Botha out for Ulster but Best in squad

HEINEKEN CUP:ULSTER WILL travel to Italy without their South African prop BJ Botha, who is not included in coach Brian McLaughlin's 32-man squad, for the win-or-bust game against Heineken Cup debutants Aironi on Saturday afternoon.

Botha injured an elbow in the second half of last week’s tight round five match against Biarritz in Ravenhill. But there was better news for hooker and captain Rory Best, who also left the field with a rib injury but is included for the crucial fixture at Stadio Zaffanella. The starting Ulster team will be named on Friday.

It took a 78th-minute Ian Humphreys penalty to secure Ulster a vital four points in the 9-6 win over the French club and send them to Italy in search of a 22-point finishing target.

“That defeat in Belfast does not put our hopes of qualification in jeopardy – we are still in the mix,” said Biarritz scrumhalf Dimitri Yachvili.

“It was important for us to come back from that trip to Belfast with something. The draw escaped us but we got a losing bonus point which will prove crucial to determine where we stand next week.”

Munster face London Irish at the weekend but with no more interest in the Heineken Cup knock-out stages. Their game against the Exiles can be seen only by those with a red button. Ulster’s match against Aironi is live on regular Sky Sports, as is Leinsters game against Racing Metro.

Ian Nagle will be looking forward to his first taste of cup action after being registered in the squad ahead of Saturday’s match. The secondrow replaces the injured Ian Dowling on the squad list. While Munster cannot progress to the knock-out stages of the cup, a win against the Exiles could earn a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

ULSTER SQUAD (forwards):T Court, D Fitzpatrick, J Cronin, B Young, A Kyriacou, R Best, N Brady, R Caldwell, T Barker, D Tuohy, J Muller, N McComb, W Faloon, P Wannenburg, S Ferris, TJ Anderson, C Henry, R Diack. (Backs): A D'Arcy, D McIlwaine, J Smith, MMcCrea, A Trimble, S Danielli, P Wallace, N Spence, I Whitten, I Humphreys, N O'Connor, I Porter, P Marshall, R Pienaar.

• Ireland coach Declan Kidney has been given options for full-back with Connacht's Gavin Duffy's recovering from injury and available for the Six Nations.

The 29-year old had been out for a month with a knee injury but was given the all-clear yesterday and is set to feature for Connacht this weekend.

The Ballina native, who has won 10 caps, is back to full training and was not risked by Connacht for their trip to France where they defeated Bayonne.

“He is fully recovered and is available. We did not want to risk him last weekend given that there is so much at stake over the next couple of months,” said Connacht coach Eric Elwood.