Last Sunday’s journey down the yellow brick road to the U Arena may have produced some dazzling rugby as well as a Champions Cup defeat but there will be a lot to be said for a return to the great outdoors of Thomond Park when Munster welcome Castres tomorrow (1pm) and bid to reach the quarter-finals.

CJ Stander insists there will be plenty of plus points for Munster to take into Sunday’s must-win Champions Cup pool finale with Castres, despite defeat to Racing 92 in Paris.

Donnacha Ryan will join Ronan O’Gara as part of Racing 92’s contingent bidding to conquer fortress Thomond Park in Munster’s first home European fixture of the season, which was announced yesterday.

Qualification for the Champions Cup quarter-finals may be assured but both Munster and Leinster must now use the final round of pool games this weekend to secure home draws in the last eight.

Rassie Erasmus will not be expecting perfection when he sends his Munster charges into action for the first time tonight.

Munster Rugby are hoping Thomond Park can be restored to a fortress for tomorrow’s must-win, last-day Guinness Pro12 clash with Scarlets.

Rivals Cork Constitution and Garryowen are both under strength for this afternoon’s Bank of Ireland Munster Senior Cup quarter-final in Temple Hill (2.30pm).

This weekend, Geordan Murphy and Leicester travel to Thomond Park to face Munster — coached by his old team-mate Anthony Foley — before he gets down to some pressing family matters...

Connacht captain John Muldoon has warned his men can’t get distracted about the possibility of creating history at Thomond Park tomorrow.

Clonmel and Bandon were last night celebrating memorable Munster club title successes.

It is a busy weekend of cup action with two finals down for decision and a series of intriguing encounters throughout the province.

(2.30pm unless stated)

Munster can turn their Rugby Champions Cup campaign around with a win over Clermont at the Stade Marcel Michelin — but it will take their greatest performance in 20 years of European rugby to do so, suggests Ronan O'Gara.

Never let it be said that the French don’t do hyperbole. Above the match analysis and the regulation quotes, the rugby newspaper Midi-Olympique has chosen to headline Clermont’s trip to Thomond Park: "Aux Portes de l’Enfer", At the Gates of Hell.

Young Munster 30 Thomond 3

In rugby’s professional era, the public perception of the Munster Senior Challenge Cup would be quite different to the view within the clubs.

New Munster loanee Pat Howard will be a man on a mission when he makes his home debut against Ulster on Friday night, looking to impress his coaches on two continents.

UL/Bohemian 6 Garryowen 11

A former nursing home director is no longer facing claims she was drunk at work, but is continuing to be questioned over allegations she dumped pain relief and heart drugs instead of giving them to elderly patients.

Thomond Park hasn’t exactly rocked of late, a point not lost on Edinburgh or Ospreys who seized their moment to bag rare wins in their respective Guinness Pro12 outings in Limerick last month.

Anthony Foley has made two changes to the side that claimed a last-gasp

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Saracens flanker Will Fraser admits he will be fulfilling a childhood dream against Munster at Thomond Park on Friday night.

Limerick FC 1 Sligo Rovers 0

Half-backs Dan Biggar and Rhys Webb led Ospreys to a hard-earned 19-14 Guinness PRO12 victory over Munster at Thomond Park.

The draw for the Munster Senior Cup was made last night at the Charleville Park Hotel.

As introductions to Major championship golf go, Paul Dunne could not have asked for better than have the world No 1 stroll up to the first tee and join him for a practice round.

Munster Rugby announced a deficit of €0.8m at the Branch’s AGM last night, but delegates heard some encouraging news for the province in the form of a restructured repayment plan of its loan from the IRFU for the redevelopment of Thomond Park.

Glasgow Warriors became the first Scottish team to win away at Munster in six years as they took the scalp of the Heineken Cup semi-finalists with a 22-5 victory at Thomond Park today.

Things that surprise: Toulouse’s Thomond no-show; their body language; that they were surprised by the intensity of the occasion is a surprise in itself.

A young Limerick mother and her family face Christmas praying for a miracle.

Gloucester director of rugby Nigel Davies looks set to abandon the principle of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and rotate his winning squad for tomorrow’s Heineken Cup showdown with Munster at Thomond Park (6pm).

Munster’s hopes of a last-minute rush for tickets to tonight’s RaboDirect Pro12 clash with Leinster may have been dented by Ireland hero Brian O’Driscoll’s absence from the interprovincial derby.

Reigning champions Lansdowne were warned that life could be tough in this season’s Ulster Bank League when they lost their seasonal opener at home to newcomers UCD on Saturday.

Andrew Conway will line out in Munster colours for the first time tomorrow as Rob Penney’s side begin their pre-season programme against Gloucester at Thomond Park (5pm).

With the start of Munster’s RaboDirect Pro12 campaign now less than a month away, chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald insists Munster’s summer transfer dealings have come to an end and the squad will be free to continue their preparations for the new season without disruption.

The new all-Ireland champions, Shamrock Rovers, face St Patrick’s Athletic in a big Dublin derby tonight.

Munster will sell naming rights to Thomond Park if the right offer is tabled — but at the moment, the commercial arm of the operation if putting all its efforts into securing a shirt sponsor for next season.