Far away from the madding crowds of the Six Nations last weekend, Tom Clifford Park, the famed home of Young Munster, hosted my own club Cork Constitution in the latest of a series of hotly contested Ulster Bank League Munster derbies.

Wales coach Warren Gatland brings great qualities to any management set-up and once again, in the face of adversity, he has engineered two really competitive Six Nations’ performances from a squad ravaged by injury, writes Donal Lenihan

The problem with playing against Italy, especially at home, is that everyone is expecting a cakewalk and even when you deliver a comprehensive win, as Ireland did Saturday, invariably it comes with caveats, writes Donal Lenihan.

Three challenges for Joe Schmidt facing Ireland against Italy today...

I predicted last week that the opening six hours of rugby action that would launch this season’s Six Nations championship would prove very revealing and that’s exactly what transpired, writes Donal Lenihan.

After a worrying Six Nations losing streak on the road, with only one championship success in the last five away fixtures — and that against Italy in Rome last season — Joe Schmidt cut a mightily relieved man to have got this opening win in Paris under his belt.

Ireland carry three key advantages into today’s opening round of the Six Nations at Stade de France, writes Donal Lenihan

Is it any wonder the structure of the professional game in Ireland is the envy of so many of our international counterparts at present?

We were barely beyond the final rounds of the Champions Cup before the mind games — with Eddie Jones as always to the fore — at the Six Nations launch in London last week reminded us that the main course is about to land in our laps pretty soon, writes Donal Lenihan.

The Champions Cup may be heading into a brief period of hibernation but not even the prospect of one of the most competitive Six Nations championships for some time will dampen the enthusiasm for the tournament’s return in April, writes Donal Lenihan.