKeown, R Morris, D Murphy, D Nolan, J O'Connor, R Ofisa, B Upton

ULSTER:Forwards - R Best, B Young, BJ Botha, N McComb, A Kyriacou, E O'Donoghue, D Tuohy, R Caldwell, C Henry, T Court, S Ferris, R Diack, TJ Anderson, D Pollock; Backs - J Smith, P Marshall, S Danielli, D Cave, I Whitten, N Spence, I Humphreys, N O'Connor, I Boss, W Faloon, A Trimble, P Wallace.