MUNSTER confirmed a triple injury blow yesterday with Denis Fogarty, Felix Jones and Ian Dowling facing lay-offs after Saturday’s Magners League victory over the Ospreys.

IT WAS a throwback to the old days when Munster bullied the opposition up front. At Musgrave Park last night, this was a pretty awesome performance from the twice Heineken Cup-winning club, who found strength in areas their critics would not have believed impossible a couple of months ago.

PAUL O’CONNELL was yesterday renamed as Munster captain despite being ruled out of action for the first half of the season.

MALCOLM O’KELLY will be afforded the opportunity to round off his long professional career on a high when he lines out for the Barbarians against Ireland at Thomond Park on Friday night (7.45 p.m).

MUNSTER manager Shaun Payne has backed the province to bounce back from their Heineken Cup elimination in Sunday’s crucial Magners League clash with the Blues at Cardiff City Stadium.

ONE of Munster’s few consolations after their second successive Magners League defeat at their once impregnable Thomond Park fortress is that they rarely play well in the week prior to a crucial Heineken Cup game.

PAUL O’CONNELL and Keith Earls remain major injury concerns for Munster ahead of the Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Biarritz in San Sebastian on May 2nd.

MUNSTER chiefs are confident that Lions pair Paul O’Connell and Keith Earls will be fit for Saturday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final with Northampton Saints.

MUNSTER will pick from close to a full deck for Friday night’s Magners League clash with Leinster at Thomond Park.

DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN is the only member of the Irish team that started Saturday’s Six Nations defeat to Scotland included in Munster’s squad for Friday’s Magners League game with Glasgow at Thomond Park (8pm).

MUNSTER manager Shaun Payne last night admitted the province face a ‘difficult’ task in finding a replacement for Jean de Villiers due to the looming Rugby World Cup.

MUNSTER have opted to give John Hayes another week off and he will sit out Sunday’s Magners League game against the Scarlets at Musgrave Park. Meanwhile, they are keeping their fingers crossed that Marcus Horan will take a full part in Shannon’s AIB League game against St Mary’s College on Saturday.

RONAN O’GARA is the only one of Munster’s senior internationals included in the squad of 27 announced yesterday ahead of Saturday’s Magners League game against Connacht at Thomond Park (7.30pm).

MUNSTER are hopeful Paul Warwick will be available to take his place at out-half when they begin their defence of the Magners League against Glasgow at Firhill on Friday night, (8pm Setanta Sport).

MUNSTER’S challenge for the Magners League title remains very much on course after Saturday night’s 25-10 defeat of Connacht at Thomond Park but if they happen to be caught at the post, they may well rue the failure to take a bonus point from this game.

ONE hundred Heineken Cup games later, yesterday’s quarter-final victory over the Ospreys at Thomond Park was an historic occasion for European champions Munster.

MUNSTER supporters needn’t worry. As the province trained at the University of Limerick yesterday afternoon for Sunday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against the Ospreys, Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell and Doug Howlett were missing, but the trio were subsequently included in the 26-man squad.

MUNSTER coach TonyMcGahan wasn’t in the mood to bask in the glory of this Magners League derby victory at Thomond Park on Saturday night.

RONAN O’GARA has been omitted from the Munster squad for tomorrow night’s top-of-the-table Magners League game against the Ospreys as a precautionary measure.

A COUPLE of converted tries in the dying minutes enabled Cork Constitution to come from 19-11 behind with time running out to overtake UL Bohs in an exciting AIB League clash at Annacotty yesterday.

MUNSTER’S desire to win the Magners League will only be partially compromised by the decision to rest captain Paul O’Connell, John Hayes and Doug Howlett for the clash with Ulster at Ravenhill on Saturday.

ANTHONY FOLEY makes his 201st competitive and final appearance for Munster on home soil in tomorrow’s Magners League clash against Glasgow, (Musgrave Park, 5pm).

IRISH internationals David Wallace and Denis Leamy are named in the Munster squad for tomorrow night’s Magners League clash away to Connacht, (Sportsgrounds, 7.30pm).

PAUL O’CONNELL, Alan Quinlan, Tony Buckley and Peter Stringer return to strengthen Munster’s Magners League challenge this weekend, but the search for Ronan O’Gara’s back-up seems set to continue after Jeremy Manning’s announcement that he is to return to New Zealand at the end of the season.

JUST a couple of weeks ago, Munster’s second string side went to Shaw’s Bridge in Belfast and crushed a weakened Ulster opposition.

IRELAND international Barry Murphy got the perfect birthday present with a call-up to the 25-man Munster squad for Friday’s night’s eagerly-awaited Magners League clash with Leinster at Musgrave Park.

JOHN KELLY has finally returned to challenge for a place in Munster’s Heineken Cup squad after recovering from a knee injury.

FIVE tries, four of them deliciously created, produced the all-important bonus point for Munster in the somewhat surreal surroundings of Thomond Park yesterday.

THERE will be a reunion of sorts for Munster centre Rua Tipoki at Musgrave Park tonight.

LEINSTER coach Michael Cheika expressed relief after Saturday’s Magners League derby victory and acknowledged his side must improve drastically if they are to overcome Wasps in the Heineken Cup next weekend.

CONNACHT’S hopes of qualifying as pool leader in their European Challenge Cup campaign rest on the result of tomorrow afternoon’s clash with former Heineken Cup winners Bath (2.30pm).

LEINSTER have finalised their squad to face Munster in tomorrow night’s Magners League clash at Lansdowne Road (Setanta Sports, 7.30pm).

PAUL O’CONNELL makes his long awaited return when he leads Munster against Connacht in the Celtic League at Thomond Park this evening, kick-off 7.35pm.

Connacht 19 Munster 44

MUNSTER coach Declan Kidney has delayed team selection for the Celtic League clash with champions Neath/Swansea Ospreys.

Connacht 13 Ospreys 22

SQUAD rotation is the name of the game where the Munster team to face Connacht in the Celtic League at the Galway Sportsground on Monday (kick-off 2pm) is concerned.

Connacht 19 Dragons 14

FIVE short months after Shannon’s AIB League victory, it all starts again at Thomond Park on Sunday.

Munster 27, Connacht 27

MUNSTER will unveil latest signing Tom Bowman in tonight’s Celtic League clash with Connacht at Musgrave Park (8pm).