Harlequins 47 Connacht 8

With Dan Parks unavailable through injury Eric Elwood has selected 22-year-old Matthew Jarvis at flyhalf for Saturday's Heineken Cup round 5 game against Harlequins at the Stoop (1.35pm).

Connacht 30 Newport Gwent Dragons 11

Billed as a must-win for both sides, Connacht return to the Galway Sportsground for this evening’s RaboDirect Pro 12 joust with the Newport Gwent Dragons.

Eric Elwood has made two changes to his starting XV after last weekend’s defeat to Leinster.

23-year-old Connacht winger Matt Healy will earn his first cap for the province when he lines out in tomorrow’s RaboDirect PRO12 match against Leinster in the RDS (7.45pm).

Munster’s bid to close the gap on RaboDirect Pro12 leaders Ulster tomorrow at Thomond Park (5.30pm) may be enhanced by the return of an Ireland Test trio but Rob Penney is under no illusions about the size of the task.

Rob Penney might think it strange to be still working his rugby brain in the build up to a day when Santa Claus and kids are king, but he knows he better get used to it.

Connacht Head Coach Eric Elwood has made two changes to his starting XV for Saturday’s meeting with Munster at the Sportsground (5.15pm).

On a weekend when the provinces showed their class in the Heineken Cup, Munster, Ulster and Leinster also had big wins in the British and Irish Cup.

Roger Wilson will make his return from injury today as Ulster Ravens kick off their British & Irish Cup campaign against Bridgend Ravens in Deramore Park. Wilson will line out in his familiar number 8 position while former Ireland U20 captain Niall Annett starts at hooker.

Munster A 15 Connacht Eagles 19

Connacht coach Eric Elwood has promised to give more young players a chance next weekend after his experimental side beat Exeter at Sandy Park on Saturday.

Connacht overcame the Newport Gwent Dragons to grab only their second away Rabo Direct Pro 12 victory since their opening day visit to Treviso.

Following last weekend’s brave display against play-off hopefuls Munster Head Coach Eric Elwood has opted to make just one change to his starting XV for their RaboDirect PRO12 clash with the Dragons at Rodney Parade tomorrow (7.15pm).

Connacht captain Gavin Duffy says tonight’s RaboDirect Pro12 home game against Munster has kept his side fully focused and motivated during the Six Nations-enforced lull in provincial action.

Connacht head coach Eric Elwood is able to call on lock Mike McCarthy and prop Brett Wilkinson, who have been involved with the Irish Six Nations team, for Saturday’s RaboDirect PRO12 meeting with Munster in the Sportsground (7.45pm).

Brendan Macken was the star of the show at Anglesea Road yesterday with a hat-trick as Leinster A, on World Cup-winning All Black Brad Thorn’s debut, comfortably dispatched Connacht A.

Eric Elwood has included three academy players in Connacht’s match day squad to face the Scarlets this Friday at Parc y Scarlets (7.30pm).

Former Irish and Munster scrum-half Michael Bradley has ruled himself out of the Munster job.

Connacht Academy prop Denis Buckley will make his first competitive start for the province when they face Edinburgh at the Sportsground tomorrow night (7.30pm).

It was anything but pretty at the Galway Sportsground but there was immense relief for the 4,189 home supporters when Connacht scraped a late draw on Saturday night.

Connacht will view this evening’s Pro12 fixture against Glasgow Warriors at the Galway Sportsground (5.30pm) as a must-win if they want to improve on last season’s league finish.

Head Coach Eric Elwood has made just two changes to last week's starting XV for Connacht’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash with the Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground on Saturday (5.30pm).

A LIVELY Ulster Bank AIL Division 1B battle at Dubarry Park culminated in a morale-boosting Buccaneers win despite playing with 14 men for nearly an hour.

AFTER seven defeats on the bounce, Connacht’s Pro12 fixture with Treviso at the Galway Sporstground tomorrow is a must-win for the home side.

The Connacht side that will face Benetton Treviso on Friday night at the Sportsground (kick off: 7.30pm) shows seven changes from the team that lost 6-17 to the Ospreys last weekend.

AFTER last weekend’s historic Heineken Cup fixture against Toulouse, Connacht’s desire to translate their strong European form into points in the RaboDirect Pro 12 came unstuck against league pacesetters Ospreys.

IN a return to RaboDirect action, the challenge facing Connacht does not get any easier with the visit of the Ospreys to the Galway Sportsground this evening.

Connacht Rugby have released a 26-man squad ahead of their first ever Heineken Cup clash away to Harlequins in the Stoop on Friday Night (8pm).

HEINEKEN CUP: Connacht have named a 26-man squad for their first Heineken Cup game — away to Harlequins at The Stoop tomorrow (8pm).

ULSTER’S All Black World Cup winner John Afoa is relishing his provincial debut in today’s RaboDirect Pro 12 derby clash with Connacht at Ravenhill.

Eric Elwood has made six changes to the Connacht starting XV that will take on Ulster tomorrow evening in Ravenhill (5.35pm) from the team that lost to Cardiff.

CONNACHT out-half Niall O’Connor is looking forward to playing in Ravenhill again tomorrow night when he hopes to pull one over on his former Ulster colleagues in the RaboDirect PRO12.

A FIRST-HALF penalty try, supplemented by 14 points from the right boot of Scott Deasy, steered the Munster ‘A’ team to a workmanlike 19-3 victory over their Connacht counterparts at the Sportsground last night.

MUNSTER’S youngsters once again demonstrated at Thomond Park last night that they have the capacity to step into the illustrious shoes of their predecessors, when defeating Connacht 28-11 in an entertaining and enlightening A Interprovincial game.

MUNSTER bid for their fourth successive victory in the A Interprovincial championship when they face Connacht this evening at Thomond Park (6.30pm).

EOGHAN GRACE provided the inspiration to propel Shannon into the semi-finals of the Munster Senior Cup after a hard-fought contest in Musgrave Park yesterday.

Garryowen 12 Shannon 10

AIB league champions Shannon face the toughest of starts to the defence of their crown tonight as they face old rivals Garryowen in Dooradoyle (7.30pm).

IN THE enforced absence of Ireland’s Lions and Churchill Cup internationals, Munster will be giving youth its fling in tonight’s friendly against Sale Sharks at Musgrave Park (7pm).

Teams for the finals of the AIB League Divisions One, Two and Three

CLONTARF’S flirtation with AIB League glory has been consigned to failure in recent years; five semi-finals and two final appearances being just the sum total of the club’s success.

IN AS tough a game as either side have experienced all season, Cork Constitution held out for a victory at Temple Hill yesterday to enhance their position at the top of the AIB League.