Provinces count cost of autumn action

The November international window has taken a heavy toll on the Irish provinces just 10 days out from a return to European rugby. None of the Leinster players heavily involved with Ireland will feature at home to Scarlets on Saturday.

That means Brian O’Driscoll (concussion), Rob Kearney (ribs), Devin Toner, Cian Healy, Mike Ross, Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip and possibly even Seán Cronin – who took heavy punishment last Sunday – are all unlikely to return until the Northampton game on December 7th.

With 18 Leinster players in the Ireland group over the weekend, the 21-20 victory away to Treviso on Sunday made for a very positive atmosphere at training in UCD yesterday. "A few of those lads are due to have some downtime anyway," said Leinster manager Guy Easterby. "With Brian . . . there is a concussion so he has to follow the usual return-to-play protocols in terms of testing. With Rob I'm unsure, he obviously got through the game, but it had been sore for the week. It will be interesting to see how that settles down. It's unlikely that the guys who played in all three games . . . certainly regarding starting, but they may be used on the bench."

One of the first
Gordon D'Arcy was one of the first players out on the field yesterday despite featuring for 160 minutes against Samoa and New Zealand. Luke Fitzgerald also trained, while Leo Cullen is due to play his first game of the season.

An extension to Lote Tuqiri’s three-month deal, which is up on Saturday, has yet to be sorted out. “That is still up in the air,” said Easterby. “We are hopeful that we might be able to keep him on but we haven’t had that finalised.We have to apply for permission to the union because he is a non-eligible player.”

What about a hooker to cover for Richardt Strauss? “We are hopeful. Just need to go through the right channels in terms of work permit and finalising a deal.”

Ulster have confirmed the absence of Rory Best (fractured wrist) and Iain Henderson (torn hamstring) until January.

Lewis Stevenson (knee) and Nick Williams (calf) also join Chris Henry (hamstring) and Johann Muller on the wounded list.

HEINEKEN CUP: Referee appointments: Round 3 – Saturday, December 7th: Pool 1: Northampton v Leinster (Nigel Owens, Wal); Pool 5: Ulster v Treviso (Luke Pearce, Eng). Sunday September 14th, Pool 3: Toulouse v Connacht (Marius Mitrea, Ita); Pool 6: Munster v Perpignan (Greg Garner, Eng). Round 4 – Saturday December 14th, Pool 1: Leinster v Northampton, Aviva Stadium (Jerome Garces, Fra); Pool 3: Connacht v Toulouse (Leighton Hodges, Wal); Pool 5: Treviso v Ulster (Greg Garner, Eng); Pool 6: Perpignan v Munster (JP Doyle, Eng) .