Munster A 13 Llanelli 15

MUNSTER enhanced their unbeaten home record with a deserved Magners League triumph over struggling Llanelli Scarlets at Musgrave Park last night.

PAUL O’CONNELL might have a sore hip, but the Munster skipper, and now Lions captain, will be fit to lead the holders into battle against Leinster in the Heineken Cup semi-final at Croke Park on Saturday week.

THERE was a time when the loss of one or two key players would have been a devastating blow to Munster.

Newport-Gwent Dragons 25 Llanelli 27

Drogheda manager Paul Doolin is convinced summer football has improved the Republic of Ireland’s fortunes on the European stage.

Nathan Brew and Gavin Evans will form a new centre combination for Llanelli Scarlets against Munster in the penultimate Magners League game of the season at Stradey Park on Saturday.

IT’S BEEN a while since he announced his retirement, and there’s still a lot of rugby to be played before Munster’s outstanding number eight Anthony Foley finally hangs up his boots, sails into the sunset, but already the tributes have started.

LLANELLI Scarlets leapfrogged the Cardiff Blues into second place in the Magners League with a bonus-point victory following a hard-fought derby clash at Stradey Park last night.

Wasps 40 Llanelli Scarlets 7

Connacht 20 Llanelli 18

MUNSTER coach Declan Kidney will almost certainly indulge in a mix and match operation when choosing his side for the Magners League game against Connacht at Musgrave Park on December 27.

LLANELLI SCARLETS may be the only team in Pool Five of the Heineken Cup out of contention for a qualifying spot, but the Welsh region could yet prove to be the joker in the pack, according to Wasps scrum-half Eoin Reddan.

ON the eve of the publication of the Genesis report into Ireland’s dismal performances at the World Cup in France, the Heineken Cup afforded a further opportunity this weekend to bury the negative impact of that experience.

MUNSTER took another giant step on the road to Heineken Cup glory at Thomond Park yesterday, but, after being on the ropes a few times, will remember this scrap for a long time.

JERRY FLANNERY isn’t one to run away from a challenge, but he felt like doing so at Stradey Park after 50 minutes of last week’s Heineken Cup clash with the Scarlets.

WITH the exception of Ulster’s predictable defeat by the Ospreys on Friday night, it proved a very productive weekend for the Irish in Europe. For Munster, in particular, the sequence of Heineken Cup results could not have worked out better.

IN less than a year, Mick O’Driscoll has graduated from bit-part player to taking a leading role in Munster’s Cup and League campaigns.

Edinburgh 27 Llanelli Scarlets 17

Gavin Henson has been recalled by Wales to the preliminary squad for their one-off Test against world champions South Africa this month.

WHILE his “galacticos” had been labouring at the Rugby World Cup in France, Michael Cheika’s set of replacement backs have been cutting a swathe through the first two rounds of the Magners League.

Munster 26 Llanelli 16

HEINEKEN CUP hero Andy Goode has revealed a secret of treble-chasing Leicester’s success – fighting in training.

Leicester guaranteed the first all-English Heineken Cup final – a fortnight after Guinness Premiership clubs announced their boycott of next season’s tournament – following an Andy Goode-inspired display at the Walkers Stadium.

LLANELLI SCARLETS anticipate a minimum £1.5m windfall if they become the first Welsh team to be crowned European champions.

IF MUNSTER had shown the same levels of passion and tenacity in the Heineken Cup against Llanelli, things might have worked out differently, but Saturday’s Magners League victory over the Scarlets will have given the coaching staff, the players and the fans some consolation as they look to the future.

TOP Munster players, captain Paul O’Connell, Peter Stringer, David Wallace, Shaun Payne and Alan Quinlan are all ruled out of Saturday’s Magner’s League clash with Llanelli at Musgrave Park (7.30).

IT WAS as if we were transported back in time.

Llanelli Scarlets 24 Munster 15

FINALLY he’s a marquee name, Ronan O’Gara, respected now wherever rugby is played as one of the world’s best out-halves.

David Wallace has identified his Ireland Test team colleague Simon Easterby as a major threat to Munster’s hopes of retaining the Heineken Cup.

Glasgow 30 Llanelli 14

Llanelli Scarlets 20 London Irish 16

Ulster 11 Llanelli 35

IT’S THE same every year. Just when the Heineken Cup has captured the imagination after the opening sequence of games, it goes straight back into hibernation.

ULSTER continue their search for the form that will take them to the knock-out stages of Europe after going down to a tense 21-15 defeat at Llanelli last night.

LLANELLI survived a rousing second-half fightback from London Irish to open their Heineken Cup campaign with a maximum five-point haul at the Madejski Stadium.

London Irish 25 Llanelli 32

LLANELLI moved back to the top of the Magners League after holding off a spirited second-half fightback from Leinster at Stradey Park.

GUY EASTERBY will make an emotional return to Llanelli Scarlets at Stradey Park today (5.30pm), but faces a battering from his brother Simon.

THE Celtic League title will go down to the last day after Ulster were held to a draw by Llanelli Scarlets at Stradey Park.

Glasgow Warriors 17 Llanelli Scarlets 10

AS Leinster prepare for the Battle of Ireland on Saturday, Brian O’Driscoll has suspended cordial relations with his Triple Crown winning Munster colleagues.

Llanelli 30 Ospreys 17