One final piece of silverware from 2018 for Dr Crokes and in convincing fashion at that, as they won the battle of the Munster Club Champions with Intermediate winners Kilcummin to win their 30th East Kerry SFC title in total and a first since 2013 for the club, at the Fitzgerald Stadium Killarney on Saturday afternoon.

Dr Crokes eased to an eighth Munster club SFC crown this afternoon, the destination of the O’Connor Cup never in doubt after a powerful opening burst from the Kerry champions.

A massacre at Lewis Road. 5-20 from Crokes, each one of their 25 scores arriving from play.

Leinster 17 Newcastle Falcons 42

Dr Crokes 1-18 Dingle 1-8: Dr Crokes claimed a fifth senior club championship crown in seven seasons when crushing Dingle at a windswept Austin Stack Park, yesterday.

Dr Crokes managed to grind out a comeback win after being reduced to 14-men for most of the second-half of their Munster Club SFC quarter-final in Clonmel.

Rory Best is set to captain the British & Irish Lions against the Chiefs on Tuesday after Warren Gatland named a matchday squad missing tour skipper Sam Warburton in the final game before Saturday’s first Test with the All Blacks.

Captain Sam Warburton is willing to tell British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland he is not ready to play a Test match if he has not built up sufficient game time to operate to the best of his ability against the All Blacks.

The British and Irish Lions will welcome back tour captain Sam Warburton from injury on Tuesday when they take on the Highlanders in Dunedin.

Ulster 24 Cardiff Blues 24: Cardiff Blues dented Ulster’s hopes of making the Guinness PRO12 play-offs when they carved out a share of the points at the Kingspan Stadium last night.

Ireland skipper Rory Best will lead Ulster for the first time this season when they face a strong Cardiff outfit at the Kingspan Stadium this evening (kick-off 7.35pm).

Ulster have the luxury of rolling out some serious power for the Guinness Pro12 visit of Treviso this evening (kick-off 7.35pm).

Dr Crokes will face Slaughtneil in next month’s All-Ireland club SFC decider after overcoming Corofin in today’s semi-final.

Leinster's inexperienced fly-half Joey Carbery could make his Test debut when Ireland attempt to stop New Zealand extending their record match-winning streak in Chicago on Saturday.

The loss of Charles Piutau through injury has been softened by Tommy Bowe’s return to the Ulster side for the first time this season for tonight’s derby with Connacht at the Sportsground.

Ulster 9 Ospreys 7: Ulster’s Director of Rugby Les Kiss praised his side’s resilience and character as they clipped the Ospreys wings at the death of an extremely, absorbing Guinness PRO12 top-of-the-table contest at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday evening.

Ulster will roll out their strongest available line-out when they visit 2015 Guinness Pro12 winners Glasgow tonight.

Johnny Holland’s fine form for Munster has not gone unnoticed by Ireland coach Joe Schmidt who wants to see the out-half put himself into international contention next season.

Kerry SFC Round 2A - Dr Crokes 2-16 St Kieran’s 3-12: After a facile passage to Round 2 the previous weekend, Dr Crokes were given a much sterner examination of their Kerry SFC credentials as they just sneaked past a dogged St Kieran’s side in Cordal on Saturday.

Dr Crokes 5-19 West Kerry 1-09: A masterclass from Dr Crokes’ Tony Brosnan was one of the few highlights of this dreadfully one-sided Kerry SFC first round clash in Killarney on Saturday night.

Zebre 17 Ulster 47: Ireland wing, Tommy Bowe, made a try-scoring return, as Ulster boosted their hopes of a Guinness PRO12 play-off place, with a 47-17 victory over Zebre.

Tommy Bowe gets his first start of the season for Ulster when they travel to Zebre in the chase for a bonus-point win in the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi this afternoon.

Ulster 18 Connacht 10: For Ulster the misery of the a month which saw them slump to fifth ended in a hard-fought win in Belfast over a Connacht side which never took a backward step but was undone by injuries and some unforced errors.

Dr Crokes 3-15 Austin Stacks 3-9: Dr Crokes came out on top in a feisty Credit Union Kerry County SFL Division One clash at Lewis Road that doubled as the 2015 Kerry County League final.

Ireland's five-match unbeaten run against France came to a punishing end as Guy Noves' side edged home a tight Six Nations encounter at Stade de France today.

Ulster 56 Oyannax 3: Eight tries, all converted, and a clinically attacking Ulster got the bonus point win over Oyannax on Saturday at the Kingspan Stadium needed to prolong – for 24 hours at least – hopes of a Champions Cup quarter-final spot.

Dr Crokes 1-11 Austin Stacks 1-10: Experience was what Martin Byrnes cited at the finish.

Ireland boss Joe Schmidt toasted fly-half Johnny Sexton after his playmaker helped get his team's World Cup Pool D campaign off to a flying start with a seven-try rout of Canada.

Cian Healy will have to come cold to the World Cup later this month after the Leinster loosehead was omitted from the Ireland team to face England in the last of the four warm-up games, in Twickenham on Saturday.

And so it begins.

Shannon Rangers 0-9 Dr Crokes 2-16: It was all so easy for Dr Crokes who had 13 points to spare over last year’s semi-finalists Shannon Rangers in this Kerry SFC first round tie at Tarbert on Saturday evening.

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.

Connacht 20 Ulster 27: Ulster’s title hopes and Connacht’s less ambitious but equally important Champions Cup qualification dreams both remain on target after a seven-try Pro 12 thriller at the Galway Sportsground.

A Pro 12 title and a top six qualification are on the line in today’s meeting of Ulster and Connacht in the Galway Sportsground (2.40pm).

Wales 23 Ireland 16: Ireland’s Grand Slam ambitions have been ended and their hopes of retaining the Six Nations title severely dented by a seven-point defeat to Wales at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Joe Schmidt has warned his players not to get distracted by all the hullaballoo surrounding Ireland as they take their ongoing bid for an RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam to Cardiff tomorrow.