Wood in need of start

RUGBY/Six Nations Championship: Keith Wood and the rest of the Irish players involved in weekend club games all came through unscathed and played a full part in yesterday's squad session in Greystones, giving the impression that Wood may now make an unexpectedly swift return as captain against Italy this Saturday.

The current squad of 23, including three hookers, will be trimmed down to 22 and a starting XV will be announced at around lunchtime today in the Irish squad's Glenview Hotel base after an open session in Dr Hickey Park from 11.30.

"Everybody who played came through and Woody came through well," confirmed Brian O'Brien yesterday. "Obviously he's lacking match practice but he got through a good session today. He has a certain stiffness in his body but he's getting closer all the time to full fitness."

The Irish manager was non-committal on whether Wood would be retained in the 22 or picked in the starting team but Eddie O'Sullivan seemed to be pleasantly surprised by Wood's ability to last the 80 minutes in Harlequins' vital win over Newcastle when attending the Stoop last Saturday.

A factor in the management's decision will be Harlequins' lack of a game this coming Saturday and the looming showdown with France - who might by then be seeking a grand slam - a fortnight after the Italian match.

With Wood now well placed to be back in time for the French game, it may make more sense for him to play a test match against Italy (perhaps for the first 50 or 60 minutes) in between a couple of games with Harlequins rather than leave him idle again this weekend.

With Paul O'Connell now expected to add further height and aerial presence at the front of the line when he is presumably named in the starting line-up alongside Malcolm O'Kelly, Wood's recall would also enable the management team to give their first-choice lineout a full test outing this Saturday.

With that in mind, another likely source of discussion will again be the choice between Eric Miller and Simon Easterby at blindside flanker. Easterby replaced Miller to good effect against Scotland, though Miller is the incumbent and was clearly troubled by an early knock that day.

Further out, it will be a major surprise if Shane Horgan isn't switched to inside centre, with Tyrone Howe's experience and his specialist left-wing role likely to earn him a recall ahead of the uncapped but more versatile John Kelly.

Meanwhile it has emerged that the Connacht coach and Irish A assistant Steph Nel has agreed to a new contract with the IRFU which will see him remain on as coach in the province after he, too, received overtures from at least one English club.

"I've been having discussions with the IRFU last week and they have gone very well," admitted Nel yesterday. "Although everything has still to be signed I'm happy with the offer they've made to me and I'm very happy where I am. Ideally I'd like to stay in Irish rugby until 2007 at least."

The news will come as some relief to the IRFU who are striving to keep hold of the Leinster coach and Irish A coach Matt Williams after he was offered a lucrative deal by Saracens. With pressure now being brought to bear from Saracens, it is expected that a decision will be made this week.

The indications are that the IRFU have come a long way in closing the gap between their financial evaluation of Williams's worth and Saracens', though there is the additional factor that Nigel Wray, the Watford-based club's owner, will give Williams a totally free hand.

There are also rumours that a group of Leinster officials or backers have sought to improve the IRFU's offer, amid a general acceptance that it is difficult for the union to match the English club sugar daddies if they are dead set on getting their man.

The Leinster players will anxiously await the outcome , having made it abundantly clear to both Leinster branch and IRFU officials, through intermediaries, that losing Williams "would be an absolute disaster for the province," as one player put it. "It could set us back three years."

Depending on the outcome of this week's final round of negotiations and meetings therefore, the last two rounds of re-arranged Inteprovincial Championship games could be Williams's swansong as well as Declan Kidney's at Munster. One series will take place a fortnight before Munster's European Cup semi-final and another two weeks prior to the Heineken Cup final.

On Friday April 19th, Munster host Leinster in Musgrave Park, while Connacht will play Ulster at Ravenhill in the Sportsground that same evening. On Friday May 10th, Ulster will entertain Munster in Ravenhill, while Connacht will host Leinster in Galway on the same evening or on Saturday May 11th.

The one outstanding AIL Division One game between Buccaneers and Clontarf, which will have a vital bearing on the latter's play-off prospects, has been re-arranged for Ballinasloe this Sunday.

•The Connacht Schools Senior Cup final between Colaiste Iognaid and Garbally College takes place at Galway Sportsground tomorrow.