When Leinster saw off Leicester Tigers in Edinburgh to claim a first Heineken Cup, back in 2009, most of the players had little enough to distract them aside from the celebrations on their return to Dublin.

GUINNESS PRO12

Another Munster campaign reaches its conclusion without silverware or even a final appearance to show for all the sweat, toil and trouble, leaving incoming head coach Anthony Foley and his squad with plenty to ponder over the summer months.

The Irish Rugby Football Union has paid tribute to Ronan O'Gara as an "iconic figure'' as he announced his playing retirement in order to take up a coaching role with Racing Metro.

It’s s strange one.

The world is a cruel place.

Tributes continued to pour in for Munster and Ireland second-row forward Mick O’Driscoll who yesterday officially announced his retirement to take effect from the end of the season.

Heard about the Irishman giving Scottish rugby fans something to cheer about? Michael Bradley’s achievements with Edinburgh are gaining notice

Conor Murray has made quite an impression in his short international career to date, but, as he prepares for his RBS 6 Nations home debut, the Ireland scrum-half believes he is now being heard as well as seen.

Rather like a particularly tedious season of Big Brother, the reality show that is Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations campaign in 2012 is desperately in need of some action.

LIKE so many Kiwis, Joe Schmidt has adapted effortlessly to life in Europe but there must be times when he and others from the southern hemisphere wonder about our peculiar ways.

UNBEATEN in 14 games, nine points clear in the RaboDirect Pro12, six ahead of their nearest rival in Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup.

THEY scored seven tries on the way to a 25-point victory over Bath last weekend, but it’s the three tries they conceded in the final quarter that has most occupied the minds of both the Leinster management and players since.

LUKE FITZGERALD lifted the lid on his World Cup disappointment yesterday, two months to the day after being left out of the travelling party by Ireland coach Declan Kidney.

IT says everything about how competitive the Heineken Cup has become that only one side — English champions Saracens — secured a winning bonus point from the opening round of 12 games with a home victory over Benetton Treviso.

A LITTLE over 10 years ago, Ronan O’Gara found himself in the toilets of a bar in Cork when he spotted someone smirking at him. “How do I know you?” asked the stranger.

Brian O’Driscoll hopes the operation that is likely to end his season could have the benefit of extending his career.

RABOBANK Pro12 officials will continue to schedule derbies such as tonight’s Leinster-Munster games a week before the first round of the Heineken Cup in order to give their teams the best chance of achieving European success.

SEÁN O’BRIEN is expected to be among a number of frontline World Cup players ushered back into the Leinster team to face Munster in the Rabobank PRO12 encounter at the Aviva Stadium on Friday evening.

THE Ospreys travel to Thomond Park tonight in search of their second win over Munster in 18 months – a victory that would see them become the first team to beat all four Irish provinces in the one half of the regulated two part RaboDirect Pro12 (formerly Magners League) season.

RORY BEST’S participation in the remainder of Ireland’s World Cup campaign remains in the balance after he was deemed a “serious doubt” by team manager Paul McNaughton for Saturday’s quarter-final against Wales.

DAMIEN VARLEY may have been sitting at his kitchen table in Limerick less than a fortnight ago but having been called up to the Ireland World Cup squad as an emergency replacement he is not content to just be along for the journey.

COACHES might not like it but the reality is, when they name squads, it is always the people that fail to make them that gain the lion’s share of the attention.

THE IRFU announced contract extensions for Declan Kidney and three of his management team yesterday, which will see them remain in charge of the Irish team until the end of the 2012-13 season which coincides with the next British and Irish Lions Tour.

RONAN O’GARA has overcome an injury scare as Ireland begin their preparations for the Rugby World Cup.

Connacht Rugby have today completed the signing of rugby league legend Henry Fa’afili.

RaboDirect, the online banking arm of Rabobank, has become the new sponsor of the Magners League which will become the RaboDirect PRO12 from the start of the new rugby season in a four-year contract.

THE trophies kept coming Leinster’s way last night as back row star Sean O’Brien was named as the ERC European Player of the Year for 2011.

WITH everyone short of Queen Elizabeth tipping Leinster to claim a second Heineken Cuptitle tomorrow, it was interesting to note just how much attention was paid to Northampton at the Irish province’s press briefing yesterday.

Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has revealed Tom Wood could lose his race to be fit for Saturday’s Heineken Cup final against Leinster.

THE silver trophy is in the shape of rugby ball, but, contrary to the instincts of a scrum-half, this was one oval sphere Conor Murray was not keen to let go of.

TONY MCGAHAN refused to talk about his future as Munster’s head coach next season.

OSPREYS coach Sean Holley hopes Munster’s Alan Quinlan has played his last game for the province.

SHANE WILLIAMS has declared himself fit for Ospreys’ Magners League semi-final against Munster on Saturday.

MUNSTER may be struggling for team silverware this season but the personal accolades continue to head towards the southern province.

JOE SCHMIDT is intent on delivering silverware at the end of a season of promise after just his first season as Leinster coach.

Scotland scrum-half Chris Cusiter has flown to Australia for a short-term playing stint in a bid to improve his match fitness ahead of the World Cup.

MUNSTER captain Paul O’Connell believes Leinster have the quality his province must aspire to if they are to emerge from the doldrums and reclaim their place among Europe’s best.

MUNSTER scrum-half Conor Murray may have come to rugby late but he is wasting no time making his mark on the sport.

ISA NACEWA capped a glittering night for Leinster as he became the first overseas player to be named Bord Gáis Energy Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association (IRUPA) Players’ Player of the Year.

Donal Lenihan looks at the Irish powerhouses and sees one squad primed to build on European success, while the other requires major surgery as cracks start to show.

RONAN O’GARA has insisted the Munster players are the ones to blame for the province’s Thomond Park defeat to Harlequins last Saturday.

LEINSTER second row Nathan Hines is taking the mantra of ‘one game at a time’ to the extreme.

CONNACHT coach Eric Elwood is confident Leinster can win the Heineken Cup – and bring his side into the competition next season.

Perpignan coach Jacques Brunel is to take charge of the Italian national team after the World Cup in New Zealand.