A Shane O’Donnell and Tony Kelly-led Clare spoiled Waterford’s Munster championship homecoming to leave the Déise playing a dangerous game of catch-up in the coming weeks.

Cork Constitution are through to their fourth successive All-Ireland final next Sunday in the Aviva Stadium where they will face Clontarf after a deserved win over Trinity at Temple Hill yesterday afternoon.

Cork Constitution are through to their fourth successful All Ireland Final next Sunday in the Aviva Stadium where they will face Clontarf after a deserved win over Trinity at Temple Hill yesterday afternoon.

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.

No Jonathan Sexton, Rob Kearney on the bench and Jack McGrath given the weekend off.

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

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

So far, so good for Paraic Fanning in Division 1B of the Allianz League.

A cold and calculated performance from Waterford on a perishing afternoon in Thurles.

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.

Leinster 30 Munster 22

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.

Munster’s love affair with the B&I Cup came to an end yesterday when they bowed out to arch-rivals Leinster at the quarter-final stage of a competition that will cease to exist after this season.

Leinster A 17 Munster A 6: Munster A were stripped of their B&I Cup title by Irish rivals Leinster A at Energia Park, Donnybrook today in a tight match that was in doubt for much of the 80 minutes.

Meanwhile, Tipperary hurling manager Michael Ryan has handed a first league start to corner-forward Cian Darcy.

The honours went to Waterford in this Allianz Hurling League Division 1A clash at Walsh Park yesterday, but it is important to note Clare were already guaranteed a quarter-final (pitted against Limerick).

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.

It’s the job of the Ireland U20s coach to push and prod the players of tomorrow further down the development line but Noel McNamara found himself talking about one from the past yesterday.

UCC 1-19 - CORK IT 0-12: UCC’s class was always going to be the telling factor. And so it proved, even if it took a little longer than expected to boil to the surface.

Munster Development XV 10 Ireland U20 26: Two tries in the dying minutes by right winger Peter Sullivan gave Ireland U20 a flattering 26-10 victory over a Munster Development XV in a hard-fought but scrappy encounter at Thomond Park yesterday.

Leinster Development 30 Ireland U20 XV 26: Paul O’Connell returned to the national rugby fold yesterday as a 69th-minute try from Myles Carey helped the Leinster Development side defeat an Ireland U20 selection.

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).

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.

Cheetahs 38 Leinster 19: So much for the failed experiment, the useless additions, the pointless expansion.

Robbie Henshaw is only a week away from a return to competitive rugby with Leinster but the Irish international is allowing himself a sneaky peek at a possible reunion with Bundee Aki come November.

The great sporting occasions have always seen their attendances inflated over time, with fans falsely claiming presence at an historic event with the vigour of great grandfathers discussing their role in the GPO.

Five years, eleven finals, ten trophies.

Leinster 31 Glasgow Warriers 30: A youthful Leinster side had to deal with a second-half Glasgow power surge and a floodlight failure, the latter coming only 90 seconds out from the final whistle, before securing a 10th straight Guinness PRO12 win last night.

Just one week after proving to all of Europe how dangerous he is in the No 15 shirt, Joey Carbery is back to orchestrate another Leinster victory, only this time he will be wearing number 10.

Cork IT 0-19 NUIG 0-19: There may have been nothing between them on the scoreboard, but NUIG’s marginally superior score difference over the previous two rounds saw the visitors secure a quarter-final berth at CIT’s expense.

Cork IT 1-14, DCU-St Patrick’s 0-6: A good start and composed finish was key for Cork IT yesterday as their 10-point half-time lead provided the basis for an 11-point victory over DCU-St Patrick’s at the latter’s Drumcondra grounds in Round 2 of the Fitzgibbon Cup.

This evening’s clash at the RDS will be Pat Lam’s 98th in charge of Connacht and it is safe to say that he still has little difficulty coming up with a cause for his men each time they go out.