Darren Sweetnam scored the bonus-point try six minutes from time to celebrate his first start since October against 14-man Zebre in Italy.

It will be a proud day for the Scannell/O’Sullivan families when Munster take the field against Zebre in the Guinness Pro14 in Milan tomorrow night.

Niall will lead a team that includes his younger brother Rory and their cousin, Jack O'Sullivan.

The European debuts came thick and fast as Munster said their farewells to the Heineken Champions Cup for another season and made a determined change of direction towards the Guinness PRO14.

Johann van Graan is optimistic both Keith Earls and Chris Farrell will prove their fitness for Ireland ahead of the Guinness Six Nations opener at home to Scotland in 12 days.

Results over the weekend ended Munster’s slim chances of qualifying before a turnstile opened in Thomond Park on Sunday, writes Tom Savage.

Having trailed 6-0 after 14 minutes, Munster added their points in sevens to take a 14-6 lead into the break but it was not until Conor Murray pounced off the back of a ruck in 47th minute that the home side truly put this game beyond Ospreys in front of 19,891, the biggest crowd of the weekend in the Champions Cup. Not bad for a dead rubber.

Nash has been named to start on the wing as Keith Earls misses out due to a minor knee injury in one of two changes to Johann van Graan's side.

A run of two wins from their last eight games has increased the focus on the squad and management for all the wrong reasons.

There are three key metrics that Munster can use to measure progress, writes Owen Harrison.

The Munster head coach was able to select JJ Hanahan as his starting fly-half to face Racing 92 in Sunday’s crucial Heineken Champions Cup pool clash at La Défense Arena.

Johann van Graan has rated fly-half JJ Hanrahan’s chances of facing Racing 92 on Sunday in Paris as 50/50 with the Munster boss preparing to decide between rookie Ben Healy and Rory Scannell as his starting number 10 in the absence of Joey Carbery.

Munster defence coach JP Ferreira is the first to acknowledge that Faf de Klerk and Craig Casey are at contrasting points in their careers but he can think of nobody better than the World Cup winner for the young Limerick scrum-half to follow.

Munster coach said that 20-year old scrum-half Craig Casey has a bright career in front of him after an impressive first start.

Connacht coach Andy Friend said the precision which saw them conjure up a last-gasp winner against Gloucester last week is the standard they aspire to.

Dave Kilcoyne makes his return from a calf injury to start for Munster against Connacht in tomorrow's PRO14 clash.

Johan van Graan has challenged Munster’s batch of young and inexperienced scrum-halves to step into the void left by the departing Alby Mathewson and apply the pressure on Conor Murray for the province’s No.9 jersey.

Munster have confirmed Alby Mathewson will depart the province next week.

Nick McCarthy knew he would have a battle on his hands for game-time when he left Leinster for Munster during the season, but it’s a task he is fired-up for as he becomes the latest to make the journey south from the arch-rivals.

Jack O’Sullivan and Jed Holloway both made their debuts as part of the Munster pack, with the Waratahs import Holloway lining out in the second row alongside captain Billy Holland.

Those newcomers are among five changes by Johann van Graan to the side which lost their last Pro14 game 40-16 to the Cheetahs.

Munster head coach Johann van Graan knows all there is to know about South Africa’s major domestic competition, the Currie Cup. Given that the Cheetahs — one of his side’s two Guinness PRO14 opponents over the next fortnight — were recently crowned champions of the 130-year-old tournament, he is aware of the challenge awaiting his team.

Three Academy players will make their first Munster starts in Friday's friendly against London Irish.

Two of Ireland's U20 Six Nations winners are among the four players added to the Munster Academy for next season.

Tom Willis’ last-minute try ruined the Ireland Under-20s’ final quarter fightback as England won a titanic play-off 30-23 in awful underfoot conditions in Rosario.

Tom Willis’ last-minute try ruined the Ireland Under-20s’ final quarter fight-back as England won a titanic World Rugby U-20 Championship play-off 30-23 in awful underfoot conditions in Rosario.

A combination of Ryan Baird's 21st-minute red card and a luckless spate of injuries left the Ireland Under-20s exposed down the final stretch as Australia ruthlessly took advantage to claim a 45-17 bonus point win in Santa Fe.

Ireland head coach Noel McNamara has made two enforced changes to his starting line-up for today’s crunch World Rugby U20 Championship Pool B clash with Australia in Santa Fe, Argentina (2.30pm Irish time).

Ireland head coach Noel McNamara has been forced to make two changes for tomorrow's World Rugby under-20 Championship match against Australia.

Captain Charlie Ryan praised the collective efforts of his Ireland Under-20 side as they repeated their Six Nations heroics with a brilliant 42-26 bonus point win over England on the opening day of the World Rugby U-20 Championship in Santa Fe.

It won’t prompt an update from the AA Roadwatch team but the steady traffic of players switching provinces will continue this summer on the back of IRFU performance director David Nucifora’s vision to maximise the playing pool.

Ireland U20s coach Noel McNamara insists his full focus is on the upcoming Junior World Cup despite suggestions that he could be a possible candidate for a role with Munster under Johann van Graan.

The party will be whittled down to 28 before departure for Santa Fe, via Amsterdam and Buenos Aires. Ireland face England, Australia and Italy in their pool: a tough task.

Johann van Graan has urged Munster supporters to look at the positives of a playing squad in it for the long haul despite the “strange” situation of two key coaches deciding to quit.

Johann van Graan said Conor Murray could have played against Connacht on Saturday night but was withdrawn from Munster’s matchday squad as a precaution following a pre-game knock at Thomond Park.

Munster saw off interprovincial rivals Connacht in Limerick but still had to settle for second place in Guinness PRO14 Conference A as Glasgow Warriors beat Edinburgh to hold onto top spot and with it a home play-off semi-final tonight.

Dave Mervyn looks ahead to this weekend's AIL action.

The Ireland U20s were not long celebrating their remarkable Six Nations Grand Slam before the demands of the rest of the season kicked back in and they had gone their separate ways.

Size isn’t everything. Generations of Irish forwards have learned that much.

In the midst of the Six Nations hype, the provincial coaches beaver away with reduced playing resources, trying to keep the ship afloat and a season’s work on track over a series of Guinness PRO14 games which, by and large, pass unnoticed.

Ireland’s U20s are not about to shy away from talk of history.

Over 5,500 tickets have been sold for the game at Musgrave Park, which kicks off at 7:15pm on Friday night.

A place in the Munster Senior Schools Cup final is at stake at Musgrave Park today as Cork’s Christian Brothers College takes on Ardscoil Rís, representing the Treaty City.

So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here are some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.