Connacht have point to prove

The blight of injury and illness which dogged Connacht in their opening two Interprovincials is no longer prevalent as coach Glenn Ross was able to confirm a strong team for tomorrow night's Guinness Interprovincial clash with Leinster at Donnybrook.

Jimmy Screene (broken elbow) and Conor Kilroy (broken hand) are long-term casualties while replacement scrum-half Steve McIvor is a late withdrawal. Galwegians's David Mescal will understudy Conor McGuinness. Ross conceded that he has been happy with the team's preparation. "We have had three good weeks at this stage, the week prior to the Ireland match and the following two. The return of Gavin (Webster) and Martin (Steffert) after injury was a bonus and we were able to concentrate on playing aspects rather than focus on the casualty list.

"The players have worked hard and we have placed special emphasis on defence, an area that required a great deal of work. According to the critics, we will enter this match as underdogs, a sensible deduction if you look at the points table. However, our preparation for this match has been considerably better than the previous two interprovincials."

Matt Mostyn, who grabbed a hattrick of tries for Ireland against Argentina, returns to the right wing while Webster and Steffert bolster the back five in the pack. The experiment with Clontarf's Bernard Jackman at openside has run its course with Buccaneers's Eoin Brennan firmly ensconced in that role. Indeed Jackman is not included on the bench, losing out to Joe McVeigh (hooker) and Shane McEntee (flanker).

Ross's long-term plans include further recruitment for the western province. "We still have three to four full-time contracts to offer and I am hoping that that matter will be resolved over the next couple of weeks. We are looking at players within Ireland, preferably within our own province.

"It's a difficult thing at this stage of the season to try and recruit outside the province and given our early results, it is not as if players are going to be falling over themselves to join us. We have identified certain areas that require more cover and will try to redress that problem."

Munster are expected to announce their team for Saturday's clash with Ulster at Queen's University later today. Injuries to John Kelly and John O'Neill have forced coach Declan Kidney to expand his match squad to 25 players. Shannon wing John Lacey and Garryowen's Kevin O'Riordan offer alternatives to the injured duo. Anthony Horgan is expected to be fit. Kidney explained: "There are a few injuries along with the usual bumps and bruises so we have delayed announcing the side. We should be in a position to do so later today."

He maintains that despite a superb start to the championship, Munster and Ulster could find themselves in a precarious situation pretty quickly. "We play Ulster in back-to-back games, as do Leinster and Connacht. If ourselves or Ulster were to lose both matches and one of the other two teams win theirs then suddenly the championship would be wide open.

"We could end up going to Leinster having to win. I am very pleased with the start we have made, but it is definitely a case of trying not to peak too early. It's a long season and there is no point in being great now and out of form in November when the European Cup starts.

"We are looking forward to Saturday's game, aware that the victor will hold the upper hand with regard to qualification for Europe next season (the top two make it by right into the European Cup) and also winning the interpros.

"Ulster will be motivated to beat us as we inflicted their last defeat. The fact that we have not won in Belfast for 20 years underlines the difficulty of the task ahead of us.

"They are European champions, a very fine side and we will need to produce a huge team performance to beat them."

Ulster also select later today.

Connacht: S Allnutt (Buccaneers); M Mostyn (Galwegians), M Murphy (Galwegians), M Deane (Buccaneers), P Duignan (Galwegians); E Elwood (Galwegians) capt, C McGuinness (St Mary's College); J Maher (Galwegians), S McDonald (Corinthians), M Cahill (Buccaneers); G Webster (Buccaneers), M McConnell (Galwegians); M Steffert (Buccaneers), B Gavin (Galwegians), E Brennan (Buccaneers). Replacements: D Mescal (Galwegians), G Brady (Ballina), N Carolan (Galwegians), J McVeigh (Buccaneers), K Flanagan (Corinthians), C Rigney (Buccaneers), S McEntee (Lansdowne).