A grim night for the visitors to the RDS. And it could have been much worse.

Good things are coming in twos to Alan O’Connor this week.

Seven tries last week, another seven tonight.

The four Irish provinces have named their teams for this weekend's Champions Cup clashes.

Leinster were relieved to leave Lyon with their winning record intact in the European Champions Cup after a nervous end to their win in Stade Matmut de Gerland.

Keith Earls will make his first Munster appearance of the season in tomorrow's Champions Cup opener against the Ospreys.

Leinster are calling this block of Guinness PRO14 games ‘Own the Jersey’ – and Caelan Doris intends to do so with the No 8 shirt.

There was no shortage of drama or excitement in Castlebar as the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers served up a thriller with Mayo doing just enough to book their place in the next round.

Monaghan squeezed through to the second round of the All-Ireland SFC Qualifier series with a nervy four-point win over a dogged Fermanagh side at Clones.

Tyrone charged through to the Ulster SFC semi-finals with a demolition job at the Athletic Grounds.

Leinster’s bid for a record fifth European crown came up short at St James’ Park on Saturday as Saracens reclaimed the Heineken Champions Cup for their third title in four seasons.

PRO 14 Scoreboard here with this one Leo Cullen said Sunday’s Champions Cup semi-final will be a litmus test for him and his coaching team’s player management system.

Leo Cullen says the coming week will be a “big” one for Devin Toner, as the Ireland second row prepares to make a well-timed return to fitness.

Some of their frontline players may have their feet up this weekend, but for those Leinster players in the RDS tonight, there’s a priceless opportunity to top up their credit with coach Leo Cullen.

Munster fans may watch tonight’s PRO14 clash between Edinburgh and Leinster with more intensity than supporters of the visiting side at Murrayfield.

Mayo 0-12 Galway 1-11

If the Cheetahs thought they might get an easy run out against Leinster during the Six Nations, the South Africans were sadly mistaken.

Leinster have brought the curtain down on the Heineken Champions Cup pool stages with the easiest of victories away to Wasps on Sunday afternoon that confirms for them an all-Irish home quarter-final against Ulster at the end of March.

This looked kinda promising on paper.

Simon Lewis Dragons coach Bernard Jackman is under no illusions about the size of the task his side face when they welcome Guinness PRO14 champions Leinster to Rodney Parade this evening.

Tonight will tell Stuart Lancaster a lot.

Leinster 17 Newcastle Falcons 42

Connacht 47 Leinster 10: On a day when Connacht bade farewell to their talisman from Portumna, along comes another farmer’s son from a few miles away on the other side of the River Shannon to lay down a marker and offer hope for the future with hooker Shane Delahunt producing a remarkable display on a day of celebration in Galway.

Leinster 41 Zebre 6: Leo Cullen expects to his Leinster side to be a tougher proposition next weekend – despite hammering Zebre 41-6.

OSPREYS 32 LEINSTER 18: Leinster limped back into Dublin late on Saturday night having fluffed their lines in their dress-rehearsal for the Champions Cup quarter-final with Saracens and licking their wounds after a mauling by the Ospreys.

It has been a hard road for Southern Kings, the whipping boys of the Guinness PRO14, and things are unlikely to get easier for the South Africans at the RDS tonight.

A game badly compromised by the absence of almost two dozen Six Nations stars was rescued by another star turn from Leinster’s James Lowe who continued to entertain long after the final whistle on Saturday afternoon.

Today seemed to be tailor-made for Joey Carbery.

Garry Ringrose’s first start of the season and a debut for Kiwi flyer James Lowe give an exciting edge to the Leinster backline for the Guinness PRO14 trip to Treviso’s Benetton Rugby (3:30pm Irish time).

Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen has handed a first start to Josh Murphy in tonight’s Guinness PRO14 clash with the Dragons at the RDS Arena (7.35pm).

There was some degree of befuddlement in UCD earlier this week when Ross Byrne and Ross Molony found themselves being quizzed on the possibility of featuring in a Rugby World Cup in Ireland in 2023.

Johnny Sexton will skipper Leinster tonight as four of the province’s British & Irish Lions return to action for the first time this season. 

Leo Cullen is expecting a Dragons side revitalised under new ownership and the guidance of former team-mate Bernard Jackman when Leinster open their Guinness Pro14 campaign at Rodney Parade in Newport this afternoon (3:15pm).

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says Scott Fardy’s experience will play a crucial role in the development of the academy players at the province. The 32-year-old versatile Brumbies lock will join Leinster after the Super Rugby season ends.

Joey Carbery will make his first start at full-back for Leinster in their Guinness PRO12 visit to Dragons tonight.

UCD 2-9 Dublin 1-10:A 63rd-minute goal from substitute Sean Meade helped UCD overcome Dublin by two points in the O’Byrne Cup at Parnell Park last night.

Simonstown Gaels 1-14 Donaghmore/Ashbourne 0-8: Simonstown Gaels made no mistake at the third time of asking when capturing their first ever Meath SFC title before a crowd of 6,000 at Páirc Tailteann yesterday.

England 45 Ireland 21: Twenty-one points was enough to win each of the two previous World Rugby U20 Championship finals and only twice has a team scored more than that and lost, but you got the impression at the AJ Bell Stadium on Saturday evening that no matter what Ireland scored, England would nab more.