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.

Munster 13 Ospreys 17

A FIRST-HALF double by centre Darren Cave sent Ulster top of the RaboDirect Pro12 League with a deserved win over previous leaders Cardiff Blues at Ravenhill last night.

Ulster 32 Cardiff Blues 13

MUNSTER have been handed a massive boost ahead of Friday’s Magners League tie against Edinburgh with confirmation that Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer and Denis Leamy have been released from the national squad.

FOREIGN leaders showered President Barack Obama and his family with hundreds of thousands of dollars in art, jewellery, rare books and other presents during their first year in the White House.

PAUL WARWICK has stressed the necessity of Munster sprinting from the blocks at Stade Felix Mayol on Sunday afternoon, knowing that anything less could signal the end of an era for the Irish province.

TO those who figure Munster’s current form is under-whelming, second row stalwart Donncha O’Callaghan suggests the critics take a look at their position on top of the Magners League table before the rush to judgement.

IF this is a phoney war, then Toulon will be completely bamboozled when they sit down and watch the video of Munster’s final Magners League match before returning to European duty next Sunday in the south of France.

Munster 22 Glasgow 20

A SLOPPY first-half defensive showing from Glasgow at Firhill allowed holders Toulouse to take control of Pool Six in the Heineken Cup.

Ospreys 33 Edinburgh 16

Ulster’s unbeaten record in the Magners League came to an end at rain-soaked Murrayfield as David Blair’s drop goal put the seal on Edinburgh’s win.

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s national security advisor James Jones is retiring and will be replaced by hard-charging deputy Tom Donilon, in a new shake-up of key White House staff portfolios.

US President Barack Obama announced today that his National Security Adviser, General James Jones, is stepping down after helping to shape foreign policy for nearly two years.

Newport Gwent Dragons 14 Scarlets 27

Connacht 40 Newport Gwent Dragons 17

President Barack Obama is satisfied the US can safely end its combat role in Iraq on schedule at the end of the month, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today after the president was briefed by his national-security team and the top US commander in Iraq.

Two top Obama administration chiefs have told Pakistan that it has only weeks to show real progress in a crackdown against the country's Taliban, a senior US official said.

AS with all disappointments, time is a great healer. Travelling home empty handed from the two Heineken Cup semi-finals 10 days ago, even the potential of a Magners league play-off meeting between Leinster and Munster appeared somewhat hollow.

Welshman Nigel Owens has been appointed to referee the Leinster-Munster Magner’s League semi-final, following Brian O’Driscoll’s request that he be chosen.

Scarlets 32 Glasgow Warriors 37

Newport Gwent Dragons 49 Edinburgh 28

THOUSANDS of Liverpool fans gathered in Anfield to remember the 96 people who died in Hillsborough some 21 years ago.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, the entire first-team squad and club officials joined families and fans at Anfield in marking the 21st anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster today.

Munster 27 Glasgow 19

Connacht 19 Glasgow 19

US security decided the Detroit airline bomber was suspect after he was already in the air, it emerged today.

Ospreys 26 Cardiff Blues 0

Ospreys 26 Cardiff Blues 0

OSPREYS coach Scott Johnson is keen for his side to get into a positive frame of mind ahead of a month that will shape their season.

The group representing families of those who died in the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster today welcomed the appointment of the Bishop of Liverpool as the chair of a panel which will oversee the release of thousands of documents relating to the tragedy.

AMERICA’S national security adviser James Jones said yesterday that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden still spends some time inside Afghanistan.

Saracens 24 South Africa 23

A suicide bomber in a pick-up truck attacked the north-western regional headquarters of the Pakistani spy agency overseeing a campaign against militancy today, killing 10 people.

MICHAEL CHEIKA’S smile said it all after his side had hammered admittedly poor opposition and recorded their biggest win on French soil.

LEINSTER and Ireland flanker Shane Jennings was hit with a 12-week ban after being found guilty of an eye-contact offence during last Friday’s Heineken Cup clash against London Irish.

President Barack Obama won’t walk away from the war in Afghanistan, the White House declared, as Mr Obama faced tough decisions – and intense administration debate – over choices that could help define his presidency in his first year as commander in chief.

THE head of the UN nuclear watchdog said yesterday there is a “shifting of gears” in Iran’s confrontation with the West to more co-operation and transparency and he announced that international inspectors would visit Tehran’s newly revealed uranium enrichment site on October 25.

ALAIN ROLLAND will become just the second referee to take charge of 50 Heineken Cup matches when he oversees next month’s round two clash between Harlequins and Toulouse at The Stoop.

EDINBURGH produced their highest winning score since the Magners League started with a dominant performance over Connacht at Murrayfield last night.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said America had no illusions that Iran would return to negotiations about its nuclear programme and would not wait much longer for Tehran to respond.