Leo Cullen has made eight changes for Leinster's Pro12 clash with Edinburgh tomorrow evening in the RDS.

With three wins, including a first over New Zealand, November has been a hugely encouraging month for Joe Schmidt and Irish rugby in general. So what were the major discussion points?

Jack McGrath knows what it takes to beat the Springboks. He is equally aware that beating them in Dublin is one thing, attempting to repeat the trick in Cape Town quite another.

Connacht 7 Leinster 6: The evening’s entertainment began with a stirring rendition of ‘The West’s Awake’ and concluded with a fevered chant of ‘We Are Top Of The League’. What happened in between on a tumultuous night at the Sportsground confirmed both declarations as being right on the money.

Leo Cullen is confident fly-half Johnny Sexton will be ready for Leinster to face Munster next Saturday in their crucial Guinness PRO12 interprovincial clash at the Aviva Stadium.

A massive litmus test awaits Connacht this evening when they host Leinster at the Galway Sportsground (5.15pm).

With most of the province’s established stars in the Ireland camp preparing for the Six Nations, a number of younger players are being given a chance to shine in tomorrow’s PRO12 game.

Jonathan Sexton won his fly-half battle with Dan Biggar to help send Leinster to the top of the Guinness Pro12 table with victory over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.

He may have been left out of Ireland’s 31-man squad, but Leinster flanker Dominic Ryan has kept a close eye on the early action in the Rugby World Cup.

Edinburgh 16 Leinster 9: Leinster’s hopes of opening their Guinness Pro12 season with a victory were shattered last night by an Edinburgh side that showed more flair with ball in hand and which had a more aggressive back row.

“Business as usual” was the message yesterday as Matt O’Connor and Jamie Heaslip discussed Leinster’s Guinness PRO12 meeting with Benetton Treviso tonight, but the reality is that no-one can recall when the balance sheet looked so grim.

An enormous game for both teams. So said Tommy Bowe earlier this week of tonight’s Guinness PRO12 meeting in Belfast between Ulster and Leinster.

With their European Rugby Champions Cup semi-final against Toulon just eight days away, Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has opted to wrap his star players in cotton wool for the province’s Guinness Pro12 encounter with Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade tomorrow.

Over the past two seasons, Leinster prop Jack McGrath had made a rapid progression on both club and international stages.

Gordon D’Arcy’s Ireland career appears at an end after the 81-cap Test veteran was excluded from Joe Schmidt’s squad for the remaining rounds of the Six Nations.

Scarletts v Leinster

Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt has brought in Ulster's Roger Wilson and Munster's Billy Holland to the Ireland squad ahead of Sunday’s Six Nations clash with England at the Aviva.

Johnny Sexton will put his black eye and facial stitches in the firing line in Paris tonight as he bids to clock up some more game time ahead of Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations showdown with England in eight days. 

Guiness Pro12

Leinster 29 Zebre 8

Following the disappointment of last Sunday’s home defeat to Newport Gwent Dragons, Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has made a total of seven changes to his starting line-up for tonight’s Pro12 encounter against Zebre at the RDS.

Whatever Dominic Ryan’s personal fortunes regarding a place in Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations squad, the Leinster and Irish Wolfhounds back-rower was clear there would be plenty to work on ahead of Saturday’s championship opener in Italy.

The Ireland coaching staff has named a 38 player squad for the first two rounds of the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Ireland Wolfhounds 9 England Saxons 18

It may be a first visit to Coventry for Leinster today but, this should still all feel very familiar to most of their crew. 

Jack Coonan, the highly-promising Leinster back-row forward and Connacht prop Nathan White, are the only uncapped players in the extended 46-strong Ireland squad announced yesterday by head coach Joe Schmidt. 

The Ireland coaching staff has today named an extended squad of 46 players for the upcoming RBS 6 Nations matches against Italy and France, as well as the Ireland Wolfhounds fixture against the England Saxons.

Joe Schmidt faces many difficult decisions over the next few weeks when it comes to deciding on the best available teams to defend the RBS Six Nations Championship.

IT’S difficult to escape the feeling that Munster’s comprehensive defeat at the hands of Saracens was an accident waiting to happen, says Donal Lenihan.

With Jimmy Gopperth at 10 instead of Ian Madigan, Mike Ross demoted from the 23 and Jack Conan preferred to Dominic Ryan, Matt O’Connor has provided no scarcity of pre-match debating points for Leinster fans today.

Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has named his team to take on Castres tomorrow with Jamie Heaslip, Marty Moore and Fergus McFadden all starting the Champions Cup match.

Head coach Matt O’Connor has made 11 changes to the Leinster starting 15 that travel to Cardiff for their PRO12 match on Saturday afternoon.

Fergus McFadden has said the new batch of talent forcing their way through this season at Leinster would convince him to stay at home even if an offer from abroad were to materialise.