Leinster 32 Wasps 17

Elite sport holds no respect for age.

We’re just over 10 years removed from Ronan O’Gara’s famous swipe at the English Premiership, but the debate on the relative merits of that league and the PRO12 will zoom back into focus on Saturday when the respective league leaders clash in a Champions Cup quarter-final in Dublin.

Munster’s courageous recapture of Glasgow en route towards reinstating Limerick as Europe’s rugby capital raises a strange question this morning: What ever happened to the drop goal?

Saracens took another giant stride towards a possible domestic and European double as they booked their place in next month's Champions Cup final by beating Wasps 24-17 at the Madejski Stadium.

Champions Cup

Ian Madigan will leave Leinster next summer to join French Top 14 club Bordeaux Begles.

Remind Leo Cullen he played in the last European final won by an English team, when the then London Wasps saw off Leicester Tigers in 2007, and he will be quick to point out he wasn’t part of the squad that won it.

Munster boss Anthony Foley insists the province are determined to hang onto Ireland wing Simon Zebo and is hopeful a new deal can be reached in the coming weeks to head off Toulon interest.

For all the talk about Ian Madigan’s worth as an out-half, there haven’t actually been many opportunities to judge his abilities in the position of late.

Leinster’s failure to make the Guinness Pro12 play-offs was always likely to hurt them come yesterday’s European Champions Cup draw and so it proved, with the three-time winners being landed in a pool alongside triple champions Toulon, English runners-up Bath and Wasps.

Amidst the mountain of names mentioned yesterday as possible replacements for Matt O’Connor’s Leinster job, it was that of Robbie Deans that emerged on top with the New Zealander’s tumbling odds squaring with earlier smoke signals from sources.

Guinness Pro12

As we contemplate the prospect and the implications of a second all-French European final in three years, fans of the Irish provinces might be wondering what their sides must do to get back to the continent’s top table.

If Jamie Heaslip had suggested before this Champions Cup semi-final that Leinster’s semi-final clash with Toulon would be akin to a boxing match, it may have conjured an image of a mismatch in the eyes of many observers.

Never again let it be said that you need the perfect performance to win a European semi-final in France.

Simon Lewis takes a look at how Toulon and Leinster compare as they face each other in the European Champions Cup semi-final.

For two years Leinster supporters, media and pundits have argued over Matt O’Connor’s preference for Jimmy Gopperth over Ian Madigan at out-half, but the time for that debate has finally run its course.

Dragons 25 Leinster 22: Leinster’s reign as Guinness Pro12 champions appears all but over after Matt O’Connor’s side surrendered a 22-8 lead at Rodney Parade.

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.

With an impressive tally of 225 points from 18 games at provincial level, the 2014/15 campaign has certainly been a productive one for Ian Madigan.

With that tantalising World Cup clash between Ireland and France cemented in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but watch the respective performances of Clermont Auvergne and Leinster over the weekend in the context of that crucial Pool D encounter.

It’s been a season almost devoid of moments to savour for Leinster fans, despite today’s presence in Europe’s last eight, so it is hardly stretching the bounds of reason to suggest that yesterday’s team announcement may rank up there among the best days.

Scarlets 23, Leinster 13: Matt O’Connor is adamant this defeat in west Wales has not done major damage to Leinster’s Guinness Pro12 title aspirations.

Scarlets boosted their European Champions Cup qualification ambitions by seeing off Leinster 23-13 in a rousing Guinness Pro12 clash at Parc y Scarlets.

For the second game in succession, Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has opted to make seven changes to his starting line-up.

Guiness Pro12

Leinster 29 Zebre 8

Following the disappointment of last Sunday’s home defeat to Newport Gwent Dragons, Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has made a total of seven changes to his starting line-up for tonight’s Pro12 encounter against Zebre at the RDS.

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.

Tom Prydie kicked the Newport Gwent Dragons to a famous victory as they handed Leinster their first defeat at the RDS since March 2013.

Joe Schmidt has rolled the dice for tomorrow’s RBS 6 Nations opener in Italy as his Ireland squad begins its title defence at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

’A’ International

Ian Madigan endured a tormenting day with the boot for Leinster against Wasps last weekend but the man who knows his kicking abilities best has backed him to bounce back against Italy on Saturday week, says Brendan O’Brien.

With Jimmy Gopperth at 10 instead of Ian Madigan, Mike Ross demoted from the 23 and Jack Conan preferred to Dominic Ryan, Matt O’Connor has provided no scarcity of pre-match debating points for Leinster fans today.