The full-back's contract expires in November after the Rugby World Cup.

Ulster beat Leinster 14-13 in the Guinness PRO14 derby clash at Kingspan Stadium.

Both Leinster and Ulster have named their teams ahead of their clash tomorrow at the Kingspan stadium.

Munster will not rush back injured trio Joey Carbery, Keith Earls and Dave Kilcoyne for Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 clash at home to Connacht unless they are 100% fit, coach Johann van Graan has insisted.

Munster boss Johann van Graan insists he is committed to improving his existing squad as the province bids to win silverware for the first time in eight years but that will be without South Africa centre Jaco Taute, who was unveiled today by Leicester Tigers as a new signing for next season.

Sexton will hope to regain match fitness ahead of the Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse.

Leo Cullen says the coming week will be a “big” one for Devin Toner, as the Ireland second row prepares to make a well-timed return to fitness.

Benetton Rugby earned a 27-27 Guinness PRO14 draw with Leinster in Dublin as Tommaso Allan landed the levelling conversion of Fijian winger Iliesa Ratuva's last-minute try.

Some of their frontline players may have their feet up this weekend, but for those Leinster players in the RDS tonight, there’s a priceless opportunity to top up their credit with coach Leo Cullen.

Leo Cullen has named his team for Leinster's PRO14 clash with Benetton at the RDS Arena tomorrow night.

Leinster qualified for their 11th European Cup semi-final just 36 hours earlier, but a “bizarre mood” hung over the province’s HQ on Monday morning.

Rhys Ruddock will captain the Leinster Rugby team taking on Ulster tomorrow, while Johnny Sexton has been ruled out following an injury.

Edinburgh remain in the running for a Guinness PRO14 play-off spot after posting a comfortable 28-11 win over defending champions Leinster at BT Murrayfield.

Munster fans may watch tonight’s PRO14 clash between Edinburgh and Leinster with more intensity than supporters of the visiting side at Murrayfield.

If the Cheetahs thought they might get an easy run out against Leinster during the Six Nations, the South Africans were sadly mistaken.

Ultan Dillane, Caolin Blade, Jack Carty and Tom Farrell will line-out for Connacht after their Ireland call-ups.

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.

Something just doesn’t sit right about rugby in August.

Leinster started the season with 14 players who could conceivably feature in their back row and yet they badly need three of their most prominent practitioners to return to fitness in time for Sunday’s European quarter-final against Saracens.

OSPREYS 32 LEINSTER 18: Leinster limped back into Dublin late on Saturday night having fluffed their lines in their dress-rehearsal for the Champions Cup quarter-final with Saracens and licking their wounds after a mauling by the Ospreys.

O'Brien has been out for three months after surgery on a hip injury.

Sixteen seasons and counting now since Connacht have claimed a win in Dublin — and they have never tasted success at the RDS — but they came as close as humanly possible to ending that drought last night without actually getting their lips to water.

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).

Jamie Heaslip was once renowned as the rugby player who could not be broken.

Leo Cullen could have landed on any number of superlatives to describe Jonathan Sexton as he stood in departures at Dublin Airport yesterday deliberating on the out-half’s return for this Champions Cup engagement in Glasgow.

Leinster see six changes to their side while Munster make three changes.

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.

Leinster overcame the absence of captain Isa Nacewa and Jamison Gibson-Park to record a convincing 31-10 victory over Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.

James Tracy knows there are naysayers out there when it comes to the South African experiment but the Leinster hooker can see only the advantages as the province’s playing staff checks in today for the long-haul flight to the PRO14’s newest territory.

Isa Nacewa has overcome his recent injury concern to captain Leinster for the visit of Cardiff to the RDS.

Joey Carbery will make his first start at full-back for Leinster in their Guinness PRO12 visit to Dragons tonight.

Leo Cullen has made eight changes for Leinster's Pro12 clash with Edinburgh tomorrow evening in the RDS.

Ben Te’o gave a man of the match performance in Worcester’s win over Harlequins last weekend, but his biggest impact this season so far came in a newspaper interview.

Leinster have got a a bonus-point win over the Dragons at the RDS this evening.

Leinster coach Leo Cullen has praised the work ethic of Joey Carbery and James Tracy following their call-ups to Joe Schmidt’s 34-man squad for the November internationals.

Glasgow Warriors lay in wait to ambush another Irish side when Leo Cullen’s troops trot out at Scotstoun this afternoon (3pm).

The visit of Treviso to the RDS this Friday may not make for the most alluring of starts to the new Guinness PRO12 campaign but the presence of Ian McKinley in the Italians’ ranks will at least provide a candidate for feelgood story of the season.

Jack McGrath knows what it takes to beat the Springboks. He is equally aware that beating them in Dublin is one thing, attempting to repeat the trick in Cape Town quite another.

Leinster 50 Benetton Treviso 19: It’s only two weeks since Ulster sent Leinster retreating down the M1 in disorder, but some in the northern province could be forgiven for harbouring a sense of foreboding ahead of the sides’ next meeting in the Guinness PRO12 semi-final.

It may have been a day of drama and calculators across most of the Guinness PRO12, but Leinster strolled to the most straightforward and expected of victories against a mostly awful Treviso side at the RDS this afternoon.

Jared Payne. Richardt Strauss. CJ Stander.