Provinces to stay grounded

European Cup:Munster and Leinster look set to remain in Ireland for the quarter-finals of the Heineken European Cup should they secure home ties in this weekend's final pool games against Leicester and Gloucester.

Munster plan to play in Musgrave Park, Cork, while Leinster have secured the use of Ravenhill, Belfast, for the knockout stages on the weekend of March 30th to April 1st.

Musgrave's 14,500 capacity cannot, for health and safety reasons, be increased, but the Leinster Branch CEO, Mick Dawson, has revealed temporary seating would push Ravenhill up to 19,000.

With Lansdowne Road and Thomond Park unavailable because of redevelopment work, the ERC require a quarter-final venue to be nominated by February 12th. This allows both provinces some time to make a formal decision on whether to stay home or move to a British venue.

The ERC demand for a minimum capacity of 20,000 applies only to the semi-finals of the competition. If either province progresses to the last four - and is drawn at "home" (that draw to be made next Tuesday) - a move to England, Scotland or Wales would be dictated by the opposition.

Leinster, by right, could host a quarter-final in the 7,000-capacity Donnybrook, but this is not financially viable as 25 percent of the tickets must be made available to the visiting team.

"We have a number of options, but first we need to secure a win in Gloucester," said Dawson. "When we find out who we are playing in the quarter-finals we will then sit down and decide what is the most suitable venue.

"There are two criteria in making this decision - the first is what would give us the best chance of winning the match and, secondly, what venue can facilitate a large number of our supporters and is the most accessible for travel arrangements."

Munster have sounded out several English venues, including the Walkers stadium in Leicester, the Madejski in Reading and Cardiff's Millennium stadium, while Leinster have also informally approached a number of English venues and Murrayfield.

"In the event that Munster achieve a 'home' quarter-final in the Heineken Cup, the only Irish venue being considered at this point in time is Musgrave Park," read a Munster statement, which added, "Preliminary discussions have been held with the stadium directors of venues in Britain, but a final decision must await the outcome of Munster's final Pool Four game with Leicester Tigers. Munster Rugby fully understands the GAA's policy for the non-availability of their stadia."

Several GAA grounds in Munster have a sufficient capacity to hold a European Cup semi-final - including Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney (43,000), the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick (50,000), Semple Stadium, Thurles (53,000) and Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork (43,500).

It is unlikely an English venue would be considered if the opposition were English.

"Ravenhill is available to us," Dawson confirmed, "and with temporary seating 19,000 could be facilitated. Having said that, we are also looking at the Madejski, the Walkers, Crystal Palace's ground Selhurst Park and Murrayfield. We have not considered going to Wales."

Meanwhile, Leinster have yet to sign off on a proposed deal with the RDS (currently under construction) to adopt the 19,000 Ballsbridge Showgrounds as their permanent venue from next September.

"There are no problems with the RDS," said Dawson. "It will be open for the Horse Show in August and available to rugby in September. Donnybrook provided a fantastic night against Edinburgh on Saturday, but the problem is too many supporters were locked out."

Turning Donnybrook into an 11,200-capacity stadium will begin this summer. The ground is expected to stay open throughout redevelopment.

Leinster have held preliminary discussions with the Scottish Rugby Union about the use of Murrayfield for a potential "home" quarter-final or semi-final in the Heineken European Cup.

The Munster preference would seem to be the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Both branches have also looked into the use of several English grounds.

Millennium Stadium (home of Welsh rugby): 74,500 capacity

Murrayfield (home of Scottish rugby and Edinburgh): 67,500

Walkers Stadium, Leicester (home of Leicester City FC): 32,500

Selhurst Park, London (home of Crystal Palace): 26,309

Madejski Stadium, Reading (Reading FC and London Irish): 24,100