The international contingent get all the breaks. With Joe Schmidt hosting a pre-Christmas camp in Carton House early in the week, the onus fell on the supporting cast in the provinces with Gordon D’Arcy the only player who started in Ireland’s last outing against Australia asked to play in the festive derbies in Limerick and Belfast yesterday.

Leinster 42 Scarlets 12

Leinster ‘A’ 44 Leeds Carnegie 17

The lives of 222 children whose deaths at a Protestant mother and baby home were hidden for decades have been recognised with a special memorial.

As a monument is unveiled today to the 222 children who died at a Protestant children’s home and were buried in unmarked graves, survivors of the home have pledged to continue their fight for justice.

Dublin football manager Jim Gavin believes that the Allianz Football League should not begin until April.

HEINEKEN CUP POOL 1:

RABODIRECTPRO12:

The conferring on rugby player Brian O’Driscoll with the Freedom of the City of Dublin may be trendy and populist but I believe it is not in keeping with the spirit of this coveted honour.

South Africa international Zane Kirchner is make his first start Leinster on Friday after being named at full back in the team to take on Newport Gwent Dragons.

Survivors of the Bethany Home have vowed to take their case to the UN following the Government’s decision not compensate its former residents.

LEINSTER SHC QUARTER-FINAL:

Scott LaValla can see the Aviva Stadium from his hotel. The RDS, where he will line out with Stade Francais tonight in the Amlin Challenge Cup final, is just around the corner.

Zebre 22 Leinster 41

RABODIRECT PRO12

TDs will shortly meet with survivors, says Victoria White

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.

Unlike Derek Leinster, (letters, Dec 14), I am not a product of the Bethany Home but I nonetheless feel outraged at the treatment these children received and a sense of anger at my powerlessness.

Derek Leinster (Letters, Jul 28) rightly expresses his disdain of those in government who remain equivocal on cherishing all the children of the nation equally.

Jamie Heaslip will captain the Leinster team to face Munster in Saturday night's RaboDirect PRO12 encounter in Thomond Park (7.30pm).

LEINSTER added more substance to the sporting truism that the very best teams can play well within themselves and find a way to chisel out a victory against durable opponents, like they did on Saturday night.

LEINSTER head coach Joe Schmidt is demanding his players get the basics spot on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium if the Heineken Cup champions are to avoid “suffocating” themselves in their rematch with Bath.

LEINSTER showed enough in the opening half of yesterday’s facile victory over Glasgow to suggest they will not offer up their Heineken Cup title easily.

KEVIN McLAUGHLIN hasn’t exactly got a wealth of experience when it comes to playing rugby in France but he has enough to know what to expect in Montpellier this Saturday.

LEINSTER have named 10 Irish internationals in their starting line-up for tonight’s clash against Michael Bradley’s Edinburgh in Murrayfield.

LEINSTER scored an emphatic away victory over Ulster in the ‘A’ Interprovincial at Donnybrook.

SINN Féin leader Gerry Adams has written to Justice Minister Alan Shatter on behalf of a group of Protestant campaigners seeking to be compensated by the Government for abuse suffered in Government institutions.

NEW ZEALAND might be far away in many senses for Darren Cave and Eoin O’Malley right now, but Ireland’s potential future centre partnership have more pressing issues back home.

LEINSTER returned to training yesterday sporting all manner of bumps and bruises but the expectation is that none of last weekend’s squad will be on sick leave when the European champions face Munster in the Magners League Grand final on Saturday.

RECORDS held by adoption agency Pact must be put in the public domain so people can access their past, according to a man who spent many years in a Government-funded home but for whom the state has no records.

LEINSTER made a great start to the defence of their Junior Interprovincial title with a 30-24 victory over Munster at Charleville.

THE survivors of a Protestant home for unmarried mothers where more than 200 babies died have asked for the Government’s position on including it in the redress scheme.

LEINSTER will have Welsh referee Nigel Owens in charge of their Heineken Cup quarter-final clash with Leicester, following the latest round of appointments for next month’s European Rugby Cup matches.

Ireland international Rhys Ruddock leads Leinster for the first time against Aironi in tomorrow night's Magners League tie at the RDS (K.O. 7.05pm).

Adrian Russell roots out 2010’s weirdest and wackiest sports videos from the world wide web

LEINSTER’S ability to attract a massive crowd of 45,000 for a Heineken Cup pool match was less significant than the victory that followed, as Joe Schmidt’s boys powered into a virtually unassailable position in Pool 2 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

LEINSTER will be sweating on the latest injury updates today for back-rowers Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien ahead of this Saturday’s Heineken Cup rematch with ASM Clermont Auvergne at the Aviva Stadium.

Leo Cullen will make his first start of the season for Leinster against Connacht in the Magner’s League at The Sportsground tomorrow evening.

Luke Fitzgerald will step in for Brian O’Driscoll at outside centre for Leinster against Saracens in the Heineken Cup at Wembley tomorrow.

Out-half Jonathan Sexton will start for Leinster against Racing-Metro in Pool 2 of the Heineken Cup at The RDS tomorrow afternoon (1.30pm).

Number eight Jamie Heaslip will lead Leinster into battle with Munster in Saturday’s Magners League clash at the Aviva Stadium (KO: 7.30pm).

Out-half Jonathan Sexton and lock Devin Toner will make their first appearances of the season for Leinster against Edinburgh in the Magner's League at Murrayfield tomorrow night (kick-off 7.05pm).