Scarlets 20 Harlequins 22

Munster skipper Peter O’Mahony has warned that his Edinburgh counterpart Greig Laidlaw must be curtailed in Sunday’s Heineken Cup clash at Thomond Park.

As if Munster needed reminding they have a game on their hands in their final Heineken Cup game on Sunday, Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons has stressed just how important an away victory at Thomond Park would be for the Scottish side.

HEINEKEN CUP POOL 3:

Leinster 9 Northampton 18

Last year’s winner Captain Chris will miss this afternoon’s Amlin 1965 Chase at Ascot after being found to be lame.

James Hart was woken early yesterday morning.

For three seasons Leinster agonised over an itch that they just could not scratch.

Having failed in three successive League finals, there is an almost manic desire on Leinster’s part to rectify that situation tonight

Leinster out-half Jonny Sexton admitted last night’s Amlin Challenge Cup victory felt strange for him.

The Munster Rugby Awards luncheon returned to Cork on Friday when a number of clubs throughout the province were rewarded for their efforts with Kanturk RFC proving the most vocal and well represented.

Joe Schmidt will be given carte blanche to appoint his own backroom staff and, like Declan Kidney before him, the new Ireland coach will be told to scour the world for the best and brightest rugby minds to assist him over the next three years.

Leinster 44 Biarritz 16

It’s European rugby alright, just not as we know it.

RABODIRECT PRO12: Munster v Leinster

Harlequins have launched an investigation after claiming “many” of their supporters sold tickets to rival Munster fans for last Sunday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final at the Twickenham Stoop.

Fergus McFadden believes Ian Madigan’s form will make it very difficult for Warren Gatland to omit the Leinster out-half from his Lions touring squad when the selection is confirmed after the Heineken and Amlin semi-finals later this month.

AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP QUARTER-FINAL:

In charge of rugby here since 1998, Philip Browne has overseen a transformation of fortunes on and off the field. But will a change of coach at national level be enough to keep the champagne flowing, asks Kyran Fitzgerald

AMLIN CUP QUARTER-FINAL:

Warren Gatland insisted yesterday that Paul O’Connell remains firmly in contention for a place on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia this summer.

Joe Schmidt has lauded Isa Nacewa for his contribution to Leinster on and off the field after confirmation the 30-year old is to retire from rugby and return home to New Zealand at the end of the season due to family reasons.

Brian O’Driscoll may or may not be playing his final game for Ireland today in Rome but assistant coach Anthony Foley has warned supporters to cherish the rugby legend while he’s still in action.

Connacht have announced that backs coach Billy Millard will leave his role with the club at the end of the current season to take up a position in the United States.

1 Just how much is the Thomond factor worth these days?

Failure to manage a bonus point in last weekend’s loss to Harlequins has made it mathematically impossible to catch pool runners-up Biarritz, but pride and a third Heineken Cup win are at stake for Connacht this evening.

Ireland coach Declan Kidney is confident fly-half Jonathan Sexton will not be lured to France's Top 14 by money.

WITH just four teams qualified at this stage and all the second-placed sides still mathematically fighting for the knockout stages, the Heineken Cup has delivered once again.

Connacht chief executive Tom Sears has hit out at those who have breached the confidentiality of the process of choosing a successor to Eric Elwood the province’s chief executive Tom Sears.

Traders in London were left in limbo today after Hurricane Sandy forced Wall Street to shut down for the first time since the September 11 attacks.

Dublin is to get a major economic boost following a decision by European rugby chiefs to stage both their major cup finals in the capital on the same weekend in 2013.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall put English rugby’s European failure down to the gulf in the salary cap between the Aviva Premiership and the rest.

Head coach Joe Schmidt insisted his Leinster side have a long way to go in the defence of their Heineken Cup title after qualifying for the knockout stages with a 23-16 win over Glasgow Warriors at Firhill.

Conor O'Shea has no doubt about the size of unbeaten Harlequins’ Heineken Cup task against French giants Toulouse tomorrow night.

Master Minded bounced back from a shock defeat at Aintree to win the Amlin 1965 Chase at Ascot for the second year running.

MASTER Minded is favourite for today’s Amlin Chase at Ascot but, like stable companion Kauto Star, he has some questions to answer.

CONNACHT’S preparations for their long-awaited Heineken Cup debut this weekend have received a major setback with back row Johnny O’Connor heading a long list of casualties ahead of the trip to Harlequins on Friday.

Philip Hobbs will keep an eye on how the Paddy Power Gold Cup field shapes up before deciding whether to commit Wishfull Thinking to the Cheltenham feature.

LEINSTER and Munster will again be among the top seeds for next week’s Heineken Cup draw, after European Rugby Cup (ERC) yesterday confirmed the tiers for the 2011/12 tournament.

HARLEQUINS qualified for the Heineken Cup next season in dramatic fashion as they won the Amlin Challenge Cup, Europe’s second-tier knockout tournament, for a record third time.

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

PETER STRINGER will have turned 34 when his current contract with Munster ends in June of 2012: it’s an age when most rugby players would be thinking of retirement, but Ireland’s record-breaking scrum-half has no notion of calling it a day any time soon.