Munster’s charge towards the top four of the Pro12 hit a speed bump as they slipped to a 37-28 defeat at Cardiff Blues.

“It’s like every game we play from here on, we’re in cup final mode.”

Munster 26 Newport Gwent Dragons 5: Two salient points emerged from Saturday night’s Guinness Pro 12 game at Thomond Park.

Munster and the Newport Gwent Dragons both received good news yesterday as they prepare for their Guinness Pro12 clash at Thomond Park tonight.

The prospect of missing out on qualification for next season’s European Champions Cup looms larger than ever for Munster after Glasgow Warriors’ win over the Newport Gwent Dragons on Thursday. That result drops Munster to eighth in the Guinness Pro12 table with only the top six assured of Champions Cup action.

British and Irish Cup

Anthony Foley has laid it on the line for his players ahead of tomorrow’s Guinness PRO12 clash with the Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade.

Munster A - champions in 2012, begin their challenge for a second B & I Cup title when they take on London Scottish at the Athletic ground in Richmond, London tonight (7.45pm).

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).

Munster head coach Anthony Foley will unleash his southern hemisphere imports on the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow, naming Aussie second row Mark Chisholm and New Zealand backs Tyler Bleyendaal and Francis Saili in the side for a crucial Guinness Pro12 clash.

Munster 18 Benetton Treviso 13: The consolation on a less than satisfactory Guinness Pro12 performance at Musgrave Park on Saturday night was the win, four points in the bag, that puts Munster in a much healthier position than at the same stage last season when they lost first time out to Edinburgh.

Munster Rugby will end their tradition of training in dual venues in Cork and Limerick when a new state-of-the-art facility is opened next July.

Munster 21 London Irish 15: Munster produced a top drawer second-half performance as they put London Irish to the sword in front of an enthusiastic attendance of 5,208.

Assistant coach Brian Walsh will be looking for new signing Francis Saili to bring an extra dimension to Munster’s play in tonight’s final pre-season friendly against London Irish at Musgrave Park (7pm).

Munster 12 Connacht 28: Connacht scrum-half Kieran Marmion could hardly be blamed for feeling more than a little aggrieved last week when he was released back to Connacht by Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt without having had a reasonable chance to press his claims for a place in Ireland’s World Cup squad.

Last week, Tyler Bleyendaal, Munster’s major signing from New Zealand, made his first appearance in the red jersey after dealing with 12 months of deep frustration because of a career-threatening injury. He came through in style.

Having kicked his heels in frustration for the last 12 months as he recovered from a serious neck injury, 25 year-old New Zealander Tyler Bleyendaal is finally ready to make his first appearance in front of the Munster supporters when he lines out against French club Grenoble in this evening’s pre-season friendly at Thomond Park.

London 0-11 Cavan 2-22: Cavan’s trip to London proved more routine than expected but victory came at a price for Terry Hyland’s men.

Cavan recorded their second All-Ireland SFC qualifier win over London in three years as Gearoid McKiernan and Dara McVeety both found the net in a 2-22 to 0-11 success at Ruislip.

Munster A 41 Ulster Ravens 27: Kiwi outhalf Tyler Bleyendaal made his long-awaited Munster debut for the province’s second string during a 41-27 victory against the Ulster Ravens at Naas yesterday.

Longford u21s 1-17 Louth u21s 1-04: Longford advanced to the semi-finals of the Leinster U21 Championship for the third year in-a-row with 13 points to spare over Louth.

Louth 3-11 Carlow 2-10

Sigerson Cup Quarter-Final: UCD 1-19 GMIT 1-9: Jim Gavin wasn’t at Belfield yesterday but if the Dublin manager gets a chance to view the tape of this game, he will be suitably intrigued.

Allianz FL Division 4 Round 2: Carlow 2-9 London 0-13: Second-half goals from Hughie Gahan and Darragh O’Brien proved decisive as Carlow just held off the sustained challenge of London in this entertaining fog-shrouded NFL Division 4 tie at Netwatch Cullen Park yesterday.

UCD 0-15 Athlone IT 0-7

London 1-2 Offaly 0-9: Allianz Football League Division 4: New Offaly manager Pat Flanagan expects the Faithful County to embark on a promotion-winning campaign after holding off a spirited London revival at Ruislip to claim a perfect league start in Allianz NFL Division 4.

Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne 2-10 Tralee CBS 1-3

Kildare 0-21 UCD 1-05: Jason Ryan has raised the issue of college teams competing in the inter-county pre-season tournaments again after his side trounced UCD at St Conleth’s Park to set up a Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup semi-final against DIT on Sunday.

UCD 2-08 Louth 0-12: A goal with the last touch of the game earned UCD the points in last night’s O’Byrne Cup tie at Haggardstown, and so keeps the students in with a chance of a place in the knockout stages.

Waterford U21HC final: Ballygunner 2-12 Dungarvan 0-11

GUINNESS PRO12:

Robin Copeland’s return to the BT Cardiff Arms Park where he enjoyed two highly successful years before linking up with Munster this season and the first appearance of Argentine international Luis Gonzalez Amorosino on the wing for Cardiff Blues adds considerable interest to this evening’s Guinness Pro12 clash.

Nottingham 12 Munster A 23

Worcester Warriors 27 Munster A 23

Munster A coach Mick O’Driscoll makes four personnel changes from last weekend’s British & Irish Cup for this afternoon’s clash with Worcester Warriors (Sixways, 3pm).

Munster A 27 Moseley 21