Former Ireland team manager Michael Kearney has been appointed to the board of European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR).

Three key factors will define today’s titanic Cardiff clash

Warren Gatland says there is “no doubt” his Six Nations title and Grand Slam-chasing players have been distracted by Welsh rugby’s current domestic situation.

The Ospreys chairman Mike Jones has resigned over the “catastrophic mismanagement” of plans to overhaul Wales' rugby regions.

If the Cheetahs thought they might get an easy run out against Leinster during the Six Nations, the South Africans were sadly mistaken.

Bernard Jackman has been sacked as head coach by the Dragons.

Connacht 26 Glasgow Warriors 27

Lions captain Sam Warburton has retired from rugby union at the age of 29.

Allen Clarke believes leaving Irish rugby can help take him to the next level as a coach.

The Welsh Rugby Union revealed today that the Swansea-based Ospreys will be his destination.

Eddie Jones has been left embarrassed after footage emerged of the England head coach referring to Ireland as the “scummy Irish” and Wales as a “little shit place”.

It has been a hard road for Southern Kings, the whipping boys of the Guinness PRO14, and things are unlikely to get easier for the South Africans at the RDS tonight.

Wales star Sam Warburton is set to miss the rest of this season after undergoing a second operation in three months.

Connacht 15 Worcester Warriors 8: You suspect the more Kieran Keane settles into life in Galway the more he appreciates exactly what his predecessor Pat Lam achieved, not just with limited resources but the manner in which he got them to play in the difficult climatic conditions.

Glasgow are not the first team to come to Galway and deal better with the wind and rain than the home team, but new coach Kieran Keane was anxious not to blame the weather for losing their opening game of the season to the same opposition for the second year in a row.

Bernard Jackman could give you any number of reasons as to why he accepted the offer to coach the Newport Gwent Dragons.

Bernard Jackman is a self-confessed rugby junkie and that’s why nobody was happier than he was when the pre-season began at his new club, the Dragons, earlier this month.

Ulster 24 Cardiff Blues 24: Cardiff Blues dented Ulster’s hopes of making the Guinness PRO12 play-offs when they carved out a share of the points at the Kingspan Stadium last night.

Glasgow Warriors 35 - Connacht 24: This time last year Connacht fans were holding their breath in anticipation. Sitting pretty at the top of the table, having only lost five times all season, Connacht were working their way to a first Guinness PRO12 trophy and Champions Cup rugby.

Ulster have the luxury of rolling out some serious power for the Guinness Pro12 visit of Treviso this evening (kick-off 7.35pm).

Connacht 14 - Dragons 9: Connacht coach Pat Lam says Kieran Marmion is fit to make his first start in the Six Nations next Saturday against France if called into action.

Connacht 47 Treviso 8: Pat Lam could hardly have asked for a more routine victory in his 100th game in charge as Treviso, yet again, offered only token resistance in what is turning out to be another disastrous campaign for the Italians.

You would have thought Connacht’s bid to get their first points of the season would be the primary focus of this encounter, but the surprise midweek departure of Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons has changed the dynamic of this clash.

Ulster will roll out their strongest available line-out when they visit 2015 Guinness Pro12 winners Glasgow tonight.

Girvan Dempsey believes Rob Kearney is poised to return to something like the form of old now that the Leinster and Ireland full-back finally appears to have put a prolonged period of injury frustration behind him.

Leinster 50 Benetton Treviso 19: It’s only two weeks since Ulster sent Leinster retreating down the M1 in disorder, but some in the northern province could be forgiven for harbouring a sense of foreboding ahead of the sides’ next meeting in the Guinness PRO12 semi-final.

It may have been a day of drama and calculators across most of the Guinness PRO12, but Leinster strolled to the most straightforward and expected of victories against a mostly awful Treviso side at the RDS this afternoon.

Roger Wilson will make his 200th appearance for Ulster when the Guinness Pro12 table-toppers welcome Scarlets to Kingspan Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

Yorkshire Carnegie 43 Munster A 29: Munster A’s valiant second-half fightback was all in vain as relieved Yorkshire Carnegie eventually claimed victory to all but seal Pool Three’s top spot in the British & Irish Cup.

Joe Schmidt’s hopes of coaching the British and Irish Lions against New Zealand in 2017 may have received a setback after tour manager John Spencer revealed that only a head coach able to take a year-long sabbatical will be considered to lead the 2017 tour to New Zealand.

A chance meeting at a wedding sent Limerick’s Ian Lynam down a road of intricate contracts, sports law and representing some of the biggest names in European football. And at a time when image rights, stats and analytics was being embraced by some of football’s top clubs as they bid to get that competitive edge on their Premier League rivals...