London Irish CEO Bob Casey admits his side could be opening the door to America for the Irish provinces after it was confirmed their Aviva Premiership game with Saracens in March will take place in New Jersey.

England have selected Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph as their centre pairing for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up game against Ireland at Twickenham.

Ulster 23 Newport Gwent Dragons 6

The end of an era was confirmed yesterday with the announcement that Declan Kidney has been appointed as director of sport and physical activity at University College Cork.

Munster wing Simon Zebo will step out for the first time as a British & Irish Lion today having adopted Warren Gatland’s advice to play with a nothing-to-lose attitude with a week to go before the first Test against Australia.

A young East Cork rugby player chasing a dream of being in the professional ranks is poised to make his debut for the United States international side.

Tom Ryder has been added to the Scotland squad for the opening two games of the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN is set to make a return to European rugby, following his resignation as head coach of the USA Eagles yesterday.

After securing a bonus point victory over the USA Eagles, Italian prop Martin Castrogiovanni insists his team are not intimidated by the challenge facing them when they come up against Declan Kidney’s Ireland on October 2.

DECLAN KIDNEY has promised there will be rewards for victory in Netherdale tonight (7.30pm) when the Irish Wolfhounds take on Scotland A in a fixture that has become increasingly important to the Irish coach.

WHEN you name a squad with as large a complement as 34 players it is easy to keep one’s priorities under wraps and Declan Kidney certainly seems to have achieved that with his selections for next month’s Guinness Series of autumn internationals.

MUNSTER bid for their fourth successive victory in the A Interprovincial championship when they face Connacht this evening at Thomond Park (6.30pm).

The United States booked a place at Rugby World Cup 2011 with a 27-6 second-leg victory over Uruguay in Florida.

USA EAGLES head coach Eddie O’Sullivan is hoping his side are not left to rue a late Uruguay points rally in the first leg of the Rugby World Cup 2011 play-off.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN’S USA Eagles will play next month’s Rugby World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay in Florida in a last bid to reach the 2011 tournament.

DECLAN KIDNEY believes Sunday’s Churchill Cup final against England Saxons will provide a valuable learning experience for his young Ireland A side.

Eddie O’Sullivan has called for regular top-flight competition for his USA Eagles following successive Test defeats for his new charges.

LEINSTER’S Heineken Cup hero, Jonathan Sexton, is a notable absentee from the Ireland A side that faces Canada in the 2009 Churchill Cup at Denver, Colorado tomorrow (4.30pm local time, 11.30pm Irish time).

USA 10 Ireland 27

HE’S Portumna born and bred, has the Cannings and Damien Hayes as neighbours, and was good enough to win an All-Ireland minor hurling medal with Galway in 2000.

Eddie O’Sullivan and Declan Kidney, Irish rugby’s two most successful coaches of the professional era, will go head to head in Santa Clara, California on Sunday as a youthful Ireland wind up their summer tour against O’Sullivan’s USA Eagles.

DECLAN KIDNEY has made just one change to the Ireland team to play the USA on Sunday in Buckshaw Stadium, Santa Clara just outside San Francisco.

Eddie O’Sullivan has named a squad split between youth and experience for his first Test as USA Eagles head coach later this month.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN admits he’d be “amazed” if Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll doesn’t captain the British and Irish Lions in South Africa this summer.

IN what is Munster’s first home game since winning the Heineken Cup in May, Tony McGahan has kept faith with 11 of the side that started in last weekend’s impressive 46-22 win over the USA Eagles for tonight’s sell-out friendly with London Irish at Musgrave Park (7.30pm).

DENIS LEAMY will reunite with the coach who handed him his professional debut six years ago in Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Saracens at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on April 27.

Connacht coach Michael Bradley has made two changes to his side for the Magners League clash against Glasgow Warriors at Firhill on Friday night.

WASPS are seeking a move from Adams Stadium for November’s clash with Munster in the Heineken Cup.

THE signs of a physical, hard-hitting match against the USA Eagles were visible as Munster went for a mid-morning conditioning session with head of fitness, Paul Derbyshire, on the shores of Lake Michigan yesterday.

MUNSTER RUGBY may not have been born in the USA, but the official final run–in to their new season began in Chicago yesterday.

ADIDAS “tight shirts” were once the preserve of the All Blacks but next month Munster will wear similarly-designed shirts after a new sponsorship deal signed between the sporting giants.

FORMER All Black selector Peter Thorburn claims no team can halt New Zealand’s march to World Cup glory and has rubbished their reputation as ‘chokers’.

A Munster U19s selection will play USA U19s on Friday next at Tom Clifford Park with a 5pm kick off.

The Ireland A team starts their Churchill Cup campaign today against the USA eagles in Santa Clara at 10pm Irish time.

Ireland 5 USA Eagles 23

Canada 5 England 29

Ireland Coach Niall O'Donovan has named two new caps in the starting team to play Japan in the first test of their Japanese tour in Osaka this Sunday.

Sale Sharks bagged a Challenge Cup semi-final first leg lead as England winger Mark Cueto scored two late tries in their defeat of Connacht.

IRELAND will open their 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign against an African qualifier in Bordeaux on September 9.

Ireland will open their World Cup campaign against an African qualifier in Bordeaux on September 9, 2007 where they also play Europe 3, with their key Pool D game against France scheduled for Stade de France and a game against Americas 1 taking place at Parc des Princes.

The Irish team to play the USA Eagles shows eleven changes, two positional, from the side that defeated South Africa 17 - 12 on Saturday.

Eight players have been added to the Irish squad of 22 that played against South Africa.

AUSTRALIA aren’t just setting their sights on beating Ireland in Melbourne this weekend, they’re hoping to do it with an attacking verve rarely seen in a game between two of rugby’s better teams on the biggest stage.