The Irish provincial video analysts will be busily plugging into footage of the French Top 14 ahead of this season’s European Champions Cup. All four representatives have been handed French assignments over the next three months - with Connacht getting a double helping.

Ronan O'Gara is on his way back to France, and a head coaching role with Top 14 over-achievers La Rochelle.

Mike Prendergast has been appointed as Racing 92's new attack coach.

Munster's strength and conditioning coach PJ Wilson seems set to follow Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones out the door this summer.

Ronan O’Gara is at the centre of a TOP14 battle for his services next season between La Rochelle and former club Racing 92.

The only vague surprise about France coach Jacques Brunel’s decision to keep faith with the 23 players who beat Scotland for Sunday’s Six Nations match against Ireland was that it was the first time he has named the same side for consecutive matches since taking the job in January 2018.

The Nenagh man accompanied co-coach Laurent Travers and captain Yannick Nyanga to yesterday’s media event and found himself facing 50% of the enquiries from the floor.

Donnacha Ryan likes to lose himself in Paris when he isn’t doing his day job with Racing 92.

Johnny Sexton waited almost a decade to experience the satisfaction of playing a central role in an Ireland Grand Slam success, but he will try not to scratch a similar itch when Leinster contest their first Champions Cup final in six years in Bilbao today.

Former All Black Chris Masoe has praised Donnacha Ryan’s contribution to Racing 92’s charge to the Champions Cup final, crediting the Munster man’s positivity with lifting the squad in his debut season.

Racing 92 co-head coach Laurent Labit believes his side’s 40-minute powerplay that destroyed Munster’s European dream will not be good enough to defeat Champions Cup final opponents Leinster in Bilbao in three weeks.

No I haven’t walked the 200 feet of tunnel that reputedly leads from renowned London wine merchants Berry Brothers and Rudd to Buckingham Palace, but I am assured such a route exists, writes Ronan O’Gara.

The team news ahead of Sunday’s Champions Cup semi-final.

Munster will go into Champions Cup semi-final weekend as the only one of Europe’s last four with a win behind them after their opponents this Saturday – Racing 92 – were defeated by Toulouse.

It will take just over an hour by air for the Racing 92 players to fly to Toulouse for Sunday’s important Top 14 game at the Stade Ernest Wallon, writes Ronan O’Gara.

After the 2015 World Cup, the Racing 92 coaching ticket was invited to meet the ex-England head coach Stuart Lancaster in Paris, writes Ronan O’Gara.

It’s not good when people who are investing trust in you feel they are out of the loop, writes Ronan O’Gara.

Pride restored after a Parisian wake-up call a fortnight ago, Ronan O’Gara was able to take plenty of encouragement from Racing 92’s honourable defeat on his return to Thomond Park.

Ronan O’Gara explains why he is staying in Paris for three more years

Ronan O’Gara’s Racing have a new name this season, and a new look to their backline following the departures of Jonathan Sexton and Jamie Roberts over the summer.

New Zealand legend Dan Carter is set to be unveiled as Jonathan Sexton’s replacement at Racing Metro this morning.

Clermont Auvergne have been knocked off the summit of the Top 14 ahead of their two Champions Cup clashes with Munster after they went down 27-19 away to champions Toulon on Saturday night.

Jonathan Sexton has all but made his mind up as to where he will play his club rugby in 12 months’ time, but the Racing Metro out-half stopped short of revealing whether home will be Dublin or Paris.

The battle for control of the European game took a worrying twist last week. Entering the City Hall for Ronan O’Gara’s testimonial on Thursday night, I was made aware of the statement issued on behalf of independent mediators, Graeme Mew and Stephen Drymer, after two days of deliberations in Dublin.

LEINSTER V CASTRES

HERE’S a news flash from France on attitudes to the Heineken Cup — it doesn’t move the discussion dial here. And it is seldom lunchtime chat either for the players with clubs who kick off the road to Cardiff this weekend.

Ronan O’Gara’s role at Racing Metro has increased substantially from the kicking coach position which was announced in May when he made the shock decision to move to Paris.

Rugby legend Ronan O’Gara kicks off a new career in new surroundings today as he begins life as a coach with French Top 14 side Racing Metro.

Life in Paris, and his new career with Racing Metro 92, became that bit more real this week for Ronan O’Gara, who spent two days in the French capital where he met with the club’s new coaches, Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit.

Tomorrow night’s Top 14 final sees Toulon aiming for a double after their win over Clermont in the Heineken Cup final a fortnight ago. Standing in their way are Castres, the underdogs.

It’s the eve of an all-Irish Rabo Direct pro 12 final, again underlining just how strong the provincial game remains in this country.

Future Racing Metro coach Laurent Labit refused to be drawn on whether they will issue Ronan O’Gara with a squad number for next season.

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.

Sexton made right call to go to France.

Steer 20 stone men around the pitch in a foreign language, battle with other internationals for your position and deal with the president’s whims... those are the challenges facing Jonny Sexton in Racing Metro, according to Montauban out-half Peter Durcan.

For the second year in-a-row, Leinster opened the defence of their crown against a side making their Heineken Cup debut.

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.

Simon Lewis looks at the battle ahead

MUNSTER’S hopes of continuing their winning start in Heineken Cup Pool 1 received an eve-of-game boost yesterday when Castres Olympique rang the changes to their starting line-up for today’s clash at Stade Ernest Wallon.

CASTRES rugby bosses have appealed to their fans to support them in Saturday’s Heineken Cup clash with Munster in Toulouse after it was revealed only 10,000 tickets have been sold for the encounter.

Castres 18 Leinster 15

LAURENT Labit sits comfortably into a seat outside an auditorium at France Televisions, minutes after the Paris launch of the Heineken Cup.

IRISH internationals Keith Gleeson and Malcolm O’Kelly are both nursing injuries as Leinster prepare for the big Heineken Cup match of the weekend away to Montferrand.