Christmas holidays don’t come a whole lot better than the one recently enjoyed by John Ryan.

Leinster 30 Munster 22

Connacht’s slim Champions Cup qualification hopes were ended in Swansea as Kieran Keane’s side were beaten 39-10 by the Ospreys.

Munster 33 Zebre 5: Munster coach Johann van Graan accurately summed up the view of the majority of Saturday night’s sparse Thomond Park attendance when he commented that “this won’t go down as the greatest game in the history of Munster”.

Michael Bradley, the former Ireland scrum-half and now head coach of Italian side Zebre, was last night casting an envious eye at the strength of the squad announced by his Munster counterpart Johann van Graan ahead of tonight’s Guinness PRO14 tie at Thomond Park.

Duncan Williams will make his 150th appearance for Munster in Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 clash with Zebre at Thomond Park. It’s a game that provides the 32-year-old Corkman with another opportunity to show how he remains a highly valuable member of the squad.

Munster 48 - Casters 3: The weather may have halted Munster temporarily but when they did get started it was worth the wait as the province secured a 17th European quarter-final by topping Champions Cup Pool 4 in commanding style.

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.

Fergus McFadden believes Leinster’s current strength-in-depth is such that it trumps even the 2009-2012 era, when the province dominated the European club scene and claimed three Heineken Cups in just four seasons.

Leinster 23 Munster 17: To listen to Rassie Erasmus on Saturday evening in the aftermath of a fourth Aviva Stadium defeat in 12 months, you might have thought it was Leinster rather than Munster with plenty to put right heading into next week’s Champions Cup pool stages.

Munster boss Rassie Erasmus admitted his side only had themselves to blame after poor discipline allowed man of the match Johnny Sexton to secure derby victory for Leinster at Aviva Stadium today.

Simon Lewis sums up Leinster v Munster at the Aviva Stadium

The great sporting occasions have always seen their attendances inflated over time, with fans falsely claiming presence at an historic event with the vigour of great grandfathers discussing their role in the GPO.

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.

Ulster 9 Ospreys 7: Ulster’s Director of Rugby Les Kiss praised his side’s resilience and character as they clipped the Ospreys wings at the death of an extremely, absorbing Guinness PRO12 top-of-the-table contest at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday evening.

Ulster struggled to defeat a weakened Scarlets side at the Kingspan Stadium last night.

The Galway Sportsground has played host to many magnificent occasions over the past eight months but they will struggle to match the atmosphere that will be generated for tonight’s Guinness PRO12 clash of Connacht and Munster.

Edinburgh 23 Connacht 28: Connacht survived a huge examination from Edinburgh in Murrayfield last evening to stay top of the Guinness Pro 12 with their fifth win on the trot.

Connacht 30 Scarlets 17: Connacht Rugby players take a deserved six-day break after finishing a run of 16 games with a European quarter-final in the diary and a top-four Guinness Pro 12 spot secure.

Connacht captain John Muldoon will never forget Saturday night’s visit to Thomond Park.

Munster 23 Glasgow Warriors 21: An error strewn Munster performance came dangerously close to causing a shock defeat to a Glasgow Warriors side composed largely of seconds and academy players in the Guinness Pro12 at Thomond Park last night.

With 16 Glasgow Warriors players tied up with Scotland at the World Cup as against five Munster men with Ireland, there is little doubt that the home side will be at a distinct advantage when the teams meet in a repeat of last year’s Guinness Pro12 final at Thomond Park this evening (6pm).

Leinster 23 Cardiff Blues 15: It proved a successful competitive home debut for Leo Cullen at the RDS on Saturday evening, as Leinster held off a game display from Cardiff Blues to secure their first win of the Guinness Pro12 season.

Anthony Foley will send his Munster players out against Newport Gwent Dragons today hoping last Saturday’s late meltdown was not an omen for the last throes of the regular season.

Guinness Pro 12

Guinness Pro12: Leinster 14 Gwent Dragons 16: Leinster suffered a setback to their Pro12 play-off aspirations, as Tom Prydie’s 70th-minute penalty at the RDS yesterday meant they finished the weekend outside the league’s top-four spots.

Tom Prydie kicked the Newport Gwent Dragons to a famous victory as they handed Leinster their first defeat at the RDS since March 2013.

Treviso 20 Ulster 24: This was one of the most astonishing games in the league for a long time.

GUINNESS PRO12:

Connacht 43 Zebre 3