Leinster fans will be smiling today with the news of their pool draw for next season’s European Rugby Champions Cup.

Stade Francais player Jerome Fillol has received a 14-week ban for spitting in Peter Stringer’s face.

WALES international Nicky Robinson contributed 17 points to help London Wasps claim a valuable 25-11 home win over Bayonne in the Amlin Challenge Cup last night.

Ireland’s Geordan Murphy misses tomorrow’s trip to the Aviva, but plenty of his Leicester colleagues have a difficult experience at the new stadium to call on. Simon Lewis reports

Leinster coach Michael Cheika has signed a three-year deal to become director of rugby at Stade Francais, the French club confirmed today.

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS’ director of rugby Jim Mallinder says his side will take a lot of belief from their performance in Friday’s narrow defeat at Munster as they face up to another trip to Limerick for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

ULSTER and Leinster are confident their weekend Heineken Cup games will go ahead as scheduled at Ravenhill and the RDS.

MUNSTER Rugby chiefs are ‘extremely disappointed’ at the scheduling of their crucial Heineken Cup Pool One game against Northampton Saints at Thomond Park for Friday, January 22 (8pm).

Stade Francais scrum-half Julien Dupuy was today handed a six-month ban for eye gouging Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris.

Ulster Head Coach Brian McLaughlin has been able to bring Stephen Ferris back from injury for Saturday's Heineken Cup clash with Stade Francais Paris at Ravenhil

Heineken Cup champions Leinster will start their bid to retain their title against London Irish on the evening of Friday 9, October 2009 at the RDS in Dublin, it has been announced.

The Stade de France has been announced as the venue for the 2010 Heineken Cup final.

THOMOND PARK officials last night expressed disappointment with the ERC decision to schedule their crucial Heineken Cup clash with Sale Sharks on Friday, January 16.

More than half the tickets for the Heineken Cup final have been sold as the ERC looks forward to a sell-out for the biggest club competition in the world.

The fixtures, dates and kick-off times the first four Rounds of the 2008/09 Heineken Cup tournament were today announced by ERC with a record 10 matches being televised on each of the opening two weekends in October.

MUNSTER are emerging as the firm favourites to win the Heineken Cup for a second time in the eyes of their Celtic cousins.

ERC chiefs are confident that Munster’s critical Heineken Cup game away to Clermont Auvergne will be televised by Sky Sports.

MUNSTER will launch their Heineken Cup campaign next season with a mouth-watering clash against reigning champions Wasps.

Reigning champions Munster will be in action in the first quarter-final in the 2006/2007 Heineken Cup when they travel to Stradey Park to face Llanelli Scarlets on Friday, March 30 (kick-off 7.30pm).

Munster and Leinster have been lucky in their choices of opponents for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals to be played on the weekend of March 30 and 31 and April 1.

MUNSTER will have little time to rest on their laurels as Heineken Cup Champions. In the opening tie of next season’s competition, the heroes of Cardiff must travel to former winners Leicester Tigers.

CHRIS WHITE will become the first referee to take charge of three Heineken Cup finals when he controls Munster’s match with Biarritz Olympique at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on Saturday, May 20 (3pm).

Barry Coughlan

The Pool draw for the 2005/2006 Heineken Cup - featuring Munster, Leinster and Ulster was made in Cardiff today.

The final two places in the Heineken Cup 2005-2006 tournament have been claimed by Clermont Auvergne and Cardiff Blues.

The dates and television schedule for the upcoming Heineken Cup quarter-finals have been announced.