Connacht Rugby today confirmed that Peter Borlase will join the squad on a loan basis from Munster, with immediate effect.

New Munster signing Casey Laulala described his move to Ireland as a ‘no brainer’.

JOHN HAYES will play his finalmatch for Munster in Monday’s RaboDirect Pro12 game against Connacht at Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day.

MUNSTER took the last qualification spot in the British and Irish Cup courtesy of Leinster yesterday.

JOHN HAYES’S short-term deal to continue playing for with Munster looks set to end on schedule in the New Year, Munster have confirmed.

MUNSTER’S injury woes continued yesterday when the province confirmed Peter O’Mahony will miss the Scarlets game.

Munster's Peter O'Mahony will miss Sunday's return game with Scarlets after sustaining a hairline crack to his jaw in the Round 3 game in Parc Y Scarlets last Saturday.

KEITH EARLS is likely to return to competitive rugby this weekend having recovered from the ankle ligament injury sustained at the start of the RaboDirect Pro12 league clash with Leinster on November 4.

BRITISH and Irish Cup rugby heads to the Kingdom today with Tralee RFC hosting Munster’s clash with Ayr (2pm).

Tony McGahan has no fresh injury concerns heading into Munster’s meeting with Leinster in the Aviva Stadium on Friday night (8pm).

THE battle for Irish domestic rugby supremacy continues at the Aviva Stadium on Friday (8pm) between two times Heineken Cup champions Leinster and Munster, with a sell-out increasingly likely.

MUNSTER training might have had a stellar appearance to it yesterday but look a little closer and the creases on coach Tony McGahan’s furrowed brow were all too evident.

Tony McGahan has included all returning World Cup players in his 32-man squad ahead of Munster’s RaboDirect PRO12 meeting with Aironi in Musgrave Park on Friday night (8.30pm).

MUNSTER’S ongoing front-row injury problems have ensured John Hayes’ glittering career with the province will be further extended, after he was named in their Heineken Cup squad for the 2011/’12 season last night.

David Wallace has been left out of the Munster squad for the group stages of the Heineken Cup.

With the RaboDirect PRO 12 season entering a two-week break, players have a chance to enjoy some downtime - but Munster’s strength and conditioning coach Aidan O’Connell insists it will be business as usual for players looking to recover from injuries.

JOHN HAYES’ retirement party has been put on hold after it emerged he may be required to stay on at Munster due to a series of injuries to the province’s front-rowers.

DANNY BARNES returns for Munster in tonight’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Cardiff Blues at Cardiff City Stadium, but the Reds’ hopes of forward dominance took a hit yesterday with news of illness and injury to key front rowers Marcus Horan and BJ Botha.

The Leinster management counted the cost of Saturday night’s defeat to the Glasgow Warriors with Kevin McLaughlin and Dominic Ryan sustaining ankle injuries.

New signing Jared Payne is in line to make his Ulster debut at Ravenhill this Friday against Cardiff Blues (7.05pm) after he was named in the preliminary 29-man squad by Brian McLaughlin.

JONATHAN SEXTON’S wayward kicking display against the USA last Sunday has been dismissed as a blip by the man who works on that aspect of his game on a weekly basis.

AT last, Munster secured a victory at the third time of asking in this pre-season programme — a timely boost in advance of Saturday’s RaboDirect Pro12 league opener at Musgrave Park against Newport Gwent Dragons.

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL has slammed the soccer superstars who shunned Giovanni Trapattoni’s invite to the European Championship win in Macedonia earlier this month.

WITH Alan Quinlan, one of the great modern characters and indeed one of the most influential players of the professional era, set to retire from rugby next month it is interesting to take stock of a new trend in the international game and one that is a cause for concern.

Denis Leamy and Peter Stringer have been included in an enlarged Munster squad for Saturday's Magners League clash with Newport Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park, kick-off 7.30pm.

MUNSTER are moving into position to sign former Springbok tight-head prop BJ Botha following the announcement that he is to leave Ulster at the end of this season.

LEINSTER will battle to retain the services of prop forward Mike Ross next season with increased speculation the Cork native is set for a return to his Munster roots following the departure of Tony Buckley to Sale Sharks.

IRISH prop Mike Ross is being lined up for a possible move back to his native Munster next season.

THE postmortems were under way from an early hour throughout Munster yesterday and continued long into the night as people reflected on the failure of their team to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup for the first time in 13 years.

A NOTABLE difference in attitude informed both fans and pundits ahead of Munster’s failed Heineken Cup rescue mission in Toulon on Sunday.

Munster hooker Jerry Flannery has been ruled out of competitive action for between four to six weeks after the results of a scan revealed a torn calf muscle.

THE agony and ecstasy of sport, all delivered in the blink of an eye.

Jerry Flannery has returned to the Munster squad ahead of tomorrow’s Magners League meeting with Ulster in Thomond Park. (kick-off 7.30pm)

CRISIS? What crisis.

Connacht 12 Munster 16

MUNSTER will be hoping to put a miserable week on and off the pitch behind them when they play Connacht in the Magners League at the Galway Sportsground this evening (kick-off 6.10pm).

Munster captain Paul O’Connell has today been named in coach Tony McGahan’s extended squad for Saturday’s Magners League clash with Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park Stadium (kick-off 5pm).

EVEN though 21,314 of the 22,770 people who bought tickets for Tuesday night’s visit of the Australians to Thomond Park turned up in spite of the atrocious conditions, and the occasion was regarded as a huge success, there is little possibility of a similar kind of game taking place at the venue for at least two years.

INSPIRATIONAL, brave, committed, skilful … all these adjectives and many more apply in spades to a magnificent Munster machine that completely outgunned the Australian tourists in appalling conditions at Thomond Park last night.

Munster 15 Australia 6