A terrified young woman had to pretend to her boyfriend that she was pregnant to stop him from strangling her.

The night they returned to Donegal Town having reclaimed the Anglo-Celt Cup last July, Eamon McGee was content on the peripheries.

Fermanagh 3-16 Sligo 1-17: John Paul McGarry remembered an absent friend as Fermanagh finally claimed the Lory Meagher Cup title they’ve craved.

Kerry strode to a 1-20 to 0-12 victory over Derry in the Christy Ring Cup final, lifting their second title and avoiding a third successive defeat in the Croke Park decider.

Munster Senior Cup: Rockwell 16 PBC Cork 14

The RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta Donegal SFC final will be a local derby next Sunday with Glenswilly and St Eunan’s of Letterkenny winning their respective semi-finals.

Ulster head coach Mark Anscombe has been sacked with Ireland assistant Les Kiss stepping in as interim director of rugby at Ravenhill.

Shane Logan and David Humphreys are overseeing a radical overhaul of Ulster rugby and its future ambitions — the physical manifestation of which is a €40m refit of Ravenhill, writes Rod Nawn.

Ulster head coach Mark Anscombe has signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at Ravenhill until June 2015.

A year ago, Brian McLaughlin sat in a Twickenham media briefing trying to process a defeat to Leinster in a Heineken Cup final.

As Ireland international selection calls go, Declan Kidney’s choice to toss in Ulster’s Paddy Jackson against Scotland ahead of Ronan O’Gara is pretty seismic.

Jamie Heaslip just couldn’t resist.

A call from Declan Kidney would have put the icing on the cake for Ulster’s Irish-qualified Robbie Diack who saw a brilliant start to the season ruined by a knee injury.

By Ian Cusack

Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris will get a 40-minute run-out for Ulster in tomorrow’s RaboDirect Pro12 clash with Edinburgh to prove his fitness ahead of the upcoming autumn internationals.

Rugby will return to Ravenhill for the first time since the tragic passing of Nevin Spence when Ulster host Connacht on Friday and coach Mark Anscombe spoke sensitively yesterday about the need to move on and play rugby.

Ask Brian McEniff if a Jim McGuinness-style contract would have worked 10 years ago and he digests the question.

The world is a cruel place.

Back in the Wild West, strangers always aroused suspicion.

Ulster's new coach Mark Anscombe has said that the players are training hard as he looks to develop the fundamentals.

Had Ulster won, it would have been a storyline squeezed for space by its subplots.

“Leinster’s first two tries from Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy stemmed directly from lost ball after an Ulster put-in”

Rory Best has urged Ulster to use the pain of a crushing Heineken Cup final defeat as motivation for next season's tournament.

Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris will put his friendship with Leinster counterpart Sean O’Brien on the backburner as they prepare to face off in a mouthwatering back-row confrontation at the Heineken Cup final.

Joe Schmidt has admitted Leinster’s preparations have been far from ideal for today’s Heineken Cup final but revealed Brian O’Driscoll, Rob Kearney et al are fit to face Ulster in Twickenham.

Andy Ward

The Ulster starting XV and replacements to face Leinster in the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham tomorrow (5pm) has two changes from the side that beat Edinburgh in the semi-final.

Ulster’s new coach has become embroiled in a racism row in New Zealand.

No one would benefit more from Brian O’Driscoll’s absenceat Twickenham on Saturday than Brian McLaughlin — but the Ulster coach is keeping his fingers crossed that the Irish centre is fit to play in the Heineken Cup final.

Ulster Coach Brian McLaughlin has named a squad of 31 players from which he will choose his starting XV and replacements for this Saturday's Heineken Cup Final against Leinster at Twickenham (kick-off 5pm).

Beating Leinster this Saturday and claiming European club rugby’s greatest prize can start a decade of dominance for Ulster Rugby, believes their back-row talisman Stephen Ferris.

The only way is down for incoming Ulster head coach Mark Anscombe following the success enjoyed under predecessor Brian McLaughlin, says former Ulster and Ireland wing Tyrone Howe.

Ulster head coach Brian McLaughlin could not hide his frustration after his side fell to a 36-8 defeat to Munster in Saturday’s RaboDirect PRO12 meeting at Thomond Park.

Old Belvedere 18 Belfast Harlequins 15

Fears that an injury to Keith Earls would be another long-term problem for Munster and Ireland were eased yesterday when he was given a place on the bench for his province at Thomond Park tonight.

London Irish have confirmed the signing of fly-half Ian Humphreys from this season’s Heineken Cup finalists Ulster.

Ulster Rugby today announced that flyhalf Ian Humphreys will leave the club at the end of this season to take up a three year contract with London Irish.

Brian McLaughlin has made 10 changes to the Ulster XV for Saturday’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Munster at Thomond Park (kick off 7.30pm).

Heady days for Leinster. Less than 24 hours after their Heineken Cup semi-final heroics in France the European champions announced that 18 players had inked new deals with the province.

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin insists his side will not be bothered by their underdog status in the Heineken Cup final against Leinster.

As the last step along the road to a Heineken Cup final, this was not the procession many believed Ulster would enjoy against Edinburgh on Saturday.

Ulster head coach Brian McLaughlin insisted there is more to come from his side after they battled to a 22-19 victory over Edinburgh to reach the Heineken Cup final.

As Ulster adapt to being favourites for a Heineken Cup semi-final, champions Leinster face the sternest test in the defence of their title and an all-Irish final hangs in the balance.