Munster poised to give nod to Ireland trio

SEVERAL of Munster’s Irish squad members will almost certainly be selected in the team to play Glasgow in the Celtic League at Thomond Park on Sunday (5pm).

The team is likely to be announced tomorrow and is to set to include Donnacha O’Callaghan, Marcus Horan and Frankie Sheahan.

All three came on as substitutes in Ireland’s Six Nations victory over Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday. None of Munster’s first choice Ireland players are available.

However, there was good news for coach Alan Gaffney last night in that long-term absentee John Kelly may be fit for Sunday’s game.

Kelly has been absent from the Munster squad since injuring an ankle during an Ireland squad session back in November. However, he played for Cork Con in a 54-22 victory over Co. Carlow in the AIL Division One clash at the end of last month and is expected to make a return.

The only serious injury worry is Mossie Lawler, who is going to be out of action for some considerable time with a knee problem.

Munster, who trained yesterday at Thomond Park, are seven points behind the Neath Swansea Ospreys in the Celtic League table, so this is a crucial game for them.

Ospreys play Borders at The Gnoll on Saturday and it is difficult to see them being overturned by the Scottish outfit on their home ground.

Borders are last in the league at present and Ospreys could well grab a few bonus points in their efforts to sustain the gap over Munster.

In the meantime, ERC and French Rugby Union officials will visit the Real Sociedad ground in San Sebastian today to evaluate its suitability for a possible Heineken Cup quarter-final between Biarritz and Munster on April 3.

An ERC spokesman said last night that as the Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastian had never before been used as a rugby venue, they needed to run the rule over the ground just to ensure it fully met the needs to the teams, the supporters, the sponsors and the television networks.

“We would love to see the venue being used and it is very possible it will, but as it has never before hosted a rugby match of this stature, then we just need to make sure everything is in order.

“We expect to make the site visit and are hopeful we can confirm its suitability by Friday,” the spokesman said.

He added that ERC was delighted Biarritz had decided to move the game to the 32,000 capacity venue in San Sebastian rather than their own 10,000 capacity Parc des Sports Aguilera because it gave the notoriously large travelling Munster support a decent chance of getting tickets.

“I’m sure there will be no problems with the venue, but with it never having been used either for an ERC game or a match under the auspices of the French federation, we felt it necessary to give it the once-over,” the spokesman said.