IT is hard to believe that four months ago I had to brace myself for a difficult landing with a foot of snow on the edge of the runway at Bristol airport en-route to the Liberty Stadium for Munster’s Heineken Cup game with the Ospreys.

WITH Alan Quinlan, one of the great modern characters and indeed one of the most influential players of the professional era, set to retire from rugby next month it is interesting to take stock of a new trend in the international game and one that is a cause for concern.

FOR some time now, the fortunes of the Irish rugby team can be directly aligned to the wellbeing of Munster and Leinster.

Donal Lenihan on where the three Irish teams can prosper

AS ALWAYS with the Heineken Cup, the cream tends to rise to the top when the knockout stages come calling in April.

WITH the likelihood of another passionate full house at Thomond Park on Saturday night, it promises to be another great Munster-Leinster occasion, even if there is every possibility that the two sides will meet again in the knockout stages of the Magners League.

THE 12th season of the RBS 6 Nations championship will not linger long in the memory, with even winners England left feeling flat after leaving Dublin with the championship trophy on board but their reputations bruised.

IN A tournament devoid of any classic encounter to date, last weekend’s penultimate round of Six Nations Championship provided more incident and controversy than the previous three rounds together.

The Tactics

THE similarities between Wales and Ireland in terms of performance and results in this year’s Six Nations are quite startling and suggest there is little to separate the sides ahead of Saturday’s clash in Cardiff.