Jack Conan has returned to on-field training for the first time since suffering a foot injury at the World Cup last October.

JP Ferreira might now be preparing for the Australian Open or some other tournament had he followed in his mother’s footsteps and gone down a tennis route as a player and coach rather than rugby.

There may be more current Ireland internationals watching Saturday night’s game from the Thomond Park stands than actually in the thick of the action but do not be deceived.

There’s not much worse than old-timers waxing lyrical about how things were better in their day.

For Leinster this week it will be a case of out with the new and in with the old. More or less, anyway.

Felipe Contepomi made the point last week that every Irish player returning from duties in Japan would process the disappointment of the World Cup in their own unique way.

Jonathan Sexton let it be known last year that he would not walk gently into the good night as a rugby player.

The four tries were selected by a panel of former players, including former Try of the Year winners Jamie Heaslip and Bryan Habana.

A moment, please, to think of the poor old referee today.

Felipe Contepomi has stressed the need for Leinster to strike the perfect balance between free-flowing and high-pressure rugby as they attempt to negotiate Glasgow Warriors’ self-styled defensive “brutality” in Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 final.

Devin Toner’s World Cup ambitions remain intact with the news that the Leinster second row faces just a 4-6 week recovery period from the knee injury suffered against Munster in last week’s Guinness PRO14 semi-final.

Leinster are keen to make one thing abundantly clear: Jonathan Sexton was not dropped for their Guinness PRO14 semi-final against Munster at the RDS last Saturday.

For Felipe Contepomi it’s on a par with River Plate v Boca Juniors; for CJ Stander and Johann van Graan a reminder of Bulls versus Stormers games.

Dig around through the entrails of Leinster’s last ten years of European triumphs and there are surprisingly few threads connecting them all.

Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie knows better than most about the respective merits of this Saturday’s protagonists in the Heineken Champions Cup final.

Felipe Contepomi insists that Jonathan Sexton is more than capable of parachuting back into Leinster’s XV for Sunday week’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse in Dublin.

It’s 10 years now since Felipe Contepomi’s knee crumpled and Jonathan Sexton stepped into the breach for a European knockout fixture in Dublin against an interprovincial rival.

The drain of southern hemisphere stars to lucrative European contracts may be keeping the game’s administrators awake at night but Felipe Contepomi believes those taking the coin can sleep easy with their decisions.

The moment Leinster fought tooth and nail to avoid late last season, the one they dreaded, will come to pass this Saturday evening if Joey Carbery gets the nod to start for Munster against his old club at the Aviva Stadium.

Mere weeks into the new season and rugby is already in crisis mode.

Tonight will tell Stuart Lancaster a lot.

By full time in Eden Park last weekend, so many history books were torn up that the bill might have bankrupted Beauden Barrett.

Leinster boss Leo Cullen believes his former team-mate Felipe Contepomi will help the European champions create more homegrown heroes.

Leinster have confirmed the appointment of Felipe Contepomi as their new backs coach.

Contepomi has been working as a coach with the Argentina national team.

Michael Cheika may not have envied Joe Schmidt the task of telling Johnny Sexton he would be watching tomorrow’s kick-off at Suncorp Stadium from the bench but the man who made the call had no hesitation in handing Joey Carbery Ireland’s No. 10 jersey.

Of the four provinces, Leinster should be the one least in need of imported talent.

Mathieu Bastareaud has always stood out in a crowd, never more so than when surrounded by some of the most famous players in the world.

Munster boss Rassie Erasmus admitted his side only had themselves to blame after poor discipline allowed man of the match Johnny Sexton to secure derby victory for Leinster at Aviva Stadium today.

Johnny Sexton set a new Leinster points-scoring record in the 23-17 Guinness PRO14 victory over Munster at the Aviva Stadium.

Simon Lewis sums up Leinster v Munster at the Aviva Stadium

To think we used to worry about the lack of depth at out-half in Ireland.

Johnny Sexton will skipper Leinster tonight as four of the province’s British & Irish Lions return to action for the first time this season. 

Juan Martin Hernandez has warned Argentina to be on guard to face “one of the best players in rugby history” in Matt Giteau.

Argentina may have been converted to the joys and rewards of running rugby in the last three years, but the nation’s umbilical cord with physical forward play and their devotion to the scrum, in particular, remain embedded in the collective psyche.

Leinster legend, Munster bete noire.

Jonathan Sexton’s kicking talents are matched by his incredible mental strength.

Ian Keatley’s RBS 6 Nations debut at 27 has not come too late for the Munster fly-half to carve a lasting Test career, insists Joe Schmidt.

Michael Cheika described it at the time as the biggest result in his four years at Leinster. Jamie Heaslip, one of the few survivors from that momentous afternoon who plays tomorrow, labelled it only two days ago as a major turning point for the province.

From a confidence boost as a Leinster U20 to being targeted as the British and Irish Lions playmaker, Johnny Sexton has experienced the full range of Michael Cheika compliments and a fair few run-ins with the Australia coach besides.

Michael Cheika thought twice before allowing his Wallabies wander down Killiney Hill and into Dalkey village on Tuesday evening.

Argentine captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe has been sharing his experience of facing Munster in the Heineken Cup with his Toulon teammates and leaving them in no doubt about the threat they face in Marseille on Sunday.

When Ian Keatley headed west from Dublin to join Connacht he was leaving some of his best rugby friends behind, Ireland’s juggernaut prop forward Cian Healy amongst them.