RUGBY NEWS:TOMÁS O'LEARY joined the 15 players who started Ireland's 21-18 victory over Scotland in the Six Nations Championship last weekend for the two-day training camp at Carton House.
The Munster and Ireland scrumhalf missed the Scottish match with a back injury but his rehabilitation continues under the gaze of the Ireland medical team.
The pared down group will enjoy two training sessions today, while the remainder of the match-day squad from Edinburgh have been released by Ireland coach Declan Kidney back to the provinces. Tom Court and Paddy Wallace will be available to Ulster, Leo Cullen and Jonathan Sexton return to Leinster, Denis Leamy and Peter Stringer to Munster, with Seán Cronin available to Connacht.
Leamy and Stringer have been included in an extended Munster squad for their Magners League clash with the Newport Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park on Saturday.
Denis Hurley, who suffered a knee injury against Aironi last weekend, will learn the full extent of the damage to the joint after receiving the results of a scan this morning.
The prognosis is he will be out for four to six weeks with what is believed to be medial ligament damage. Danny Barnes has been called into an extended squad.
Better news for coach Tony McGahan is talented young fullback-cum-wing Felix Jones resumed training yesterday and could be in line to return in an A interprovincial against the Ulster Ravens on March 16th.
Meanwhile, Leinster coach Joe Schmidt will have a better appreciation of the depth in talent in the province’s professional set-up, and possibly beyond in one or two cases after this weekend.
The New Zealander is without eight frontline players on Ireland training duty but must then husband his resources to pick match squads for a Magners League game against the Scarlets at the RDS tomorrow night and a British and Irish Cup quarter-final away to the Bedford Blues on Saturday afternoon.
It is likely a number of players selected on the bench for the Llanelli match, and who play 20 minutes or less, might be included in the Leinster A side that travels to Bedford on the Saturday morning. Several of the province’s Ireland Under-20 contingent are likely to be included for the British and Irish Cup match.
Leinster, Ulster and Connacht will announce teams for their respective Magners fixtures today, while Munster will train again in Limerick this afternoon before McGahan confirms his team for the Dragons fixture tomorrow.
A recent review of the tournament in Edinburgh highlighted the fact that the attendance figures for this year’s competition are likely to break the one million mark; as things stand 700,000 spectators have gone through the gates after 16 rounds. Leinster’s victory over Munster at the Aviva Stadium set an attendance record of 50,645.
Celtic Rugby chairman Andy Irvine admitted: “We know we have an excellent, expanding product and it is great to see more and more people engaging with it. Some of the world’s biggest names are playing in the Magners League and the level of competition on the pitch continues to rise.”
MUNSTER (squad):Johne Murphy, Doug Howlett, Danny Barnes, Lifeimi Mafi, Scott Deasy, Sam Tuitupou, Simon Zebo, Declan Cusack, Paul Warwick, Peter Stringer, Duncan Williams, Conor Murray, Wian Du Preez, Damien Varley, Tony Buckley, Denis Fogarty, Marcus Horan, Stephen Archer, Darragh Hurley, Peter Borlase, Dave Foley, Ian Nagle, Mick ODriscoll, Billy Holland, Donnacha Ryan, Tommy O'Donnell, James Coughlan, Alan Quinlan, Denis Leamy.
