The prospect of Munster being without Joey Carbery for several weeks has underlined Johann van Graan’s assertion that to win trophies the province will need a squad deep in quality.

Munster return to action this Saturday determined to reignite their push for a Guinness PRO14 home semi-final and leave behind a defeat last time out that threatens to cast a shadow over their campaign.

Finally, the pieces are falling into place for Ireland, just as their Guinness Six Nations campaign draws to a close.

Champions Leinster will begin the new Guinness PRO14 season by tackling Cardiff Blues in the Welsh capital.

One Twitter user also reported a woman handing out Tayto crisps at Dublin airport to people at the arrival gates.

Mathieu Bastareaud has always stood out in a crowd, never more so than when surrounded by some of the most famous players in the world.

Munster 19 Scarlets 7: Tommy O’Donnell and Rory Scannell were the latest Munster players to check into the province’s treatment room as head coach Johann van Graan admitted both Simon Zebo and Andrew Conway have only 50/50 chances of facing Toulon next Saturday.

The car that plunged into a Welsh river resulting in the death of a two-year-old girl was not stolen, police have said.

Ross Moriarty has revealed the full extent of a horror injury that ended his British and Irish Lions tour and left him unable to climb stairs.

The Scarlets secured a European Champions Cup quarter-final place as Pool Five winners after toppling Toulon.

A university student told a police officer he forgot to burn a copy of a terrorism manual because he got "absolutely plastered" and "smoked a lot" of cannabis, a court in England has heard.

Munster have been rocked by the loss of Jaco Taute for virtually the rest of the season after the South African Test centre underwent knee surgery yesterday.

A mother in Wales will face trial accused of sexually abusing her daughter after the girl's father pleaded guilty to raping the youngster on a number of occasions.

A spokeswoman for the MoD said it was aware of the incident at Castlemartin Ranges in Pembrokeshire.

If Niall Scannell ever needs a reality check about what real pressure feels like, he and his Munster team-mates do not need to search too far back in the memory banks.

The Aviva will be covered in red next weekend.

Isa Nacewa is convinced Leinster’s young guns can only benefit from their Champions Cup semi-final heartbreak last month as they try and go at least one step further in this season’s Guinness PRO12 play-offs.

Swansea 1 Manchester City 2: Manchester City recorded their ninth successive win under Pep Guardiola by seeing off EFL Cup opponents Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

As satisfied as Rassie Erasmus was to savour the winning start to his reign as Munster director of rugby, there was enough to concern him from Saturday’s Guinness Pro12 victory at Scarlets to keep both his and his squad’s feet firmly planted on terra firma.

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

Against all the odds, the Rassie Erasmus era began with a morale-boosting 23-13 victory for Munster over a much-fancied Scarlets side in West Wales.

A man is fighting for his life following a speedboat accident off west Wales.

As big as this fixture has been in the professional era, there was a time when the twice annual dust-up between Leinster and Munster was more than the sum of its parts, a prelude to a greater objective.

For a small town, Enniskillen has given birth to more than its share of international sportsmen, amongst them Olympic gold medal sprinter Robert Kerr, champion heavyweight boxer Gordon Ferris and ex-Celtic goalkeeper Michael McGovern.

USA: A truck driver was caught using a fishing line to flip his licence plate in a bid to avoid paying tolls into New York City.

USA: A keeper at a North Dakota zoo has become a first-time mother.

Regan King is used to leaving defenders not knowing where to look, but Leinster could tonight be forgiven for thinking they were suffering double vision.

Thomond Park has played host to many chapters in Munster’s storied rugby journey but pride of place remains the game against the otherwise unbeaten New Zealanders on October 31, 1978, an occasion that understandably claims pride of place in a new book ‘Where Miracles Happen - The Story of Thomond Park’, by Charlie Mulqueen and Brendan O’Dowd.

Scarlets 23, Leinster 13: Matt O’Connor is adamant this defeat in west Wales has not done major damage to Leinster’s Guinness Pro12 title aspirations.

Scarlets 25 Munster 25: How Anthony Foley judges this result at Scarlets depends on whether he believes the glass is half-full or half-empty.

Johnny Sexton will put his black eye and facial stitches in the firing line in Paris tonight as he bids to clock up some more game time ahead of Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations showdown with England in eight days.