Botha part of strong Munster squad

After coming through last weekend’s victor over the Dragons relatively unscathed, Munster coach Tony McGahan has picked an identical 26 man squad for Friday’s visit to Glasgow.

South African BJ Botha is named in the squad having made a speedier recovery than expected from his calf injury. However he will be monitored by the Munster management over the week before deciding whether or not he’ll travel.

There’s further good news in the front row with hooker Mike Sherry included despite picking up a slight shoulder injury in Musgrave Park on Saturday night.

Ian Nagle misses out on selection as he continues to recover from a shoulder knock he picked up against London Irish.

Tomás O'Leary's activity is confined to the gym as he rehabilitates the lower back injury which forced him out of the reckoning for last weekend’s match.

Felix Jones will see a London-based specialist later this week to have his foot injury further assessed.

Ulster, also in search of a second consecutive win, have named a 28-man squad for game against Aironi on Saturday (2pm).

With no injuries beyond the usual bumps and bruises, head coach Brian McLaughlin was able to name an unchanged squad from that which took on Glasgow Warriors in Ravenhill last Friday.

Darren Cave, Chris Henry and Luke Marshall will be looking to add to their tally of one try each after last weekend’s defeat of the Warriors.

Leinster will be looking to bounce back from their crushing 27-3 loss at the hands of the Ospreys when they take on the Dragons in Dublin on Friday night (7.35pm).

The Heineken Cup champions, whose squad is being stretched to the limits at the moment, may be able to call on Luke Fitzgerald after a scan on the knee he injured last weekend delivered positive news.

Prop Jamie Hagan trained in a limited capacity on Monday following bruising to his eye, but the Leinster management are confident that he will be fully fit to train on Wednesday and be in contention for selection.

Waikato tight-head prop Nathan White will arrive in Ireland this week after leading his side to the final of the ITM Cup - which they lost 12-3 in Hamilton at the weekend - and is expected to be available for Friday's game.

Andrew Conway has not been ruled out of Friday’s game and the ankle injury which he sustained in pre-season will be assessed with a decision on his availability also expected to be made later in the week.

Meanwhile Connacht coach Eric Elwood was very pleased to overcome Treviso in blistering Italian heat last weekend and is targeting wins in the next five clashes, the first of which comes against the Scarlets on Friday.

“We target six wins from first six games but we will not get carried away, each game has their own challenges.

“Scarlets are a very good side but we believe we are a match for anybody.

Elwood said South African prop Brett Wilkinson may make the bench this weekend’s contest at the Sportsground where the Connacht coach expects a fantastic atmosphere.

“We have a responsibility to ourselves first then we owe fans good performances.

“We need to build a brand on and off the park

“We want the biggest crowd ever for a non-Irish Rabo match, it is so important to the guys on the pitch

“It’s up to us to provide the performance and result the fans expect.

“We have a proud home record and a unique ground.

“We want the clan to create a unique and intimidating atmosphere.