A grim night for the visitors to the RDS. And it could have been much worse.

Seven tries last week, another seven tonight.

The four Irish provinces have named their teams for this weekend's Champions Cup clashes.

Leinster were relieved to leave Lyon with their winning record intact in the European Champions Cup after a nervous end to their win in Stade Matmut de Gerland.

Keith Earls will make his first Munster appearance of the season in tomorrow's Champions Cup opener against the Ospreys.

Ireland suffered one of the biggest upsets in Rugby World Cup history as Japan repeated their Brighton miracle against South Africa on home soil to leave Joe Schmidt’s men stunned at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa.

Simon Lewis reports from Yokohama.

It is difficult to imagine a coach as demanding as Joe Schmidt putting his feet up on Saturday night and thinking he has this World Cup campaign nicely sized up.

Having trailed 10-7 at half-time, Ireland started the second period with intent with two tries before the hour mark

England have beaten Ireland 57-15 in their World Cup warm-up Test at Twickenham.

The Ireland team to play England on Saturday has been announced and Ross Byrne is set to win his third cap.

Munster lock Jean Kleyn has been handed a Test debut for Ireland and a chance to stake his claim for a World Cup squad berth as Joe Schmidt’s side play the first of four warm-up matches against Italy in Dublin on Saturday.

Leinster’s bid for a record fifth European crown came up short at St James’ Park on Saturday as Saracens reclaimed the Heineken Champions Cup for their third title in four seasons.

Leinster refuse to be a team that limits their eggs to the one basket.

PRO 14 Scoreboard here with this one Leo Cullen said Sunday’s Champions Cup semi-final will be a litmus test for him and his coaching team’s player management system.

Sean O’Brien’s form and fitness have both given cause for concern this season, but the Leinster back row remains confident that he still has plenty to offer as his last days with province and country approach.

Leo Cullen saw this coming.

No Jonathan Sexton, Rob Kearney on the bench and Jack McGrath given the weekend off.

Wales have completed the Grand Slam after beating Ireland 25-7 in their Guinness Six Nations match in Cardiff.

Joe Schmidt admits that the decision to start Robbie Henshaw at full-back against England in Saturday's Six Nations opener has been made with one eye on the upcoming World Cup in Japan.

Leinster have brought the curtain down on the Heineken Champions Cup pool stages with the easiest of victories away to Wasps on Sunday afternoon that confirms for them an all-Irish home quarter-final against Ulster at the end of March.

Connacht 47 Leinster 10: On a day when Connacht bade farewell to their talisman from Portumna, along comes another farmer’s son from a few miles away on the other side of the River Shannon to lay down a marker and offer hope for the future with hooker Shane Delahunt producing a remarkable display on a day of celebration in Galway.

It has been a hard road for Southern Kings, the whipping boys of the Guinness PRO14, and things are unlikely to get easier for the South Africans at the RDS tonight.

A game badly compromised by the absence of almost two dozen Six Nations stars was rescued by another star turn from Leinster’s James Lowe who continued to entertain long after the final whistle on Saturday afternoon.

Today seemed to be tailor-made for Joey Carbery.

Let’s start off by applying some perspective here.

Leinster 38 Ulster 7: The numbers look good for Leinster, regardless of how you add them up.

Leinster 22 Exeter Chiefs 17: There are any number of arbitrary ways to measure a team’s progress, but it seemed the obvious thing to think back to Leinster’s semi-final loss to Clermont Auvergne last April as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Saturday evening.

Leinster overcame the reigning English champions and league leaders for the second time in six days this evening.

Garry Ringrose’s first start of the season and a debut for Kiwi flyer James Lowe give an exciting edge to the Leinster backline for the Guinness PRO14 trip to Treviso’s Benetton Rugby (3:30pm Irish time).

Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen has handed a first start to Josh Murphy in tonight’s Guinness PRO14 clash with the Dragons at the RDS Arena (7.35pm).

There was some degree of befuddlement in UCD earlier this week when Ross Byrne and Ross Molony found themselves being quizzed on the possibility of featuring in a Rugby World Cup in Ireland in 2023.

Johnny Sexton will skipper Leinster tonight as four of the province’s British & Irish Lions return to action for the first time this season. 

The great sporting occasions have always seen their attendances inflated over time, with fans falsely claiming presence at an historic event with the vigour of great grandfathers discussing their role in the GPO.

Three tries in eight stunning minutes helped Leinster to a bonus point win over Cardiff Blues at the RDS.

Leo Cullen has warned that Leinster cannot allow their upcoming South African trip to distract them from the business at hand tonight when they face Cardiff Blues at the RDS in the second round of the Guinness PRO14.

Leo Cullen has warned that Leinster cannot allow their upcoming South African trip to distract them from the business at hand tonight when they face Cardiff Blues at the RDS in the second round of the Guinness PRO14.

Leo Cullen is expecting a Dragons side revitalised under new ownership and the guidance of former team-mate Bernard Jackman when Leinster open their Guinness Pro14 campaign at Rodney Parade in Newport this afternoon (3:15pm).

Ireland 10 England 14: Gavin Coombes’ late try was not enough to deny England U-20s a Grand Slam as Nigel Carolan’s side fell just short in Donnybrook.

Ireland U20 coach Nigel Carolan insists his side wouldn’t lack for motivation against Grand Slam- chasing England at Donnybrook this evening (6pm).

Ireland 27 France 22: Not a performance to shout about, but Ireland’s U20s did just about enough to make it three wins from three in this year’s Six Nations at Donnybrook last night.

Italy U20 26 Ireland U20 27: The Ireland U20s withstood a powerful challenge from Italy in Prato last night, before securing their second consecutive one-point victory in this year’s Six Nations Championship.