RABO DIRECT PRO12:

Leinster 31 Dragons 19

Your daily, spoiler-free guide to what to look out for on the box.

Damien Varley may be a close friend and Garryowen clubmate of Michael Sherry but intends to fight him tooth and nail as first choice Munster hooker.

RABODIRECT PRO12: Edinburgh 24 Connacht 32

Former England hooker Lee Mears has been forced to retire with immediate effect due to a heart condition, his club Bath have announced.

The magnetic Queen singer is still attracting fans, 21 years after his death — yet he was remarkably hard to fathom. Can a BBC documentary and a Hollywood film cast any new light on the man behind the legend?

1 MENTAL BAGGAGE

Cardiff Blues hooker Rhys Thomas is to leave the region at the end of the season to join Wasps.

Munster 16 Cardiff Blues 13

Wales prop Rhys Thomas has undergone surgery after being treated for a heart condition suffered in training with the Scarlets.

Cardiff Blues 36 Racing Metro 30

SCARLETS claimed their first derby victory in eight attempts, winning 22-14 against the Ospreys in front of a bumper festive crowd at Parc y Scarlets.

Scarlets 22 Ospreys 14

Munster 19 Scarlets 13

Scarlets 22 Newport Gwent Dragons 12

Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has reiterated his desire to be England manager – but revealed he has had no contact with the Rugby Football Union.

FLY-HALF Dan Parks kicked 14 points as Cardiff Blues made it two from two in the Heineken Cup with a scrappy win over 14-man London Irish at Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff Blues 24 London Irish 18

Treviso 20 Scarlets 10

A FIRST-HALF double by centre Darren Cave sent Ulster top of the RaboDirect Pro12 League with a deserved win over previous leaders Cardiff Blues at Ravenhill last night.

Scarlets 38 Cardiff Blues 23

MUNSTER coach Tony McGahan bids to end a run of five defeats on Welsh soil when his side face Cardiff Blues in the Magners League at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday night (TG4, 7.05pm).

THAT’LL do. Leinster last night recorded a perfunctory win to keep their Magners League play-off hopes firmly on message while Jonathan Sexton came through a useful 80 minutes unscathed.

Leinster 26 Scarlets 15

Cardiff Blues 14 Castres 9

Cardiff Blues 24 Aironi 13

Scarlets 35 Benetton Treviso 27

Scarlets wing George North will be out for three months after undergoing shoulder surgery.

ULSTER scored 15 points in a four-minute spell midway through the second half to end a run of seven straight defeats at the hands of Cardiff Blues.

Cardiff Blues 15 Ulster 37

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin has named his side for Sunday’s Magners League clash with Cardiff Blues in Cardiff City Stadium (kick-off 3.45pm).

THE Scarlets ended Cardiff Blues’ unbeaten home six-match run in a gritty, stop-start Welsh Magners League derby at Cardiff City Stadium last night.

Leicester 46 Scarlets 10

AFTER an opening day success at home, Connacht’s away form now gets its first test under Eric Elwood’s stewardship when they face the Scarlets at Parc Y Scarlets today (3pm).

CONNACHT head coach Eric Elwood is expecting the Scarlets to be smarting tomorrow after an opening-day Magners League loss against Benetton Treviso last weekend.

Cardiff Blues 34 Edinburgh 23

Cardiff coach David Young brings in Scott Andrews as his only change to the side to play Munster in the Magner’s League on Sunday.

CONNACHT are set to be with-out Ray Ofisa for their mam-moth Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final against Toulon on Friday.

Scarlets 58 Connacht 10

Connacht coach Michael Bradley will give Ireland U20s Tiernan O’Halloran and Eoin Griffin a chance to show what they can do in the Magner’s League against The Scarlets in Wales on Sunday.

Coach Dai Young will look to trigger a reaction from his players at home to Ulster in the Magners League tomorrow night.

Wales internationals Martin Roberts, Jonathan Davies and Ken Owens have been released for their key Magners League match against Leinster at the RDS on Saturday.

SIMON EASTERBY has been ruled out of the remainder of the Scarlets’ Heineken Cup campaign.