Further evidence of the influence of West Cork rugby in the Munster team has come with the inclusion of Rosscarbery flanker John Hodnett for his first Guinness Pro 14 start — against South African side Southern Kings — at Musgrave Park this evening, kick-off 7. 35.

With the clock ticking and Munster trailing 13-6, the home side won a crucial penalty inside the Leinster 22 after a sustained period of pressure and kicked for the corner.

With Munster holding a slender 6-3 lead on 50 minutes, the mass brawl that led to a Munster penalty handed the visitors a chance to widen their advantage.

Munster have defeated Saracens by 10 points to 3. Here's the match in 60 seconds.

The four Irish provinces have named their teams for this weekend's Champions Cup clashes.

Ireland U20 out-half Ben Healy will make his Munster senior debut tomorrow night as Johann van Graan opts for wholesale changes for the PRO14 visit of Edinburgh to Cork.

Munster were ruthless and clinical as they ended a two-year wait for a win at the Arms Park by putting Cardiff Blues to the sword to leave the Welsh capital with a priceless bonus-point.

The host will be without a sizeable number of internationals including record try-scoring wing Josh Adams along with fellow Welsh stars, Owen Lane and Hallam Amos.

World Cup demands deprive both Munster and Ospreys of the majority of their top players when they meet in the Guinness PRO14 at Musgrave Park tonight.

Johann van Graan’s Munster endured a first defeat of the season as Cheetahs doled out another heavy beating in this battle of the conference leaders in Bloemfontein.

The new PRO14 campaign may be in its infancy but for the Cheetahs their clash with Munster this evening kick-off 5.15pm) has a real end-of-season feel to it in Bloemfontein.

Munster claimed a second bonus-point victory in a week as their perfect start to the PRO14 season continued in Port Elizabeth against Southern Kings.

Munster back row Jack O’Donoghue knows there will be a tougher test at altitude next week in Bloemfontein but insists they also have their work cut out to deal with the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth today.

It mightn’t have been a performance to set the pulses racing but Munster still got the new campaign off to a five-try, bonus point start by hammering the hapless Dragons - even without a dozen of their World Cup-tied players on duty in Japan.

Dragons new head coach Dean Ryan has described this afternoon’s Guinness PRO14 visit to Thomond Park as “a massive challenge”. His forwards coach, Ceri Jones, went a stage further in calling it “the acid test”.

Despite all those stars jetting east to the Land of the Rising Sun, the absentee which generated the most debate was the one left at home.

Johann van Graan sends a mix-and-match Munster side into Stadio Monigo tonight with one eye firmly on next weekend’s European semi-final with Saracens.

Munster return to Thomond Park tonight in search of the performance that will get them back to winning ways, but with boss Johann van Graan reminding them they cannot afford to assume Zebre will present them with the opportunity to do so.

Munster go in search of their eighth win in a row this evening when they take on Scarlets at Parcy Scarlets on an occasion to be marked by Rory Scannell’s 100th appearance for the province.

Rival coaches Johann van Graan and Richard Cockerill have adopted contrasting strategies in choosing their teams for tonight’s (7.35pm) Guinness PRO14 encounter at Musgrave Park.

Munster coach Johann van Graan praised stand-in captain Tyler Bleyendaal and his men for carving out a bonus point win at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein yesterday.

Scrum-half issues further up the chain have impacted on Munster A head coach Peter Malone’s selection for the visit of Dragons A to Cork this afternoon for this Celtic Cup third round game (5:30pm).

Munster hit the new ground running last night as they won their opening pre-season game on Musgrave Park’s freshly installed playing surface to defeat Declan Kidney’s London Irish.

Munster A duly qualified for the quarter-finals of the B&I Cup with a comprehensive victory over Ospreys at Musgrave Park last night and jumped to the top of Pool 1 as they await the outcome of today’s clash between Bedford Blues and Nottingham.

Familiarity won’t be an issue in tonight’s must-win B&I Cup clash for Munster A at Nottingham’s Ladybay (7.45pm).

Munster A have a mountain to climb following this B&I Cup result at Musgrave Park last night when Bedford Blues grabbed a crucial win to go five points clear at the top of pool 1.

Munster face their first serious test of the new season when they travel to Swansea’s Liberty Stadium todayto face the Ospreys in the third round of the Guinness PRO14.

Munster 34 Benetton Rugby 3: New league, new season, same old Italians.

Italy 22 Ireland 21: Munster’s Calvin Nash ran in a couple of tries, but Ireland’s hopes of reaching successive World Rugby U20 Championship finals took a nosedive as Italy pipped them at the death in Georgia.

Ireland U20 head coach Peter Malone is looking forward to having another crack at New Zealand as he prepares to bring his side into battle for this summer’s World Rugby U20 Championships in Georgia, writes Daire Walsh.

Ireland 10 England 14: Gavin Coombes’ late try was not enough to deny England U-20s a Grand Slam as Nigel Carolan’s side fell just short in Donnybrook.

Ireland U20 coach Nigel Carolan insists his side wouldn’t lack for motivation against Grand Slam- chasing England at Donnybrook this evening (6pm).

Munster and Cardiff Blues won’t be lacking incentives when they clash at the Arms Park this evening in a Guinness PRO12 encounter that could play an important part in their seasons.

Italy U20 26 Ireland U20 27: The Ireland U20s withstood a powerful challenge from Italy in Prato last night, before securing their second consecutive one-point victory in this year’s Six Nations Championship.

It won’t be easy, but Munster A head coach Peter Malone believes his side have a fighting chance of getting through to the knock-out stages of the B&I Cup.