Rugby players in an Irish Open Pro-Am are not an unusual sight. Along with GAA stars and jockeys, they are a staple of the pre-tournament entertainment at this annual stop on the European Tour.

The full-back's contract expires in November after the Rugby World Cup.

Leinster may be shaken by last Saturday's Heineken Champions Cup final loss to Saracens but Leo Cullen's side have at least emerged from the experience with relatively little in the way of fitness worries ahead of Munster's visit to Dublin.

Leinster's prospects for Sunday's Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse have been boosted no end with the news that both Jonathan Sexton and Tadhg Furlong are fit and ready to lend their weight to the reigning champions' efforts.

Felipe Contepomi insists that Jonathan Sexton is more than capable of parachuting back into Leinster’s XV for Sunday week’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse in Dublin.

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.

Benetton Rugby earned a 27-27 Guinness PRO14 draw with Leinster in Dublin as Tommaso Allan landed the levelling conversion of Fijian winger Iliesa Ratuva's last-minute try.

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.

Leo Cullen has named his team for Leinster's PRO14 clash with Benetton at the RDS Arena tomorrow night.

Rhys Ruddock will captain the Leinster Rugby team taking on Ulster tomorrow, while Johnny Sexton has been ruled out following an injury.

Edinburgh remain in the running for a Guinness PRO14 play-off spot after posting a comfortable 28-11 win over defending champions Leinster at BT Murrayfield.

Ultan Dillane, Caolin Blade, Jack Carty and Tom Farrell will line-out for Connacht after their Ireland call-ups.

Head coach Andy Friend says he has no fears about Connacht being turned into a development province after it emerged Cian Kelleher is returning to Leinster after three seasons at the Sportsground.

Andrew Porter's last-gasp try topped off a fantastic late fight-back as Leinster overcame Connacht 33-29 in an enthralling nine-try PRO14 derby at the RDS.

Peter Bracken, the former Munster, Connacht and Wasps prop, tells a great story about one of his first encounters playing alongside John Muldoon for Galwegians.

With two man of the match awards to his credit in the RBS Six Nations U20 campaign, Jack O’Sullivan now makes the cut with Munster A for today’s B&I Cup quarter-final against Leinster at Donnybrook.

Leinster started the season with 14 players who could conceivably feature in their back row and yet they badly need three of their most prominent practitioners to return to fitness in time for Sunday’s European quarter-final against Saracens.

O'Brien has been out for three months after surgery on a hip injury.

Meanwhile, Leinster have made nine changes for their trip to Glasgow.

Leinster flew out for South Africa via Paris last night with forwards coach John Fogarty warning that they will have to roll with the punches off the field long before they step inside the white lines.

Cork Constitution are Ulster Bank League 1A champions for the first time in seven years after avenging last season’s narrow loss to Clontarf in a gripping finale at a sun-kissed Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Five years, eleven finals, ten trophies.

Joey Carbery and Darren Sweetnam have both moved on since starring for Clontarf and Cork Constitution in last year’s Ulster Bank League Division 1A final, but Andy Wood insists there will still be plenty of talent to savour as the sides contemplate another decider this Sunday.

Leo Cullen has made eight changes for Leinster's Pro12 clash with Edinburgh tomorrow evening in the RDS.

From counting shower heads to booking Usain Bolt, Mick Kearney’s duties during five years as manager of the Irish rugby team were as varied as they were challenging

Lost amid the furore over All Black indiscipline and the performances of both referee and TMO at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday was the latest damning evidence that players are all too often their own worst enemies.

There is no danger of Ireland basking in the glow of their Chicago success when they face the All Blacks again this Saturday in Dublin.

Leinster coach Leo Cullen has praised the work ethic of Joey Carbery and James Tracy following their call-ups to Joe Schmidt’s 34-man squad for the November internationals.

It was called Route 6’6”. With the stocks of tall second rows at a critically low ebb, Leinster launched the search for alternatives around about this time five years ago.

A look ahead to today’s action in Divisions 1A and 1B...

Leinster will hope that a seasonal debut for Jonathan Sexton can inspire a more consistent 80-minute performance tonight as they welcome Guinness PRO12 table-toppers Ospreys to the RDS.

Glasgow Warriors lay in wait to ambush another Irish side when Leo Cullen’s troops trot out at Scotstoun this afternoon (3pm).

Joe Schmidt insists there are numerous options available to him to cover for the loss of injured centre Robbie Henshaw in this Saturday’s series-deciding final Test with South Africa.

A famous scene adorns the walls of the ACT Brumbies headquarters in Canberra, depicting the dressing room scenes after their first ever victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby. At that stage the Brumbies team were full to the brim with players rejected by their big Sydney neighbours and the win not only sparked emotional scenes but also marked a changing of the guard.

It may have been a day of drama and calculators across most of the Guinness PRO12, but Leinster strolled to the most straightforward and expected of victories against a mostly awful Treviso side at the RDS this afternoon.

Mick Kearney knows exactly what will be driving his former Connacht team-mates tomorrow. His memories of derby weeks in Galway are still vivid and raw, just like the province’s training sessions.

Paddy Jackson has still to play one minute of Six Nations rugby this year, but his Ulster colleague Andrew Trimble believes the out-half is nonetheless well down the road to reaching the standards of Ireland playmaker Jonathan Sexton.

Plastic pitches, 3G surfaces, artificial turf.