Leinster’s failure to make the Guinness Pro12 play-offs was always likely to hurt them come yesterday’s European Champions Cup draw and so it proved, with the three-time winners being landed in a pool alongside triple champions Toulon, English runners-up Bath and Wasps.

The Leinster team took time out from preparing for Friday’s match against Connacht to pay a visit to the children, parents and staff in Temple Street children’s hospital yesterday.

Guinness Pro12: Treviso 24 Leinster 24

Matt O’Connor has named his side to face Benetton Treviso in the PRO12 on Sunday and Dave Kearney is back in the starting 15 for the first time since May.

Fired-up Munster beat arch rivals Leinster in Dublin for the first time since 2008 as Anthony Foley’s coaching reign finally took off at the Aviva Stadium.

Connacht 10 Leinster 9

Three weeks into the season and the Guinness PRO12 has finally thrown the floating voter a bone they can get their teeth into in the form of tonight’s meeting of Connacht and Leinster at Galway’s Sportsground (KO: 7.35pm).

Leinster and Connacht have both named strong sides for their PRO12 clash in Galway on Friday night.

Leinster 42 Scarlets 12

GUINNESS PRO12:

Jamie Heaslip returns as captain as Leinster take on Scarlets in the RDS tomorrow in an afternoon game.

Isaac Boss will represent Leinster for the one hundreth time against Glasgow tomorrow - having already made 108 appearances for Ulster, making him the first Irish player to clock in a century for two provinces.

Seán O’Brien insists there will be no nostalgia around the Leinster squad as they fine-tune their preparations before next weekend’s Pro12 kick-off.

Emerging Ireland head coach Dan McFarland expects much more resistance from Uruguay than the feeble Russian effort, but won’t be sidetracked for the second of three IRB Nations Cup games at the Stadeionul National Arcul de Triumf today (2 pm Irish time).

Ireland’s director of rugby Eddie Wigglesworth hit back at criticism aimed at the IRFU for participating in the IRB Nations Cup.

Rotation is clearly the policy within the Irish squad participating in the IRB Nations Cup in Bucharest and, in advance of Wednesday’s clash with Uruguay.

Leinster ‘A’ 44 Leeds Carnegie 17

Gordon D’Arcy has hailed Connacht’s capture of 33-year-old All Black legend Mils Muliaina.

The Leinster team to face Treviso in the RaboDirect PRO12 tomorrow afternoon (KO: 5pm) has been named.

We’ll always have Paris, as they say, but time moves on and attention this evening turns from Brian O’Driscoll’s victorious Test swan-song and life after him at provincial level as Leinster resume their RaboDirect Pro12 duties against Zebre at the RDS.

Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has made 10 changes for tonight’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash against Glasgow Warriors at the RDS (8.30pm kick-off), where the Blue Army will be hoping to continue the excellent form that has helped them remain unbeaten in 2014.

Leinster 31 Dragons 19

Matt O'Connor welcomes back the experienced duo of Mike McCarthy and Jordi Murphy for Leinster's game against Zebre on Sunday.

Leinster 36 Scarlets 19

Leinster ran out bonus point winners over the Scarlets for the second time this season as they moved into second spot in the RaboDirect PRO12.

RABODIRECT PRO12:

Leinster have called upon several members of the Ireland squad who were involved in the recent Guinness series for Ireland.

It can’t be easy filling in for arguably the greatest Irish player of a generation but Brendan Macken has not done a bad job covering for Brian O’Driscoll this past fortnight.

Munster captain Peter O'Mahony has been left out of Munster's squad for this weekend's Heineken Cup opener against Edinburgh.

Shane Jennings will lead Leinster again as they face off against Glasgow Warriors tomorrow night (kick-off 7.35pm).

Dan Biggar snatched a draw for the Ospreys in Dublin as reigning RaboDirect PRO12 champions Leinster let a 10-point first-half advantage slip away.

Few rugby players are more vociferous in their support of the RaboDirect PRO12 than Leinster’s Eoin Reddan.

Leinster coach Matt O'Connor has named Luke Fitzgerald as a starter in their RaboDirect PRO12 game against the Ospreys on Saturday in the RDS at 6.15pm.

Scarlets 19 Leinster 42

Gordon D'Arcy comes back into the Leinster team to face the Scarlets in tomorrow night's opening game of the RaboDirect PRO12 season in Parc y Scarlets.

Leinster assistant coach Richie Murphy has revealed that Luke Fitzgerald will be given a chance to play centre this season.

Leinster’s back line options, already weakened after the summer movements, have been further reduced ahead of the new season with the news that Eoin O’Malley has been forced to retire from rugby at the age of 25.

Rory Best will captain a senior Ireland squad featuring six uncapped players for the summer tour of the USA and Canada.

Ireland's head coach Joe Schmidt can’t switch focus from his Leinster duties just yet, with the province reporting a number of injury concerns ahead of Friday night’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash against Ospreys.

All that remains now is the timing.

Fergus McFadden believes Ian Madigan’s form will make it very difficult for Warren Gatland to omit the Leinster out-half from his Lions touring squad when the selection is confirmed after the Heineken and Amlin semi-finals later this month.

Injury updates from Leinster’s UCD base have more often than not been dispiriting affairs this season but yesterday’s was refreshingly positive ahead of tomorrow’s Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final away to Wasps.

As if Joe Schmidt doesn’t have enough on his plate.