TONY MCGAHAN could not have asked for better preparation for Munster’s Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final than this dramatic victory at the Ospreys.

TONY McGAHAN has made 14 changes to the Munster team for this evening’s Magners League clash with the Ospreys.

OH, how a few performances can change a team.

Head coach Andy Robinson has made seven changes to his starting XV for Sunday’s vital RBS 6 Nations clash with Ireland at Murrayfield.

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson has named an unchanged starting XV for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Wales at Murrayfield.

Scotland go in search of a first RBS 6 Nations win in Paris on Saturday with captain Alastair Kellock joined by Glasgow team-mate Richie Gray in the second row and Nathan Hines starting at flanker.

THE SNOW may still be thick on the ground but the fog is at last beginning to clear as far as the Heineken Cup Pool Three qualification picture is concerned.

Tomás O’Leary will partner Ronan O’Gara at half-back for Munster’s Heineken Cup game with the Ospreys at Thomond Parks on Sunday. (kick-off 1pm)

NICK EASTER will captain England in Saturday’s Investec Test against Samoa after manager Martin Johnson made four changes to the team that beat Australia.

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson has named four uncapped players in his squad for the autumn Test series.

Ospreys 27 London Irish 16

NIALL O’CONNOR booted Ulster to victory as they downed the Ospreys in a tense Magners League opener at Ravenhill last night.

IRELAND wing Tommy Bowe broke the hearts of his former colleagues when he scored the Ospreys’ bonus-point fourth try near the end of a pulsating Magners League clash to deny Ulster a bonus point.

MICHAEL BRADLEY will hope his Connacht side can continue their successful European Amlin Challenge Cup form when they return to Magners League action against the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium tomorrow.

IRELAND’S second string began a new life with an old tag by chalking up a useful victory over a strong Scotland A side at Ravenhill last night.

SCOTLAND A coach Sean Lineen has a bit of unfinished business to settle with the Irish Wolfhounds in tonight’s A international at Ravenhill (7.30pm).

ULSTER back rower Chris Henry has been handed a chance to build on an eye-catching cameo showing by being named as skipper of the Ireland Wolfhounds team to take on Scotland A at Ravenhill tomorrow (7.30pm).

Ospreys 26 Cardiff Blues 0

OSPREYS coach Scott Johnson is keen for his side to get into a positive frame of mind ahead of a month that will shape their season.

MUNSTER coach Tony McGahan wasted no time in launching a staunch defence of Ronan O’Gara after his penalty misses proved costly against the Ospreys on Saturday night.

MIKE PHILLIPS handed Wales an injury scare during Ospreys 25-24 Heineken Cup Pool Three victory over Clermont Auvergne at the Liberty Stadium yesterday.

CONNACHT could not have wished for a tougher Magners League opening than the Ospreys when the two sides meet at the Galway Sportsground this evening (7pm).

Scotland have been forced into four changes for Saturday’s third and final autumn Test against Canada at Pittodrie.

LEICESTER coach Heyneke Meyer hailed a “brilliant” performance by Toby Flood after Tigers launched their Heineken Cup campaign with victory over the Ospreys at Welford Road.

NOT a complete performance from Leinster by any stretch of the imagination, but still a significant victory against a heavyweight Ospreys side that had travelled to Dublin with three wins from three so far this season.

LEINSTER will continue their early-season rotation policy against the Ospreys at the RDS this evening (7.35pm) with Michael Cheika having made five changes to the side that swamped Edinburgh in Dublin last week.

Table-toppers The Ospreys coach Sean Holley will look to exploit Leinster in the Magners League on Friday at The RDS.

Hooker Fergus Thomson will make his first start for Scotland in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations wooden-spoon decider against Italy in Rome.

Scotland have been dealt a blow ahead of their RBS 6 Nations Championship match against Ireland after skipper Jason White was ruled out with concussion.

SCOTLAND have named a squad of 25 players from which the team to play Ireland in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations Championship match in Croke Park at 5pm will be chosen today.

Scotland have recalled Chris Paterson for Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Wales in Cardiff.

Nick De Luca will make his Scotland debut in the RBS 6 Nations clash with France - but Chris Paterson has been left out of the side for Sunday's meeting at Murrayfield.

Scotland coach Frank Hadden has confirmed back-row forward Jason White as captain for the forthcoming 2008 RBS 6 Nations Championships.

Ulster 8-16 Ospreys

CARETAKER coach Steve Williams has made six changes and one positional switch as Ulster attempt to gain some respectability from a wretched season in tonight’s Heineken Cup clash against the Ospreys at Ravenhill (8pm).

ANOTHER long, hard night at the office for Ulster and another defeat.

ULSTER’S Andrew Trimble links up again with Kiwi Paul Steinmetz for tonight’s Heineken Cup trip to the Liberty Stadium as caretaker coach Steve Williams makes two changes and a positional switch to face the big-spending Ospreys.

LEINSTER closed the gap on Magners League leaders Cardiff Blues with a victory over the depleted champions, the Ospreys in Swansea last night.

ROB ANDREW has hailed “an English solution for the English game” after the Twickenham unveiling of a new detailed agreement governing professional rugby in England.

DECLAN KIDNEY insists his Munster side failed to grab their opportunities in yesterday’s dismal 16-3 defeat to the Ospreys.

Scotland head coach Frank Hadden has made four changes to his team for the World Cup Pool C clash against Romania at Murrayfield.

Scotland head coach Frank Hadden believes his World Cup squad is the “most competitive” he could have selected.