The challenge for Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster is to keep players firmly focused on the task at hand in the face of the inevitable plaudits that will accompany last weekend’s incredible performance, says Donal Lenihan.

The ride into Exeter was not for the faint of heart, Munster’s charter flight buffeted violently in gale force winds. The landing was pretty white-knuckled too, not helped by the knowledge that five earlier flights had been diverted at that stage. It all made for a strong test of the constitution which would serve Johann van Graan’s men well on Saturday at Sandy Park, writes Donal Lenihan.

Five years on from the acrimonious restructuring of the European Champions Cup, the tournament’s new organisers, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) have finally stumbled across what appears to be the best balance between the old Heineken Cup, as driven by the Dublin based European Rugby Cup (ERC), and the new entity.

It’s somewhat ironic that at a time when rugby is enjoying an unprecedented level of popularity in this country, with the national team ranked in the top two sides in the world, the game itself faces massive challenges.

“Wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time?”

Donal Lenihan looks at three areas Ireland need to master to win the series in Australia.

This delicately poised Test series in Australia represents the best possible preparation Ireland could have hoped for a year out from the World Cup, writes Donal Lenihan.

It is the exhaustive work required to secure those points, with tries even harder to come by, that leave Ireland exposed, says Donal Lenihan.

Three key areas Ireland need to address to keep series alive, writes Donal Lenihan

Kieran Marmion’s disallowed try right at the death marked a frustrating end to a frustrating day for Ireland in Brisbane.