It was his piece of individual magic that turned the tide against Toulon and delivered Munster a place in the Champions Cup semi-finals but Andrew Conway believes it will count for nothing if his side does not kick on and reach the final.

Scrum-half James Hart believes Munster’s two-match tour to South Africa is the perfect way to build up for the Champions Cup showdown with his former club Racing 92 on Sunday week.

After an absorbing but scoreless first 60 minutes, the game shifted gears as Conor Murray charged down a Maxime Machenaud kick from the back of a Racing scrum

Do not tell Peter O’Mahony that Munster have regained a rightful place in the European quarter-finals this weekend, the Reds captain is adamant his side is fully deserving of their place in the Champion Cup knockout rounds.

Wales have beaten Italy 33-7 in the sides' 2017 RBS 6 Nations opener in Rome.

“The quarter-final is set for the first weekend in April, with the semi-final three weeks later.” It’s been a while since I came across such bullish confidence from a bunch of Munster supporters, but that was the thrust of the conversation I overheard between a few diehards last Friday morning at Shannon Airport in advance of boarding the plane for Munster’s pool- defining trip to Glasgow.

Leinster coach Leo Cullen admitted the first-half sending off of Montpellier fly-half Frans Steyn significantly altered the course of the game in their 57-3 European Champions Cup clash at the RDS.

Leinster’s South African star Zane Kirchner says Ruan Pienaar has been left “heartbroken” by the IRFU decision to block Ulster’s plans to re-sign the star.

If Ireland are to salvage something tangible from this season’s Six Nations championship, then Twickenham is the place to do it.

The green shoots of recovery appear to have sprung at Munster if their performance at the weekend is any indication.

Munster 26 Stade Francais 13: The smiles have returned to the faces of the Thomond Park faithful after a miserable winter of discontent but Anthony Foley knows there is still a way to go before the sun will shine once more on this Munster side.

Munster restored some much-needed Champions Cup pride as they rebounded from Parisian humiliation with a bonus-point victory over Stade Francais in Limerick today.

Wayne Barnes describes fellow referee JP Doyle as competitive, while Doyle described Barnes as steadfast.

France 41 Canada 18: Another comfortable margin on the scoreboard for France, but doubts hang over Philippe Saint-Andre’s side ahead of their final Pool D encounter with Ireland on Sunday week after a workmanlike defeat of Canada in stadium:mk last night.

Pool D: France v Canada

Argentina 54 Georgia 9: Argentina are at that stage of development where they are potentially both giants and giant-killers at this World Cup, and, having come up short in their attempts to stun the All Blacks last Sunday, the key objective for them in Gloucester yesterday was not to become the victims of shock.

Gordon D’Arcy hasn’t given up on making Ireland’s World Cup squad later this year.

Italy 0 France 29

Scarlets 22 Ulster 13

AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL:

Joe Schmidt last night backed ref JP Doyle’s handling of suspected foul play by a Georgian player on Ireland flanker Dominc Ryan.

Every November series carries a game fraught with danger or opportunity, depending on your state of mind.

Joe Schmidt has exonerated referee JP Doyle from any blame over Georgia flanker Viktor Kolelisvhili’s unpunished stamp on Ireland debutant Dominic Ryan’s face.

Ireland 49 Georgia 7

They may have put on a scrummaging masterclass against a renowned French pack last weekend, but there will be no resting on laurels for Munster’s forwards as they prepare to face Scarlets at Musgrave Park on Saturday.

Munster head coach Rob Penney has called for action to be taken against Perpignan for what he believes was “undue pressure” placed on Saturday’s referee JP Doyle ahead of the crunch Heineken Cup clash.

If the ERC need to remind its constituent partners of what it is that makes the Heineken Cup a riveting tournament, just replay at their next board meeting the last five minutes of action at Perpignan’s Stade Aime Giral and the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Perpignan 17 Munster 18

Munster coach Rob Penney has described his team's performance in the Heineken Cup yesterday as "average but courageous".

Perpignan 17 Munster 18

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 44 Treviso 17

HEINEKEN CUP winner Raphael Ibanez believes that three Irish provinces will create history by making it to the last eight of the tournament this year.

IRELAND referee Alain Rolland can expect a red-hot reception when he takes charge of the Heineken Cup clash between Scarlets and Northampton Saints next month.