Ulster will receive a minimum of 20,000 tickets for the European Cup final against Colomiers at Lansdowne Road on January 30th. The French club has been allocated an identical number but it is anticipated that they will return over 17,000 tickets.

The expense and complexity of travelling to Dublin - they need to go from Toulouse via Paris or London - and the proximity to the Ireland-France Five Nations' Championship match on February 6th should ensure that Colomiers representation at the match is somewhere between 2,000 to 3,000 people. Tickets returned will go to rugby supporters through the club network.

IRFU Secretary Philip Browne confirmed the distribution system for the tickets returned from France at a press conference in the International Board offices. He maintained that the only way the general public could purchase tickets would be in the event that a surplus was returned from the clubs and provincial branches.

"We have faxed every club in the country to let us know, through the relevant Branch, how many tickets they require. Obviously allocation will depend on the number that come back from Colomiers. We have a responsibility to the rugby supporter first and we will therefore distribute the tickets through the established club network.

"If there are still tickets remaining then we would put them on sale to the general public through ticket hotlines. We would ask the people in Ulster who wish to purchase tickets to fax their requests to the Ulster Branch at Belfast 491522. Anyone else interested in purchasing tickets should contact their respective club and place an order.

"All requests must be with the clubs by next Wednesday and they (clubs) must then inform the relevant Branch. We will then contact the provinces on Friday week and be in a position to realise the exact demand for tickets." Browne said that the capacity at Lansdowne Road is 49,000 and that the game would be all ticket.

Ticket prices range from u £25 for the top stand seats to u £10 for terrace. An allocation of 2,300 will be made available at u £3 for children in the specially designated schools enclosure. There will be a certain number of family tickets on sale at u £50, which will provide for two adults and two children to gain admittance to the match. The top seat at a Five Nations' Championship match at Lansdowne Road would command u £32 while terrace tickets cost u £12.

Tournament Director Roger Pickering stated: "We wanted to be fair to the spectator in terms of ticket prices but we were also conscious of the need to fund the professional game. We spent a great deal of time at Tuesday's meeting in arriving at these levels." There is a huge demand for tickets in Ulster with Pickering pointing out that Michael Reid, Chief Executive of the Ulster Branch, had guaranteed that he would have no problem in getting rid of 25,000 tickets.

The Ulster Branch has already received 11,000 requests for tickets to date. Stories are beginning to filter through that two trains were booked from the stand at Ravenhill after the semi-final and that it is no longer possible to hire a coach anywhere in Ulster for Saturday, January 30th.

Pickering confirmed the kick-off time, 2.45 p.m., and that RTE, BBC Northern Ireland and FR2 in France would show the match live. Three Welshmen will officiate with Clayton Thomas as referee and Derek Bevan and Robert Davies his touch judges.

It was hoped to have the European Students Cup Final as a curtain raiser to the main event but the IRFU have decided not to grant this request so as to protect the pitch. They are conscious of the fact that the Ireland-France international is the following weekend. Pickering pointed out that they are considering staging the students final in Donnybrook on the Friday night, depending on the protagonists and on receiving permission from the Leinster Branch.

Browne confirmed that the AIB matches scheduled for January 30th would be postponed, but not those of the preceding weekend, despite Ulster pleas.

On the player front, Ulster received a boost yesterday with the news that Colomiers's French international scrum-half Fabien Galthie would be sidelined for two weeks.

Galthie, who has already suffered a fracture to the left hand this season, underwent medical tests on the injury he sustained in his side's semi-final victory over Perpignan.

It was revealed he had a pulled muscle in his right thigh, according to Colomiers physio Marcel Salse.

Centre Mickael Carre will also be out for a fortnight with a torn thigh and both players must be doubtful for the Ulster clash.

There was better news though for Sebastien Roque, whose knee injury will recover in time for him to face La Rochelle in the French Championship on Sunday.

Fran Cotton is back in conflict with the Rugby Football Union - this time over the proposed slimming down of the administrative structure of the sport in England.

The Lions manager and former England captain resigned as vice-chairman of the Management Board last April in protest at RFU policy.

Now the new-look Union comes in for an ear-bashing from Cotton as The Reform Group, of which he is president, reject the RFU's working party report on counties and the future of the Council and Management Board.

"This document is dangerous," said Cotton. "As the report stands, it further removes democracy from the membership. It's empire-building for a small group of people," although he did concede: "There are some valid points for the future."

The report, prepared by RFU vice-president and ex-England captain Budge Rogers, decided that administration below Twickenham headquarters level should be carried out by strengthening the constituent bodies (basically the 27 counties), who as the RFU Council would be responsible for policy.

The Council's committees, who used to initiate policy, should be reduced from 14 to three, with the Council cut from 59 to 43 members by 2001, eliminating the right of many counties to have two delegates. The Management Board should also be reduced from around 18 to 12.

All 200 clubs in the Union have the chance to vote at yet another special meeting in March - the fifth SGM since the game went professional.

Reform Group chairman Martyn Thomas, who was on Rogers' working party, said: "The Rogers report does not reflect some of the views held by myself or the Reform Group."

Bath have responded to their scrum-half injury crisis by signing Wasps' England international Andy Gomarsall on loan. Gomarsall, who won the last of his six caps against Argentina in 1997, will be available for Bath until February 13th, and is likely to be a replacement when Newcastle visit the Recreation Ground this weekend.