Mark McCall’s public confession that Saracens may have to sacrifice the Champions’ Cup in order to preserve their domestic status will have fallen on stony ground all over Europe.

It's not even the fact that Ireland have failed again to reach a semi-final.

It’s time to call a truce on Rugby Country’s culture war

Last night Dave Mahedy closed his office door for the final time at the University of Limerick. As Director of Sport and Recreation, Mahedy has been the driving force behind the growth — and importance — of sport at all levels in UL for almost 30 years.

Jamie Joseph makes four changes to the Brave Blossom starting XV that defeated Russia 30-10 in the World Cup opening match last Friday.

Rugby players in an Irish Open Pro-Am are not an unusual sight. Along with GAA stars and jockeys, they are a staple of the pre-tournament entertainment at this annual stop on the European Tour.

The staging of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Lahinch is having “a transformative effect” on the seaside resort of Lahinch.

We had the Holy Communion in the house last week, our two boys decked out in their three-piece suits like they were about to appear on The Sunday Game, and along with the rest of their classmates, they enjoyed the ceremony and celebrations under gorgeous May sunshine.

Ahead of Saturday's eagerly awaited Heineken Champions Cup semi-final clash between Munster and Saracens we look back at previous titanic clashes between these two old rivals.

Mercifully, England’s attempts to scrap the fallow weeks of the Six Nations and shrink the tournament into five consecutive weekends have fallen on deaf ears. It shows scant regard for the fans and does nothing for player welfare.

Jonathan Sexton doesn’t do a whole lot wrong on the field and that probably explains why the recently named World Player of the Year has been getting it in the neck all week for his tempestuous showing in Thomond Park last Saturday.

Ronan O’Gara has revealed his target of one day coaching Ireland, but insists Joe Schmidt’s current crop can bridge the gap to New Zealand and conquer the world this season.

There will be no sentiment when Australia fly-half Bernard Foley locks horns once again with Ireland on Saturday bidding for a first victory over the old country at the third attempt.

Talk to Len Dineen, they said. There’ll be stories, they said. Well, the Limerickman, who recently retired after 40 years as a rugby commentator, settled in ...

While witnessing new rugby heroes lift and warm the hearts of the nation this chilly spring, we couldn’t but think of past ones and how this was their achievement too, writes  Kieran Shannon.

As Six Nations’ Grand Slams go, the one Rory Best collected amid the snowflakes at Twickenham beats them all.

St Munchin’s 15 CBC 10: A magnificent try by out-half Alexander Wood two minutes into the second half proved the inspiration for St Munchin’s as they bridged a 20-year gap when beating holders CBC in a gripping Clayton Hotels Munster Schools Junior Cup final at Thomond Park yesterday.

St Munchins 15, CBC 10: A magnificent try after a dazzling 45 metre run by out-half Alexander Wood, a son of former Ireland captain Keith, proved the match winner for St Munchins when they defeated the holders CBC in an outstanding final at Thomond Park this afternoon.

There was a time when teams boasting outstanding forward packs brought the All-Ireland League title to Limerick almost as a matter of course.

How times have changed. When Ireland toured South Africa back in 1998, it was clear the only player in the Irish squad the Springboks knew was Keith Wood, who had played a key role in the Lions test series win over our hosts the previous season.

If the 2015 World Cup taught us anything, it is that we need a depth of top-quality players in every position to make it to the last four, something no Irish side has yet achieved, writes Donal Lenihan.

Joe Schmidt’s young son Tim scored the bonus point try for Terenure College as they won their Dublin 6W derby with St. Mary’s College to continue their excellent start.

Ireland star Robbie Henshaw will be armed with words of wisdom from former Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll when he heads to New Zealand next week.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was in sombre mood this morning, responding to questions about whether he has any regrets about his time in power by saying: "Je ne regrette rien", writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith of the Irish Examiner.

Alyn Wyn Jones is many people’s favourite to lead the Lions in New Zealand this summer and he led Wales superbly last night to probably do enough to clinch that coveted role. He had taken the brunt of the criticism fired at his Welsh team after the defeat by Scotland but they certainly came up trumps last night.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Between leading Munster to a first European Cup a decade ago and assuming the head coach’s role with the province six years later, Anthony Foley was responsible for guiding Munster’s next generation as ‘A’ team head coach. In this 2011 interview, reproduced in full, he distils his ethos into one succinct sentence: ‘My influences are Shannon, Munster and Ireland.’

Anthony Foley would be impressed.

It was not without reason that when shocked observers reached for the words to express what Anthony Foley had meant for their sport they settled upon the phrase ‘rugby great’. Rugby correspondent Simon Lewis sets out the reasons why

‘The journey isn’t over. This is just another station on the way’

The late Anthony Foley is remembered by a former St Munchin’s rugby coach, Pat Cross, for his “outstanding” performance in the 1992 Munster Schools Senior Cup semi-final against a much-vaunted Christian Brothers College side.

Former Irish rugby international Keith Wood has said the death of his former teammate Anthony Foley was almost like “some sort of sick joke that couldn’t obviously be true”.

When Cusack Park stood for a minute’s silence at the Clare county final last Sunday, a man in front of me didn’t bow his head. Instead he shook it, while scrolling down his phone, scanning tweet after tweet making reference to the passing of one of the county’s finest ever sons.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

New Munster Director of Coaching Rassie Erasmus is looking forward to a fruitful first season with the province.

Once he was on Jim McGuinness’s wedding invite list. Now he’s on Jim’s blacklist. And his own club’s list of suspended members.