On November 1, 1995, Richard Wallace touched down at Thomond Park to score Munster's first points in European Cup competition. This Saturday at the much-changed stadium, barring a complete disaster from Johann van Graan's new charges, someone from the province will pop up and grab the 4,000th. We recall some of the landmarks in between.

Former Irish lock Donncha O’Callaghan said that getting through his 20th preseason campaign as a professional was made all worthwhile when he was this week named as captain of Worcester Warriors for the season.

It was not without reason that when shocked observers reached for the words to express what Anthony Foley had meant for their sport they settled upon the phrase ‘rugby great’. Rugby correspondent Simon Lewis sets out the reasons why

This week’s news that Connacht star Robbie Henshaw has decided to leave his native province and link up with Leinster has come as another source of disappointment for Munster fans disenchanted with their team’s poor form and a perception that not a whole lot is being done about it.

Former Ireland and Lions manager Donal Lenihan believes home-grown coaches like Anthony Foley and Leo Cullen should be exposed to international best practice early in their coaching careers.

It has been a rollercoaster week for Donncha O’Callaghan. He playing his last game for Munster, visited south Sudan where he witnessed both joy and terror, before tearing himself away from a rugby team he loved with all of his heart to plan a new beginning in a different environment at the age of 36.

New Munster signing Mark Chisholm will arrive in the province today to undergo a medical with supporters hoping this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

Munster’s great tradition in European competition has always been something to cling to in tough times, writes Ronan O’Gara.

Munster coach Anthony Foley last night insisted his hands have not been tied in pursuit of big money signings.

Stunned Munster supporters watching their side forfeit a 13 point lead and eventually lose 24-16 to the hosts departed the Galway Sportsground on Thursday night wondering how Connacht were able to draft in such influential players as All Black legend Mils Muliaina and another Kiwi, Bundee Aki, while their own side have to settle for virtual unknowns from the Southern Hemisphere.

WHILE professionalism is now well entrenched in rugby, John Kelly’s role for Munster Rugby has progressed from a decade as a paid player until the Ireland wing’s retirement in 2007 to that of a volunteer, albeit one a chair of a PGC responsible for the recruitment and retention of players as well as the hiring of the coaching staff.

Former Ireland and Munster star Ronan O’Gara has talked candidly about how he believes he was selfish, had bad manners and how professional athletes are "not normal".

With five Heineken Cup successes over a magical seven-year period between 2006 and 2012, European rugby had become a happy hunting ground for the Irish, writes Donal Lenihan.

Connacht chief executive Willie Ruane believes the arrival of All Black centurion Mils Muliaina to the province later this month will take the game in the west of Ireland to the next level.

From the archives: In recent years, Tipperary wins over Cork in football have become more common.

Imports like Mils Muliaina and Bundee Aki can leave a lasting legacy at a club. It’s not just what you learn on the Saturday, it’s as much about what you’re picking up from Monday to Friday.

Are the days of signing top, top names now more difficult for Munster because of finances?

Donncha O’Callaghan has warned his team-mates not to underestimate the motivation driving Toulouse in this weekend’s Heineken Cup quarter-final.

It was not just the Wallabies downed in Australia at the weekend by men who had travelled halfway across the globe.

The final weeks of any season are characterised by drama and emotion. Dreams fulfilled and shattered, players moving on, others donning the boots for one last battle.

As it turned out, Doug Howlett’s last act on a rugby pitch was to do what he did best during an illustrious career for the All Blacks and Munster — scoring a try.

Marcus Horan sat down to decide his future. Another year in rugby? With no contract on the table from Munster he knew it was time to end a long and fruitful sporting career.

WITH just four teams qualified at this stage and all the second-placed sides still mathematically fighting for the knockout stages, the Heineken Cup has delivered once again.

Tackling one of the most expensively compiled sides in France without a third of your first choice team in the intimidating surrounds of the Stade de France in this afternoon’s opening game of the new Heineken Cup campaign may well seem a bridge too far for a Munster team in transition.

Shane Jennings has heard all the talk about how Munster have been rebuilding, how they are not the same team that once struck fear into the hearts of opponents throughout Europe and he shakes his head in disbelief.

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Munster have confirmed that Doug Howlett will captain the squad for the coming season.

FOR all bar a handful of English fans among the 48,000 at a sold-out Lansdowne Road, it ended in the heartache caused by a tubby Samoan burrowing over for the decisive try four minutes into stoppage time.

Munster Rugby chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald insists the race to succeed Tony McGahan as the province’s director of coaching will not be a “personality competition”.

Whether he intended to or not, Anthony Foley publicly kick-started the great Munster coaching succession race yesterday as the province confirmed the departure of present incumbent Tony McGahan at the end of this season.

The news Tony McGahan is to return to his native Australia to become defence coach with the Wallabies is superb for him on a personal level but not so good for Munster.

MUNSTER rugby chiefs will today accept defeat in their bid to retain the services of head coach Tony McGahan beyond the end of the season.

THE last thing the IRFU court is controversy.

WE may be immersed in the Christmas break but for the players and management of the provincial sides, it represents one of the busiest periods of the year.

ALL rational thinking suggests that only the Thomond Park factor can save Munster from a second Heineken Cup defeat at the venue when Northampton Saints come calling on Saturday.

MANY elements combine to produce the unique chemistry of a Leinster-Munster fixture and one of the more fascinating in recent years has been the head-to-head rivalry between the province’s out-halves.

New Munster signing Will Chambers has expressed his excitement ahead of his short term spell with Tony McGahan’s side.

1. SET PIECE ASSAULT

IT used to be all too easy to chide Leinster for their dependence on the south Dublin hinterland — on and off the pitch — but Saturday’s win wasn’t just forged on the fields of Blackrock or Clongowes.

JIM WILLIAMS has warned Munster to resist the temptation of making wholesale changes to the backroom and playing staff this year.

HEINEKEN Cup winning captain Anthony Foley is poised for promotion to forwards coach with Munster after the province announced yesterday that incumbent Laurie Fisher will leave at the end of the season.

Munster Rugby have announced today that forwards coach Laurie Fisher will not continue with the province after the current season finishes.