Solomons holds back on naming Ulster side

Due to the short period of time since Ulster's defeat to Gwent Dragons in the first round of the Heineken European Cup last Sunday, coach Alan Solomons has named a squad of 23 players but deferred naming the starting team for his side's clash with Stade Francais until later in the week.

Ulster's less than bright start to the campaign makes it even more important that Solomons's team do not go into January with two defeats behind them, a likely prospect if he fields an even mildly weakened team at Ravenhill for Friday's game against Stade, who opened their campaign with a 26-15 win against Leicester Tigers at the weekend.

"It is an uphill struggle for us now," said Solomons. "The teams we have to play are all of a very high quality. Against Stade it will be a case of going back to basics because our set-piece play against the Dragons was poor. But we still had opportunities to win so you have to look at it like that."

Stade are also very wary of Ulster's reputation in Belfast and will be approaching the match with caution. The game also threatens to throw together two of the most highly regarded outhalves in the tournament, David Humphreys and 37-year-old Diego Dominguez.

"We will have to throw everything into the hat on Friday night in an attempt to get a win or at least a bonus point for getting within seven points," said Stade Captain David Auradou.

"We have never won in Ireland but know Ulster well from having lost in the 1999 semi-final."

Munster will not be announcing a squad to meet Treviso, who twice took the lead against Gloucester before losing 33-12 last Saturday, until a press conference today, while their team announcement for the match takes place on Friday.

The good news for Munster coach Alan Gaffney is that no serious knocks have been reported and that centre Rob Henderson came through Saturday's match against Bourgoin with no ill effects. It was the international player's first competitive start since the summer after injuring a bicep, which kept him out of the Irish World Cup squad.

The Connacht side to play in their home leg of the Challenge Cup against Beziers at the Sportsground will be picked this afternoon. Connacht go into the game with an eight-point advantage following their thrilling 18-10 win in France on Sunday, thanks to the faithful boot of Eric Elwood, who kicked six from six.

Coach Michael Bradley, although excited about his team's prospects, accepts that eight points is a thin enough cushion. "However, we are in the position we want to be," he said.

"We won the away leg, we are playing in the Galway Sportsground and we know more about their strengths and weaknesses. They are not such an unknown quantity. Their pack is formidable in size and we must make sure they don't get either their maul or scrum going."

Meanwhile, Ireland will commence their preparations for the Six Nations championship with a week-long fitness camp at the La Santa Training Centre in Lanzarote on December 14th.

The squad of 30 players does not include six from Ulster - Gary Longwell, Simon Best, Neil Doak, Tyrone Howe, Paul Shields and Paddy Wallace - who have been exempted in order that they be available for the Celtic Cup final against Edinburgh at Murrayfield on December 21st. A decision concerning outhalf David Humphreys will be made later this week.

English-based players Kevin Maggs and Guy Easterby have been omitted due to club commitments with Bath and Rotherham respectively.

IRISH TRAINING SQUAD: Forwards (16) - E Byrne (Leinster - St Mary's College), S Byrne (Leinster -Blackrock College), V Costello (Leinster-St Mary's College), R Corrigan (Leinster- Greystones), S Easterby (Llanelli), A Foley (Munster-Shannon), K Gleeson (Leinster-St Mary's College), J Hayes (Leinster-Shannon), M Horan (Munster-Shannon), B Jackman (Connacht-Clontarf), E Miller (Leinster-Terenure College), P O'Connell (Munster-Young Munster), D O'Callaghan (Munster- Cork Constitution), M O'Kelly (Leinster-St Mary's College), F Sheahan (Munster-Cork Constitution), D Wallace (Munster-Garryowen). Backs (14) - G Darcy (Leinster-Lansdowne), G Dempsey (Leinster-Terenure College), R Henderson (Munster-Garryowen), A Horgan (Munster- Cork Constitution), S Horgan (Leinster- Lansdowne), D Humphreys (Ulster-Dungannon), J Kelly (Munster-Cork Constitution), B O'Driscoll (Leinster-Blackrock College), R O'Gara (Munster-Cork Constitution), B O'Meara (Leinster-Cork Constitution), B O'Riordan (Leinster-UCD), D Quinlan (Leinster- Blackrock College). J Staunton (Munster-Garryowen), P Stringer (Munster-Shannon).

Injured: J Bell (Ulster-Dungannon), L Cullen (Leinster -Blackrock College), D Hickie (Leinster-St. Mary's College), G Murphy (Leicester), A Quinlan (Munster - Shannon).

Celtic Cup Ulster: G Longwell (Ballymena), S Best (Belfast Harlequins), N Doak (Belfast Harlequins), T Howe (Dungannon), P Shields (Ballymena), P Wallace (Ballymena).