Munster head coach Rob Penney has called for action to be taken against Perpignan for what he believes was “undue pressure” placed on Saturday’s referee JP Doyle ahead of the crunch Heineken Cup clash.

Perpignan 17 Munster 18

HEINEKEN CUP POOL SIX:

Leicester, Wasps and Munster.

Rob Penney has offered a slightly different take on weekend reports centre Casey Laulala would be departing the province at the season’s end and joining up with Grenoble in France‘s Top 14.

HEINEKEN CUP POOL SIX:

Like any rugby player, Stephen Archer just wants to play games. So after a personally disappointing Ireland camp, the Munster prop is delighted to be back in his province and eager to prove detractors wrong.

Perpignan 31 Edinburgh 14

ON THE face of it, an outstanding weekend for the Irish in Europe. However, while Ulster in particular, Leinster and Connacht have every reason to reflect with satisfaction on their performances, one feels that despite Munster’s 16 point win over Gloucester, nobody within the camp will be getting too carried away with this latest showing.

Perpignan 31 Edinburgh 14

LEINSTER V CASTRES

Wing Jonny May’s late try gave Gloucester a dramatic Heineken Cup victory as Perpignan had their former Munster centre Lifeimi Mafi sent off.

EXETER CHIEFS head coach Rob Baxter admits he’s surprised his captain Tom Hayes hasn’t been capped by Ireland and revealed the Limerick man could be called up by England boss Martin Johnson.

Northampton 23 Perpignan 7

NORTHAMPTON full-back Ben Foden believes last season’s failure will spur the Saints on in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Perpignan.

TOULON boss Philippe Saint-André was left to rue his side’s inability to capitalise on a numerical advantage in Saturday’s 29-25 Heineken Cup quarter-final loss to Perpignan.

A HARD week.

Perpignan 37 Scarlets 5

PAUL WARWICK has stressed the necessity of Munster sprinting from the blocks at Stade Felix Mayol on Sunday afternoon, knowing that anything less could signal the end of an era for the Irish province.

Perpignan 24 Leicester 19

Stade Francais prop David Attoub has had his 70-week ban for eye gouging reduced to 52 weeks by France’s Olympic Committee (CNOSF).

France coach Marc Lievremont has rested a handful of his senior players due to their “weariness” for their tour to South Africa and Argentina.

Perpignan 34 Treviso 6

IT HASN’T been easy, but Peter Stringer is learning to live with the fact he is not first choice scrum-half for either Munster or Ireland. And the competitive Stringer admits it hurt badly when he was leap-frogged by Tomás O’Leary after years in the driving seat.

Northampton 34 Perpignan 0

THERE was a time when Munster teams were dominated by players from the traditional rugby-playing areas of Cork and Limerick.

MICK O’DRISCOLL smiled when informed that after Sunday’s magnificent Heineken Cup victory over Perpignan in France, skipper Paul O’Connell claimed Munster “are still a long way short of Leinster’s form”.

PERPIGNAN captain Nicolas Mas admits Sunday’s 14-37 defeat at the hands of Munster was a “huge disappointment.”

THERE have been many famous Munster moments in France, but few to rival this.

SIX years ago Munster beat a hasty retreat from the Stade Aime Giral, battered, bruised and all but eliminated from the Heineken Cup.

PERHAPS it’s just as well that only a third of Sunday’s likely starting line-up were in the Munster team that lost 23-8 to Perpignan in the Heineken Cup in 2003.

WITH SO much negativity surrounding rugby at the moment, with the plethora of law changes that favour the team without the ball (and the kickfest that has ensued), how refreshing to see so much positive rugby produced by a whole host of teams in last weekend’s Heineken Cup.

WITHIN seconds of the final whistle at Thomond Park on Friday, I received a text from one of Munster’s keenest supporters now living in Atlanta, Georgia.

RONAN O’GARA is back where the Munster coach Tony McGahan and colleagues expected him to be – the hero of a tough victory for the two-time Heineken Cup champions.

Munster coach Tony McGahan hailed Ronan O’Gara’s display in his side’s gritty 24-23 Heineken Cup victory over Pool 1 opponents Perpignan at Thomond Park tonight as “an outstanding performance from an outstanding player”.

GOOD enough for the Springboks when they beat the Lions and ran away with the Tri-Nations… now not good enough for Munster.

Munster coach Tony McGahan has made the shock decision to jettison Jean de Villiers for the Heineken Cup tie at home to Perpignan on Friday evening.

TONY McGAHAN is confident Ronan O’Gara will relocate his shooting range in time to strengthen Munster’s Heineken Cup challenge in back-to- back games against French champions Perpignan, starting with Friday’s clash at Thomond Park.

Munster full-back Paul Warwick believes the two-time Heineken Cup champions remain “a work in progress” after securing a 41-10 comeback victory over Benetton Treviso at Thomond Park this afternoon.

MUNSTER’S error-ridden performances against Leinster and Northampton over the last couple of weeks and Benetton Treviso’s sensational victory over French champions Perpignan mean there should be little danger of complacency in the home camp ahead of this afternoon’s Heineken Cup clash at Thomond Park.

PERPIGNAN captain Nicolas Mas has insisted that his team must bounce back from last weekend’s catastrophic loss against Benetton Treviso with a big performance against Northampton Saints at Stade Aime Giral tonight.

MUNSTER supporters disappointed with their side’s loss to Northampton can take solace in the shock result from the first weekend of Heineken Cup games, when Perpignan lost 9-8 to Benetton Treviso.