A MUNSTER fan will become the 1,000,000th visitor to go to a Magners League game this season when Munster take on Leinster in the Grand Final at Thomond Park next week.

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

CELTIC Rugby chief executive John Feehan last night expressed confidence that their league will have a title sponsor next season.

Ospreys 32 Benetton Treviso 16

The Ospreys have partially succeeded in appealing a points deduction imposed on them for failing to fulfil a rescheduled Magners League fixture.

LIVE provincial rugby will return to free-to-air TV screens for the first time in four years on Friday evening when RTÉ broadcasts the first of its proposed 35 to 40 Magners League games this season.

The former Scotland and British & Irish Lions international full-back Andy Irvine will become Celtic Rugby’s first independent Chairman.

IRISH rugby boss Philip Browne believes the announcement yesterday of expanded free-to-air television coverage of the Magners League from next season is positive proof of a total commitment to the development of the sport in this country.

MAGNERS LEAGUE chiefs yesterday reported record attendance figures in the past season with Munster still the best supported team in the competition.

THE Ospreys have been fined £100,000 and docked four league points next season for breaching Magners League rules.

The Ospreys have been fined £100,000 and docked four league points next season for breaching Magners League rules.

THE Ospreys’ Magners League match against Ulster at Ravenhill next Friday has been postponed at the Welsh side’s request after claiming they do not have sufficient front-row cover to fulfil the fixture.

AND then there were 12 – finally.

FORMER rugby great and Limerick publican Peter Clohessy has added his weight to a growing campaign to reschedule the Munster versus Leinster Magners League game in Thomond Park from Good Friday when all pubs are closed.

THE ANIMATED debate about the decision to stage the eagerly awaited Magners League clash of Munster and Leinster at Thomond Park on Good Friday, April 2, continued yesterday.

The dates and times for the 15th and 16th rounds of the Magner's League have been confirmed.

MAGNERS LEAGUE director David Jordan has played down reports that Italian clubs will join the league next season.

Celtic Rugby director David Jordan today branded reports that Italian clubs will join the Magners League next season as "premature".

CELTIC RUGBY, the organisers of the Magners League, last night confirmed the competition will not be expanded to include two Italian teams, comprised of home-based players, next season.

Celtic Rugby Ltd and the Italian Rugby Federation have not been able to conclude a satisfactory agreement for the addition of two Italian teams into the Magners League in September 2010.

GLASGOW were last night demanding compensation after being left “disappointed and frustrated” at the cancellation of last night’s Magners League game at Leinster.

Glasgow were today demanding compensation after being left “disappointed and frustrated” at the cancellation of tonight’s Magners League game at Leinster.

MUNSTER yesterday confirmed that Cheetahs loose head prop Wian du Preez will join the province on a three-month contract.

ON THE eve of his reappointment as Munster captain, Paul O’Connell has welcomed the decision to provide a guaranteed competitive climax to the Magners League campaign this season.

LEADING sports organisations are engaged in emergency talks with Setanta Ireland after the company’s UK arm went into administration yesterday.

The increasing popularity of the Magner's League can be measured by the 20% rise in attendances this season.

MUNSTER’S legendary supporters have helped the province scoop another award for the best supported team in the Magners League.

MUNSTER chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald last night expressed his support “in principle” to the inclusion of two Italian teams in the Magners League from the beginning of the 2010/11 season.

MAGNERS Irish Cider has extended its title sponsorship of the Magners League for two years until May 2011.

Magners Irish Cider has announced today that it has extended its sponsorship of the Magners League for a further two years to the end of the season 2010-2011.

Leinster have retained their title as "Best Supported Team" in the Magners League for the season and there will be a presentation to reflect tihs at half-time during the tie with The Dragons on Saturday.

The progress of the Magner's League is reflected in the fact that Munster, the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.

Tonight's Magners League game between Ulster and Munster at Ravenhill has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.

FOLLOWING a letter from Newport Gwent Dragons to Ulster Rugby concerning perceived racial abuse directed at one of their players, Ulster Rugby has formally responded to the concerns raised by the Welsh outfit.

ULSTER rugby bosses have found no evidence of alleged racial abuse by their fans towards a visiting player during a Magners League game against Newport Gwent Dragons at Ravenhill earlier this month.

Celtic Rugby has signed a deal with Magners (which trades as Bulmers in Ireland) to become the first title sponsor of the Celtic League.

The Celtic League will adopt a new points system for the upcoming season with each team being allocated four points for the weekend they are not playing.

THE suggested formation of a Celtic Tigers representative team to play test rugby against touring sides from the Southern Hemisphere, has received short shrift from the home unions.

A "Celtic Tigers" side representing Scotland, Ireland and Wales against the leading Test nations will be among the ideas discussed when the Celtic League clubs hold their first full meeting in Dublin today.

THE next rugby season is set to kick-off with a game between the Celtic League and Zurich Premiership champions.

Celtic League officials want their champions to begin next season with a match against the English Zurich Premiership title holders.

The current Celtic League structure based on a 22-game, home and away, format will be retained for, at least, the next two seasons.

Murrayfield will stage the Celtic Cup final between Edinburgh Gunners and Ulster on December 20.

ERIC ELWOOD is back to lead the Connacht challenge for a place in the Celtic Cup final at the Sportsground, Galway, tomorrow (2.p.m.), but there is no place for captain Tim Allnutt.