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

Ulster may have achieved their goal in leapfrogging Benetton in the chase for a Guinness PRO14 knock-out place, but there was mixed news in the aftermath of Saturday’s win over Southern Kings for coach Dan McFarland ahead of next week’s Champions Cup quarter-final with Leinster.

Voice of experience Cave nears end of line

Jim Stokes Auckland-born Sean Reidy makes his 100th appearance for Ulster tomorrow against the Dragons at Rodney Parade - the same opponents he faced when making his debut five years ago.

Ulster have been given a boost ahead of their PRO14 encounter against Ospreys with the return of Iain Henderson from injury.

It was a performance riddled with mistakes, so many of them elementary, but the side's reaction to adversity in the second-half, when coming from 13-0 down to claim the lead and hold out in the face of considerable pressure, was impressive.

Skipper Rory Best hailed Ulster’s second-half display as they dug in for a vital 24-10 win over Leicester Tigers to kick-start their Heineken Champions Cup campaign.

Ireland’s Jordi Murphy makes his Ulster PRO14 debut tonight when Edinburgh visit the Kingspan Stadium.

Ulster 15 Scarlets 13

New Ulster signing Henry Speight hopes to leave the province ‘a better player than when I arrive.’

Ulster 35 Ospreys 17: So after a season where more headlines were made off the pitch rather than on it, Ulster, the 1999 Heineken Cup kingpins and forerunners of Ireland’s glorious history in the competition, will still have a place at the top table of European rugby next season.

The loss of inspirational skipper Rory Best for tomorrow afternoon’s PRO14 shoot-out against the Ospreys at the Kingspan Stadium (kick-off, 3.05pm) will hit Ulster hard, particularly with Ireland lock Iain Henderson also sidelined.

Ulster start rookie tight-head Ross Kane against a fired-up Ospreys at the Kingspan Stadium this evening.

Goosen played his last game in December 2016, when he controversially announced his retirement from playing, aged 24, to become a "commercial director".

Meanwhile, Finlay Bealham returns from a knee injury to make his 100th appearance for Connacht.

Iain Henderson says Ulster players have to “fix” the problems of “being a bit lazy and not working hard enough” if they are to beat La Rochelle in Belfast this afternoon in the Champions Cup.

Harlequins’ hopes of progression in the Champions Cup were virtually extinguished as they crashed to a third-consecutive defeat in Europe, a 17-5 loss at home to Ulster.

Veteran wing Tommy Bowe will be the centre of attention as Ulster seek to consolidate their Guinness PRO14 position when they travel to the compact and atmospheric Rodney Parade to face Bernard Jackman’s Dragons this evening.

Ulster 52 Dragons 25: Ballymena’s Nick Timoney marked his first Ulster start with a double helping as the home side charged virtually unopposed to the top of Conference B following a comprehensive eight-try drubbing of a dreadful Dragons outfit at the Kingspan Stadium last night.

Ireland skipper Rory Best will lead Ulster for the first time this season when they face a strong Cardiff outfit at the Kingspan Stadium this evening (kick-off 7.35pm).

Munster A 26 Ulster A 3: It was rugged, it was tough, but Munster A secured a well-deserved B&I Cup quarter-final victory over Ulster at Musgrave Park yesterday and earned themselves a home date with Ealing Trailfinders, who had a huge 84-7 win over Llanelli Scarlets.

A disastrous start left Ireland with an impossible task when they fell 19-0 behind after just 15 minutes at Stadio Zaffanella last night.

Ireland’s new captain Josh Murphy says the squad has put the disappointment of the New Zealand loss behind them and are now determined to claim fifth place in the World Rugby U20 Championship.

A winner-take-all clash with New Zealand is Ireland’s prize for Saturday’s four-point victory (24-20) over Scotland in Saturday’s World Rugby U20 Championship Pool game in Calvisano.

Ireland 18 Argentina 16: There is something familiar about a kicker from Cork Con having nerves of steel to land a last-gasp winning penalty, but Tomas Quinlan wrote a script all of his own to get Ireland’s World Rugby U20 Championship off to a winning start.

Ireland coach Nigel Carolan has been forced to make a late change ahead of their opening game in the World Rugby U-20 Championship against Argentina in Parma today.

Nigel Carolan may be in charge of the Irish U20s at a world championship for the first time but the Galwayman has been involved with enough underage national sides to know they face a tough test against Argentina today, 3.30pm (live on TG4).

Nigel Carolan has asked his Irish U20 side to finish their campaign positively in Netherdale tonight by returning to the full-throttle game which has been suffocated by two defeats in a row.

RBS U20 6 Nations

The Grand Slam hopes are already dashed, but the Ireland Under-20s can still take a step towards lifting the Six Nations title when they take on Wales at Parc Eirias tonight (7.45 pm).

Ireland U20 coach Nigel Carolan still believes ‘the championship is there for the taking’ ahead of tomorrow night’s crucial RBS 6 Nations clash with Wales (Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, 7.45pm).

U20 RBS Six Nations

Under 20 Six Nations: Italy 15 Ireland 47: Nigel Carolan’s reign as Ireland U-20 coach got off to a perfect start in dreadful conditions in northern Italy last night as seven different players scored tries.

Ireland U20 preview: Expectations aren’t confined to Joe Schmidt’s Ireland side this next two months.

More misery for Munster with the selection of just four of their players on Nigel Carolan’s expanded Ireland squad of 30 for the U20 Six Nations.

Lansdowne 16 St Mary’s 10

Dolphin 18 St. Mary’s College 27

ULSTER BANK LEAGUE DIVISION 1A:

St Mary’s College 20 Lansdowne 38

Leinster U20s 32 Munster U20s 20

Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup final:

Munster 12 Leinster 34