Blackrock College 31 Dolphin 24

St Mary’s College 31 Blackrock College 13

Clontarf 42 Blackrock College 3

Blackrock College 12 Lansdowne 40, Stradbrook

Young Munster 25 Blackrock College 10, Tom Clifford Park

SPEND an hour or two in Shane Lowry’s company and you quickly find an uncomplicated young man with a bright, positive attitude to life and one whose head won’t be turned by fame and fortune.

Lansdowne 55 Blackrock College 13

Blackrock College 30 Shannon 15

Ulster Bank League Division 1A: Blackrock College 14 Cork Constitution 17

Blackrock College 13 Young Munster 37

Wanderers and Lansdowne captains Michael Kevany and Ross McCarron join Ulster Bank’s Joanna Fitzpatrick at the Aviva Stadium.

COACHED by former Ireland star Eric Miller, St Gerard’s exacted speedy revenge on Roscrea for their Schools Senior Cup semi-final defeat by winning an absorbing Leinster Senior League final at Donnybrook yesterday.

TWELVE months and a week after he captured the ‘3’ Irish Open while still an amateur, Shane Lowry is creating a nice little nest egg at the age of 23.

GROUNDBREAKING stuff in Dublin 4. St Gerard’s have never won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup but they paid scant attention to history yesterday by seeing off defending champions and 66-time winners Blackrock in this nip-and-tuck quarter-final.

EUROPE’S Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie must have been delighted as he watched the drama unfold in the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday.

HAVING acquired the services of a new caddie, Dermot Byrne, and with two months on theprofessional circuit behind him, the serious business begins for 3 Irish Open champion Shane Lowry over the coming weeks.

IAN McGEECHAN has turned to seven of Ireland’s Grand Slam heroes to rescue an ailing Lions Series, but Ollie Campbell believes there’s likely to be a backlash against the Irish contingent should the match go pear-shaped in Pretoria.

SOUTH AFRICA captain John Smit will lead the Springboks into the rarefied atmosphere of a Test series against the British and Irish Lions today with one fierce message to his men — it is now or never.

MUNSTER men Peter O’Keeffe and Niall Turner are hoping to make hay while staying out of the long stuff in the €150,000 Challenge of Ireland at Moyvalley in Co Kildare.

SHANE LOWRY was back home among his own people in Clara, Co Offaly, last night disappointed at not having done better in his first professional tournament but in a strange way quite relieved that the occasion was behind him.

How come so many Irish gems end up at Welford Road? EDWARD NEWMAN discussed the connections with Leicester’s chief scout Dusty Hare and ex-Lion Eric Miller

IT SAYS something about the options available to Michael Cheika behind the scrum that Shane Horgan is no longer an automatic choice in the Leinster jersey he has adorned with such distinction for over a decade.

SHANE LOWRY, the leading Irish contender for the Walker Cup team to take on the Americans at Merion next August, entered the 3 Irish Open record books at Baltray yesterday by shooting an opening round of five under par 67.

The location: The Brasserie Restaurant, Lapps Quay, Cork The line-up: Ralph Keyes, Donal Lenihan, Eric Miller, Charlie Mulqueen. The Subject: Take a wild guess. The Eye Witness: Michael Moynihan.

THE English Premiership (EP) may have its critics, with Sky Sports the greatest culprits in creating the illusion that it’s the best league in the world. In terms of marketing, stadium atmosphere and match-day colour, sure it’s in a league of its own, but question marks have always stalked the EP in terms of quality and standard.

THE FIRST game of any Heineken Cup campaign is always one to whet the appetite, but Shane Jennings has added reason to count down the days to Saturday’s game ever since Leinster were paired with the Leicester Tigers last June.

MUNSTER joy was quickly tempered following this 19-13 Celtic League victory on Saturday when it was revealed that a broken bone in his right hand would rule Ronan O'Gara out of action for the next three weeks.

Former Leinster and Ireland rugby star Eric Miller rolled back the years last night as he traded an oval ball for a round one.

Captain Brian O'Driscoll returns to Leinster's side for their clash with Edinburgh Gunners at Murrayfield tomorrow evening.

Leinster captain Brian O'Driscoll returns to Leinster's Squad for the trip to Edinburgh Gunners in the final game of the season at Murrayfield on Friday (KO: 7.10pm).

Prop Will Green will have to prove his fitness to coach Michael Cheika before Leinster's away tie against Cardiff in the Celtic League at The Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

Leinster are two games away from reclaiming the Celtic League with only provincial rivals Ulster in contention.

Leinster will have Brian O'Driscoll, Reggie Corrigan and Cameron Jowitt available for Sunday evening's date with Glasgow at Firhill.

Leinster 38 Ospreys 21

LEINSTER will channel their Heineken Cup anger towards beating the Ospreys and cementing their spot at the summit of the Celtic League at Lansdowne Road tonight (7.30).

The omission of Brian O'Driscoll will give Felipe Contepomi the privilage of leading Leinster out against The Ospreys for their final home game of the season in the Celtic League at Lansdowne Road tomorrow evening.

Coach Michael Cheika has included Ireland Under-21 Jonathon Sexton in an extended 25-man squad for the Celtic League tie with The Ospreys at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

By his own admission, Jamie Heaslip faces the biggest challenge of his career when he faces Anthony Foley in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup semi-final at Lansdowne Road.

Michael Cheika has announced a 23-man Leinster squad ahead of their Heineken Cup semi-final showdown with Munster at Lansdowne Road on Sunday.

Felipe Contepomi will make his 50th appearance for Leinster in their Celtic League tie with Llanelli on Friday night.

Leinster coach Michael Cheika has been able to name a full-strength squad to play Llanelli Scarlets in Lansdowne Road on Good Friday, 14th April (7.10pm).

Michael Cheika has given Robert Kearney, Kieran Lewis, Ronan McCormack and Niall Ronan the opportunity to stake their claims for inclusion in the Heineken Cup semi-finals by selecting them as the four changes for the Celtic League tie with the Borders at Netherdale tomorrow evening.

Leinster coach Michael Cheika will look to his frontline internationals to maintain the province's Heineken Cup consistency in the 'bread-and-butter' arena of the Celtic League against The Border Reivers at Netherdale on Friday night (9.0).

Coach Michael Cheika pulled no surprises in his selection of the Leinster team to play Toulouse in the Heineken Cup quarter-final at Le Stadium Municipal tomorrow.