Gaffney and Kidney search for new blood

DECLAN KIDNEY and Alan Gaffney will be busy over the next few days in an attempt to strengthen their squads prior to the Heineken Cup quarter-finals on the first weekend of April.

The dates for the four games were set yesterday, with Toulouse and Northampton at Stade Sept Deniers on Friday, April 1. The following day, Stade Francais will start as red-hot favourites against Newcastle Falcons at Stade Jean Bouin in Paris. That game kicks off at 3pm Irish time and will be followed at 5.15pm by Leinster and Leicester at Lansdowne Road.

The Biarritz-Munster game completes the schedule on Sunday at 4pm, though it will be some days before the French reveal the venue, with the Real Sociedad football ground in San Sebastian a strong candidate. It holds more than 30,000, whereas the Parc des Sports Aguilera in Biarritz has a capacity of 12,667.