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There will be 26 internationals on the pitch at Stradey Park this weekend and the intensity

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There will be 26 internationals on the pitch at Stradey Park this weekend, and the intensity will not be noticeably different from a Six Nations game."Given rugby's proven ability to go to war with itself, Gallacher's bullishness seems almost to be tempting fate. But the positive vibes emanating from an ERC board once pilloried as Pythonesque are deeply persuasive. The Heineken Cup custodians are sufficiently confident of the tournament's pulling power to insist on neutral venues with a minimum 20,000 capacity for this season's semi-finals.If the winners of the Llanelli-Cardiff tie are given a home draw, their semi will be played at the Millennium Stadium, no less. If Northampton or Wasps get the advantage, Reading's Madejski Stadium will come into play. Munster intend to host any last-four tie at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, while Stade Français favour Parc des Princes in Paris. Toulouse have already nominated Stade Lescure in Bordeaux, where Bath famously beat Brive to win the 1998 title, while Montferrand, the outsiders, would take their tie to Lyon.

Those are big venues, but then, we are talking big matches.With the French buying so heavily into the Heineken market - 38,000 tickets have been sold for this Saturday's Gallic grapple between Toulouse and Montferrand - and the English Premiership clubs unanimous in their enthusiasm for the tournament, the road ahead looks free of obstacles. Even the Welsh, generally so downbeat about their club rugby, are up for this particular cup."We certainly have five sides in Wales who could make a mark at this level of competition, and that means we have five sides on which to build our rugby future," Gallacher said. "All things considered, we're on the right track at last."* Va'aiga Tuigamala, of Newcastle Falcons, who has lived in Britain for six years, has had his application for citizenship granted and is no longer classed as an overseas player.. Roger Taylor's reign as Britain's Davis Cup captain began with a lottery win yesterday which guaranteed home advantage on a grass court against Ecuador in a World Group qualifying tie after Wimbledon in July. Roger Taylor's reign as Britain's Davis Cup captain began with a lottery win yesterday which guaranteed home advantage on a grass court against Ecuador in a World Group qualifying tie after Wimbledon in July. Seated on the front row for the draw at the International Tennis Federation's headquarters in Roehampton, Taylor said a nervous flutter went through his body when he saw Britain paired with Ecuador. The two nations have not met previously in the competition, so lots were drawn to decide who would play at home.Taylor feared the worst - "us plus them in Ecuador on a clay court" - and did not hide his relief when the draw went Britain's way. "It's a huge piece of luck," he said, "because now we are going to be able to get our boys on to a grass court, in front of a big crowd, straight after Wimbledon."Although the time and place have yet to be confirmed, Wimbledon's No 1 Court or Eastbourne's Devonshire Park are favoured on the weekend of either 14-16 July or 21-23 July.

"I would say at this stage we will be at Wimbledon," Taylor said, "and we definitely will be on grass."Wimbledon assure us they can have No 1 Court in prime condition that soon after the championships. With two of the best grass-court players in the world, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, we have to admit we will now be favourites to go through."The winners will play in the élite, 16-strong World Group next year. The losers will be consigned to zonal competition, a fate Britain have dreaded since losing to the Czech Republic in the first round of the World Group on a slow clay court in Ostrava in February.Taylor's predecessor, the outspoken David Lloyd, was dismissed shortly after the Ostrava tie, along with his brother, John Lloyd, who was coach to the team. The coach is now Jeremy Bates, Britain's No 1 before the advent of Rusedski and Henman.Rusedski, disappointed by the dismissals, waited until the eve of yesterday's draw before reaffirming his commitment to the Davis Cup and enabling Taylor to present a united front.Ecuador are virtually a family unit, with Nicolas Lapentti, currently ranked above Henman and Rusedski at No 7 on the ATP Tour's tournament entry system, now joined on the circuit by his 17-year-old younger brother, Giovanni. Playing together, they reached the second round of the doubles at the recent Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.Nicolas, 23, a semi-finalist at the Australian Open in 1999, rates Giovanni, the winner of the Under-16 title at the Orange Bowl last year, a better prospect than himself: "He plays a more aggressive game than me, serves well and has a great backhand."Andres Gomez, 40, a cousin of the Lapenttis, is Giovanni's godfather and Nicolas's Davis Cup doubles partner, although 10 years have elapsed since Gomez reached the peak of his career by defeating Andre Agassi in the French Open singles final."Nicolas is in great shape mentally," Gomez says. "He is very happy, very relaxed and, most of all, he knows he has a chance [against anyone]."And Giovanni? "Ha! The talented one," Gomez says "Giovanni has great hands.

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