Munster’s Champions Cup opener in France tomorrow will, in one respect, bring the province full circle, 22 years after they embarked on an inaugural European adventure.

THE ENGLISH rugby team arrive in Croke Park today as rank outsiders. Their results and performances in the Six Nations so far have been well below the standards set by so many of their predecessors.

Saracens' Darragh O'Mahony has enjoyed a successful career in England but, when the Corkman watches Munster taking on Stade Francais in the Heineken Cup quarter-final this weekend, he will find it hard to submerge a certain sense of regret. Hugh Farrelly met him in London.