At last a game to savour, at least until the rain made handling conditions very difficult in the second half at the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

After two false dawns in terms of competitive opposition, the Lions tourists should finally get a taste of what Australian rugby has to offer at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane this morning.

This morning’s game against the Western Force in Perth will offer the British and Irish Lions management a far greater barometer of what to expect over the next few weeks than the testing but ultimately one-sided game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong last Saturday.

“Hopefully going forward, if we’re going to take the Lions seriously, we need to make sure there is enough preparation to make a fist of it”.

The perfect end to an accomplished reign.

Having failed in three successive League finals, there is an almost manic desire on Leinster’s part to rectify that situation tonight

The final weeks of any season are characterised by drama and emotion. Dreams fulfilled and shattered, players moving on, others donning the boots for one last battle.

It is difficult not to feel a huge degree of sympathy for Clermont Auvergne after what proved a disappointing Heineken Cup final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The Munster Rugby Awards luncheon returned to Cork on Friday when a number of clubs throughout the province were rewarded for their efforts with Kanturk RFC proving the most vocal and well represented.

Joe Schmidt’s elevation to the post of Ireland head coach was lost a little in the inevitable hype that surrounds the announcement of a Lions squad last week.