In a big day for Irish teams in the Guinness Pro12, Connacht’s needs are probably greater than the rest.

For the second game in succession, Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has opted to make seven changes to his starting line-up.

If there is one person Ulster have missed more than any other during an injury-plagued 2014, it has been their cultured scrum-half Ruan Pienaar.

Leinster 18 Ospreys 12

GUINNESS PRO12:

Rodney Ah You takes over injured Nathan White’s tighthead prop spot, having been released from the Ireland camp at Carton House, for Connacht’s Guinness Pro12 fixture with leaders Ospreys in Swansea this evening (7.35pm).

Gloucester 23 Edinburgh 12

Munster 12 Ospreys 6

Munster face a second top-of-the-table clash in as many weeks tonight when they defend their RaboDirect Pro12 lead against second-placed Ospreys at Thomond Park (7:15pm).

Munster head coach Rob Penney will discover whether the blow torch treatment he dispensed to his squad this week had the desired effect this evening.

Connacht 22 Ospreys 10

Flanker John Muldoon (pictured) is thrilled to be finally starting his first match tonight for Connacht since October.

Joe Schmidt has had to ring the changes for Leinster as they go in search of their first victory at the Liberty Stadium since September 2009.

Joe Schmidt gets his first chance today to run the rule over the Leinster fringe players who will steer him through the early stages of the RaboDirect Pro12 campaign when they meet Gloucester in a friendly at Tallaght Stadium (5pm).

Ulster jumped up to fifth place in the RaboDirect Pro12 League after treating themselves to a bonus-point success over the Dragons at Ravenhill last night.

Ulster have been rocked by the loss of influential skipper Johann Muller ahead of tonight’s RaboDirect Pro12 League clash against the Dragons at Ravenhill.

OSPREYS replacement Dan Biggar held his head in his hands as his last-gasp drop-goal to win an enthralling Welsh derby with Newport Gwent Dragons hit the post.

CONNACHT returned to winning ways last evening, but it took a huge second-half effort to overcome a physical Dragons side at the Galway Sportsground.

THIS was more like it.

IT was more spit than polish at Musgrave Park as a workmanlike Munster kicked off their RaboDirect PRO12 campaign with four winning points on Saturday night.

TOMÁS O’LEARY suffered another blow yesterday when he was forced to withdraw from Munster’s squad for tonight’s opening clash with Newport-Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park.

Things are going from bad to worse for Tomás O'Leary who has been withdrawn from the Munster squad to face Newport-Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park on Saturday (7.45pm) because he is still suffering from lower back trouble.

TOMÁS O’LEARY, John Hayes, James Coughlan and Johne Murphy are named in the 28-man Munster squad for Saturday’s RaboDirect Pro12 opening fixture against Newport Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park (7.45pm).

A POWERFUL front-row proved the game-breakers by earning a penalty-try to ease Leinster to a hard-fought win over the Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade.

LEINSTER are in an unfamiliar position. Their success over the past three seasons has come with apparent ease, yet tomorrow they find themselves in a must-win scenario.

CONNACHT dented the Newport Gwent Dragons’ Magners League play-off hopes with a controlled performance at the Sportsground last evening.

MUNSTER’S worsening away form threatens to scupper their hopes of defending the Magners League title following this latest defeat.

MUNSTER’S prospects of achieving a favourable outcome from Saturday’s Magners League clash with the Newport Gwent Dragons (6.30pm) were given a major boost last night by the news that Ronan O’Gara will line out at out-half.

Ulster 22 Newport-Gwent Dragons 22

WALES star Stephen Jones gave national coach Warren Gatland an injury worry just four weeks before they play England at Twickenham as the Scarlets claimed a vital Magners League win at Rodney Parade.

SIMON EASTERBY has been ruled out of the remainder of the Scarlets’ Heineken Cup campaign.

GLOUCESTER boss Bryan Redpath has put his team on red alert tonight for their Heineken Cup clash against a Newport Gwent Dragons side he believes will show “no fear”.

THE word panic is clearly not in Michael Cheika’s dictionary; the Leinster coach has handed home debut opportunities to three players for tonight’s Magners League clash with Newport Gwent Dragons at the RDS (7pm).

IN-FORM Bulls’ centre Wynand Olivier will be back to give the Waikato Chiefs an even harder time in the New Zealanders’ first Super 14 final in Pretoria tomorrow (Sky Sports Xtra, 4pm)

LEINSTER coach Michael Cheika admitted his team still has a way to go before it can successfully compete on two fronts after their Magners League campaign ended with defeat at Newport Gwent Dragons.

RUA TIPOKI’S Munster injury saga will drag on for at least another week following confirmation last night that he is ruled out of next week’s Heineken Cup clash against the Ospreys.

LEINSTER will roll out the big names for Saturday’s crucial Magners League clash with Munster at Thomond Park (7.30). The return of Brian O’Driscoll, Luke Fitzgerald, Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney was a no-brainer for coach Michael Cheika as Leinster set about trying to overhaul leaders Munster.

CONNACHT will face Samoa skipper Filiso Levi in their Magners League clash with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday (2.15pm).

IN THE fall-out from Munster’s Heineken Cup defeat to Llanelli Scarlets, it was felt coach Declan Kidney would begin the process of rebuilding for next season by fielding emerging talent from the provincial academy in the remaining Magners Celtic League games.

LEINSTER go to Rodney Parade tonight knowing that their hopes of claiming the Magners League title will be left on the brink if they can’t reverse their disappointing recent form.

Wales U-20 15 Ireland U-20 17