The duo are among six players departing Leinster this season.

Not many will have predicted the events that unfolded in Ballsbridge on Saturday night, but there will be little appetite to dwell on this defeat as Leinster push on towards this weekend’s season-defining meeting with Scarlets.

It’s a doozy, as quiz questions go: When did James Ryan last lose a game of rugby?

Fergus McFadden believes Leinster’s current strength-in-depth is such that it trumps even the 2009-2012 era, when the province dominated the European club scene and claimed three Heineken Cups in just four seasons.

Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen has handed a first start to Josh Murphy in tonight’s Guinness PRO14 clash with the Dragons at the RDS Arena (7.35pm).

Meanwhile, Leinster have made nine changes for their trip to Glasgow.

Jamie Heaslip was once renowned as the rugby player who could not be broken.

Champions Cup

Isa Nacewa has overcome his recent injury concern to captain Leinster for the visit of Cardiff to the RDS.

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says Scott Fardy’s experience will play a crucial role in the development of the academy players at the province. The 32-year-old versatile Brumbies lock will join Leinster after the Super Rugby season ends.

The Six Nations is not supposed to be the time for experimentation but that has not prevented Ireland boss Joe Schmidt from continuing to his mission to develop strength in depth ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

“The quarter-final is set for the first weekend in April, with the semi-final three weeks later.” It’s been a while since I came across such bullish confidence from a bunch of Munster supporters, but that was the thrust of the conversation I overheard between a few diehards last Friday morning at Shannon Airport in advance of boarding the plane for Munster’s pool- defining trip to Glasgow.

Except for the very few Leinster supporters who made the long journey to Limerick, the record 26,200 crowd enjoyed their time at Thomond Park last night. It was a truly stirring encounter from the kick-off with Munster initially and then Leinster enjoying periods of supremacy.

Leinster are prepared to err on the side of caution with Jonathan Sexton who is attempting to shake off a hamstring injury in time for Sunday’s Champions Cup fixture against Montpellier in France.

The visit of Treviso to the RDS this Friday may not make for the most alluring of starts to the new Guinness PRO12 campaign but the presence of Ian McKinley in the Italians’ ranks will at least provide a candidate for feelgood story of the season.

A potent mix of old rivalries, family ties and fervent patriotic values will make life very uncomfortable for Ireland’s three South African-born players with former Springbok Thinus Delport predicting a hostile reception on their return.

Conor Murray believes any intimidation targeted towards team-mate CJ Stander during Ireland’s Test series with South Africa this month will merely serve to motivate the Munster back row.

Leinster 50 Benetton Treviso 19: It’s only two weeks since Ulster sent Leinster retreating down the M1 in disorder, but some in the northern province could be forgiven for harbouring a sense of foreboding ahead of the sides’ next meeting in the Guinness PRO12 semi-final.

It may have been a day of drama and calculators across most of the Guinness PRO12, but Leinster strolled to the most straightforward and expected of victories against a mostly awful Treviso side at the RDS this afternoon.

Jared Payne. Richardt Strauss. CJ Stander.

Ulster’s wrecking ball No.8 Nick Williams, who will move to Cardiff next season, has played his last game for the province.

A massive litmus test awaits Connacht this evening when they host Leinster at the Galway Sportsground (5.15pm).

Simon Lewis looks at how both teams match up.

For a small town, Enniskillen has given birth to more than its share of international sportsmen, amongst them Olympic gold medal sprinter Robert Kerr, champion heavyweight boxer Gordon Ferris and ex-Celtic goalkeeper Michael McGovern.

Simon Lewis breaks down the selection and form on both sides...

If Ireland are to salvage something tangible from this season’s Six Nations championship, then Twickenham is the place to do it.

Ninety-five minutes. That is all the time Ireland have had this week to prepare to face France in Paris tomorrow as they bid to get their 2016 Six Nations campaign up and running and win back-to-back in the French capital for the first time in 88 years.

With most of the province’s established stars in the Ireland camp preparing for the Six Nations, a number of younger players are being given a chance to shine in tomorrow’s PRO12 game.

CONNACHT