Connacht facing uphill battle to stage Aironi tie

RUGBY MAGNERS LEAGUE:THE CONNACHT Branch will make a final decision on whether tomorrow night's Magners League clash against Aironi will go ahead following a pitch inspection at 10.30 this morning. It appears a forlorn hope given the timescale in which a decision must be made in order to facilitate the travel arrangements of the Italian club.

The playing surface at the Sportsground was frozen yesterday afternoon, a situation that’s unlikely to change appreciably before this morning’s inspection. Connacht’s CEO Gerry Kelly explained: “We’re keeping a close eye on the weather forecast at the moment.

“It’s promised to warm up a bit on Friday morning but we’re conscious that Aironi have travel arrangements and we want to make sure that it is safe for fans to travel to the match as well so a final decision on the game will be made in the morning.”

The Irish province has been in touch with both Celtic rugby and Aironi, updating them regularly and will be able to communicate the decision on the pitch before the Italian club’s scheduled departure time in travelling to Galway.

Ulster are guardedly optimistic that their clash with the Newport Gwent Dragons will go ahead as scheduled at Ravenhill tomorrow night. The covers – there is no undersoil heating – have been on and off at Ravenhill over the past 48 hours to initially protect the pitch from frost and then to avail of yesterday’s sunshine. The players have trained on the pitch but will go to the all-weather Ashfield surface for the team run.

The main problem area would be where the playing surface is shaded by the new stand. A decision on the pitch’s playability will be taken at some point today to facilitate the Dragons. The Ulster Branch have already made provision to grit the access to the stands, the walkways and the carpark both this evening and tomorrow morning.

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin will announce his team today and the expectation is that it will resemble as much as possible the likely starting line-up for the following weekend’s Heineken Cup clash with Bath in Belfast. South African secondrow Johann Muller won’t be available for the Dragons match as he recovers from a neck problem but may be available for the European tie.

The promising young wing Craig Gilroy, who has scored four tries in his last two matches for the province, won’t be available for the Bath game because he is not registered for the Heineken Cup. Darren Cave’s hamstring injury survived a 50-minute cameo against Benetton Treviso last time out and he would appreciate some game time this weekend.

Leinster expect their game against the Scarlets to go ahead as scheduled tomorrow night in Wales. The pitch at Parc y Scarlets boasts a state-of-the-art undersoil heating system. It has been a popular venue over the past year with several soccer and rugby matches switched to the venue.

Leinster coach Joseph Schmidt will name a team today but there’ll be considerable interest in the anticipated medical update on two of the province’s injured players, Brian O’Driscoll and Rob Kearney.

O’Driscoll, who damaged his jaw in Ireland’s victory over Argentina, saw a specialist for a second time yesterday. The damage is not thought to be as severe – fractured rather than broken – as that previously suffered by team-mate Jonathan Sexton. A more definitive timeline on his return to action should be available today.

Kearney underwent surgery after damaging his knee in Ireland’s loss to New Zealand. It has been suggested the problem is cartilage and not ligament but again Schmidt should be in a position to confirm the extent of the problem and a likely return date. Injuries to Luke Fitzgerald (knee) and Andrew Conway (neck) will stretch Leinster’s back line resources this week and next when they resume their Heineken Cup campaign away to Clermont.

Munster confirmed a pre-emptive strike against the prevailing weather by bringing forward the kick-off time by two and a half hours to 5.0pm for their game against the Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park on Saturday. The match was originally scheduled to start at 7.30pm and to be broadcast live on TG4 with the latter expected to alter their listings to accommodate the change in kick-off.

The IRFU is set to make a blanket decision on Saturday’s full programme of All Ireland League fixtures tomorrow morning. Last week they left it up to the home clubs to decide on pitch playability once an agreement was reached with the travelling side. Given the anticipated freezing conditions over the next 48 hours, the union may opt to postpone all fixtures.