PAT WHELAN confirmed yesterday that the Ireland squad will have training sessions next Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the Five Nations Championship match against England at Twickenham on Saturday week. The manager also stated that players chosen in the Ireland 21 for the championship match will not be released to play for their clubs on Saturday in the English League.

The league games involving Irish players are the meeting of Moseley and London Irish and Bedford and Newcastle in the second division and Harlequins and Wasps in the first division. The London Irish Moseley meeting is a crucial promotion match for both clubs.

This means that if David Humphreys (London Irish) and Nick Popplewell (Newcastle) are chosen on the Ireland side as seems certain, they cannot play for their clubs on Saturday. Jim Staples, who plays for Harlequins and who captained Ireland in the matches against Scotland and France but who was not available for the game against Wales, is another who will be ruled out of a league match should he be recalled to the team or named as a replacement.

"I will release players who are chosen for the Ireland A side, but not anyone chosen for the senior team," said Whelan. "I have made my policy clear on this issue and it will not change. If we did not have a session on Saturday, it would be different, but that is a crucial part of our preparation for Twickenham."

There were three London Irish players on the Ireland A team that beat Wales last Saturday, fall back Conor O'Shea, centre Robert Henderson and number eight Barry Walsh.

The manager also stated: "As of now we intend to select the two sides tomorrow night but it is possible we may defer the selection until later in the week." The England team is likely to be announced on Friday.