Defeat is painful and Munster have been hurting all week as they prepare to right the wrongs of last weekend’s home stumble to Cardiff Blues in their Guinness Pro12 trip to Newport Gwent Dragons today (5:15pm).

British and Irish Cup

Leinster 37 Dragons 12: Isa Nacewa and Fergus McFadden led by example at the RDS on Saturday, when their combined tally of 27 points helped Leinster to a comprehensive victory over Newport Gwent Dragons in the Guinness Pro12.

Connacht 29 Dragons 23: Connacht opened their Guinness Pro 12 season with a valuable home win, edging a lively encounter against the Newport Gwent Dragons at the Galway Sportsground last evening.

A disastrous start left Ireland with an impossible task when they fell 19-0 behind after just 15 minutes at Stadio Zaffanella last night.

With their European Rugby Champions Cup semi-final against Toulon just eight days away, Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has opted to wrap his star players in cotton wool for the province’s Guinness Pro12 encounter with Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade tomorrow.

Gwent Dragons v Ulster

Guinness Pro12

Guinness Pro12: Leinster 14 Gwent Dragons 16: Leinster suffered a setback to their Pro12 play-off aspirations, as Tom Prydie’s 70th-minute penalty at the RDS yesterday meant they finished the weekend outside the league’s top-four spots.

Newport Gwent Dragons 9 Cardiff Blues 11

GUINNESS PRO12:

GUINNESS PRO12:

Ulster 23 Newport Gwent Dragons 6

France 23 Ireland 13

Munster head coach Rob Penney will discover whether the blow torch treatment he dispensed to his squad this week had the desired effect this evening.

Connacht 22 Ospreys 10

Flanker John Muldoon (pictured) is thrilled to be finally starting his first match tonight for Connacht since October.

Ospreys 19 Leinster 10

Joe Schmidt has had to ring the changes for Leinster as they go in search of their first victory at the Liberty Stadium since September 2009.

Connacht’s Eric Elwood is once again putting his faith in youngsters with Ireland U20 player Darragh Leader making his debut tomorrow against the Ospreys in Liberty Stadium (2.30pm).

There hasn’t been much talk about it recently, but Munster are still embarrassed about the capitulation to the Ospreys in last season’s RaboDirect semi-final.

Robbie Diack has withdrawn from the Ulster team to face the Ospreys today (Liberty Stadium, 6.30pm) after the South African back row aggravated a dead leg suffered in the 18-10 win over Glasgow last weekend.

Ireland’s Under-20s ripped up the script on day one of the 2012 Junior World Championship when they delivered a huge upset with a well-deserved win over host country South Africa.

LEINSTER eased into the British & Irish Cup semi-finals at a canter at Donnybrook yesterday.

PHIL GODMAN kicked a last-minute drop-goal for Edinburgh last night to clinch victory over Racing Metro and keep them at the top of Pool 2 in the Heineken Cup.

OSPREYS replacement Dan Biggar held his head in his hands as his last-gasp drop-goal to win an enthralling Welsh derby with Newport Gwent Dragons hit the post.

MUNSTER concede they have to step up ahead of the Heineken Cup double header with the Scarlets after falling victim to the Ospreys for the second time this season.

MUNSTER coach Tony McGahan will hope his side can settle a score with the RaboDirect Pro12 leaders,Ospreys, at the LibertyStadium tonight.

THE PORTENTS weren’t good when over 6,000 ticket-holders failed to turn up for Munster’s RaboDirect Pro12 clash with arch-rivals Ospreys at Thomond Park on Saturday night.

THE Ospreys travel to Thomond Park tonight in search of their second win over Munster in 18 months – a victory that would see them become the first team to beat all four Irish provinces in the one half of the regulated two part RaboDirect Pro12 (formerly Magners League) season.

FLY-HALF Ian Humphreys has been given a further 24 hours to prove his fitness by Ulster ahead of tomorrow’s RaboDirect Pro12 League clash against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium (4.30pm).

EUROPEAN kings Leinster made a nightmare start to the RaboDirect Pro12 after being blown away by the Ospreys in Swansea last night.

LUKE FITZGERALD will seek to put his World Cup disappointment behind him tonight when he takes his place in an unfamiliar and inexperienced Leinster side which begins its RaboDirect Pro12 campaign away to the Ospreys (7.05pm).

ON A night short on inspiration,a young New Zealand-born,Tralee-raised centre showed Thomond Park that blond-flecked hair aren’t the only highlights Danny Barnes can bring to the Munster cause.

TONY MCGAHAN could not have asked for better preparation for Munster’s Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final than this dramatic victory at the Ospreys.

TONY McGAHAN has made 14 changes to the Munster team for this evening’s Magners League clash with the Ospreys.

WALES went into Saturday’s game knowing they needed to beat France by 27 points to snatch the Six Nations title from England.

IT’S been a week the French will want to forget. Vilified in the press, ashamed to walk down the streets and bubbling with tension since their shock loss to Italy last week.

Wales coach Warren Gatland has made two enforced changes for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations finale against France in Paris.

James Hook will make his second start at fly-half in this season’s RBS 6 Nations Championship when Wales face Ireland on Saturday.