Joseph O'Brien bettered his father Aidan as Rekindling outpointed Johannes Vermeer to lead home an Irish clean sweep of the Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington.

Jarrod Evans nailed the match-winning conversion in windy conditions as Cardiff Blues edged out Connacht 17-15 for their first win at the Sportsground since May 2014.

"Being in the bubble” is something rugby players talk about a lot, the protective blanket that separates them from the outside world and allows them to focus on that other familiar soundbite “controlling the controllables”.

Munster and Cardiff Blues won’t be lacking incentives when they clash at the Arms Park this evening in a Guinness PRO12 encounter that could play an important part in their seasons.

Cardiff boosted their chances of a top-six finish in the Guinness PRO12 with a barely-deserved 18-17 win over Edinburgh in an error-strewn game.

An inspired Ruan Pienaar led Ulster to a 35-22 Guinness PRO12 victory over Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park.

Australia coach Michael Cheika has rested most of his top names for tomorrow’s clash with France as the test is the only one on the tour that is not part of the Wallabies’ grand slam bid.

Tony Martin is already plotting a return to Australia next year after Heartbreak City was agonisingly denied by Almandin in the Emirates Melbourne Cup yesterday.

While Aidan O’Brien is not afraid of using superlatives to describe his horses, his comparison of Order Of St George to a Rolls Royce was not far off the mark after he turned in a display of sheer class to land the Gold Cup In Honour Of The Queen’s 90th Birthday.

“It’s like every game we play from here on, we’re in cup final mode.”

Cardiff Blues 20 Connacht 16: Connacht’s poor record at the Arms Park continued last evening when they lost their grip on the lead of the Guinness Pro12 to a dogged Cardiff Blues.

Aidan O’Brien’s three-pronged attack on Australia’s leading races stepped up a notch yesterday as Highland Reel, Bondi Beach and Kingfisher set off on the journey Down Under.

Previous World Cups, in soccer and in rugby, have demonstrated the dangers of bigging up teams during the pool stages, but Michael Cheika and the Wallabies have certainly earned the praise.

The great and the good had been queuing up all week to predict an England win at Twickenham on Saturday night, among them three captains from World Cups long gone, writes Peter Jackson.

Warren Gatland has urged the pundits to keep writing Wales off as his players prepare for battle with fellow World Cup heavyweights England and Australia.

Three of Welsh rugby’s biggest names — James Hook, Mike Phillips and Richard Hibbard — face uncertain international futures after seeing their World Cup hopes extinguished.

Connacht stormed away in the second half to record a bonus-point victory over French club Bayonne at The Sportsground tonight.

Cardiff Blues were denied what would have been their second Guinness PRO12 win of the season by a late try as Munster claimed a 28-24 win at Cardiff Arms Park.

Leinster 34 Cardiff Blues 20

Leinster 34 Cardiff Blues 20

RABO DIRECT PRO12:

Japan 23 Wales 8

South Africa-born forward Andries Pretorius has been named in the Wales squad for this season’s RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Montpellier 34 Cardiff Blues 21

Leicester boss Richard Cockerill admitted his team will need to show a considerable improvement in next week’s Heineken Cup return fixture against Treviso in their quest for a quarter-final place.

A distinct lack of pace was blamed for the largely disappointing European showing in the Emirates Melbourne Cup, which was won by Green Moon.

Leinster 59 Cardiff 22

Classy hurdler Steps To Freedom proved the equine star of yesterday’s action in Dundalk, defying top-weight of 10-3 and justifying strong support in the two-mile Boylesports.com Handicap to spark a double for trainer Jessica Harrington and Fran Berry.

Wales will head into the first of their three Tests against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday with 11 of the starting XV that clinched Grand Slam glory against France in March.

Wales 30 Barbarians 21

Cardiff Blues 38 Edinburgh 13

Wales have been forced to make a change among their replacements for the RBS 6 Nations clash against Italy in Cardiff on Saturday.

Cardiff Blues 21 Ulster 14

PETER STRINGER’S Heineken Cup run with Saracens might be extended following the London club’s success in securing a home quarter-final with a gruelling away victory over Benetton Treviso yesterday.

Cardiff Blues 36 Racing Metro 30

Ospreys 17 Cardiff Blues 12

Conor O'Shea has no doubt about the size of unbeaten Harlequins’ Heineken Cup task against French giants Toulouse tomorrow night.

Wales coach Warren Gatland has made six changes to his team for Saturday’s World Cup bronze medal re-match against Australia in Cardiff.

World Cup skipper Sam Warburton has retained the Wales captaincy for next month’s one-off Test match against Australia in Cardiff.

Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has reiterated his desire to be England manager – but revealed he has had no contact with the Rugby Football Union.

FLY-HALF Dan Parks kicked 14 points as Cardiff Blues made it two from two in the Heineken Cup with a scrappy win over 14-man London Irish at Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff Blues 24 London Irish 18