PREMIERSHIP club Northampton Saints gained a small measure of revenge as they won this Heineken Cup final rematch at Donnybrook last night.

TWO games into the new season and Munster coach Tony McGahan has every reason to be pleased with progress. For the second week in succession, Munster overcame more experienced English Premiership opposition, in front of more than 7,000 fans who came to enjoy a highly competitive match on a rare sunny summer evening at Musgrave Park.

MUNSTER team manager Shaun Payne is looking to the future, starting at Musgrave Park tonight (7pm) when the reigning Magners League champions take on London Irish.

Munster coach Tony McGahan will give Denis Hurley, Niall Ronan, Tony Buckley and Denis Leamy their first starts of the season in a friendly against London Irish at Musgrave Park on Friday (7pm).

England Saxons 34 Ireland A 12

SHANE HORGAN will start Ireland A’s clash with England Saxons at Welford Road next Friday.

GLOUCESTER boss Dean Ryan accepts his team will head into “a confrontational environment” when they tackle Heineken Cup hosts Bourgoin tonight.

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.

Ulster 14 Gloucester 32

ULSTER have been hit with a double whammy ahead of tonight’s opening Heineken Cup clash with Gloucester at Ravenhill. Flanker Stephen Ferris has been told he will be sidelined for up to six weeks while veteran fly-half David Humphreys is a major concern due to an ankle injury.

David Humphreys will have to come through a fitness test on a damaged ankle beofre Mark McCall can insert him at out-half for Friday's Heineken Cup opener against Gloucester at Ravenhill.

GLOUCESTER face a fight for their Heineken Cup lives in the south of France tonight, with captain Marco Bortolami admitting: “We have only one chance.”

The Ireland Schools added the England Schools to the scalp of the French Schools at Templeville Road today before next week's Schoolboys International Champioship decider against the Wales Schools.