He won’t get the kind of send-off we’re used to or that he deserves, writes Kieran Shannon.

Time heals, time relieves and time changes.

Leo Cullen insists Johnny Sexton will prove his worth as Ireland captain, and has backed his out-half to come back stronger after last Sunday’s Six Nations defeat to England.

It was the late Garrett Fitzgerald who made Munster one of the world’s best rugby clubs and instilled the values that forged lifelong bonds between former Munster players, according to Ronan O’Gara.

So Andy Farrell opted to play safe last weekend with his selection against Scotland?

So Andy Farrell opted to play safe last weekend with his selection against Scotland? Really?

When Dave Kilcoyne and Jack McGrath were named in Ireland’s matchday 23 to face Italy 12 months ago, Cian Healy lost no sleep.

Ronan O'Gara has tried to put himself in the Ireland boss’s shoes this week and he knows all too well that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to team selection.

Appearances off the bench have been few and far between across Peter O’Mahony’s eight seasons playing for Ireland.

Conor Murray or John Cooney? It’s the selection question that has polarised opinion at the outset of Ireland’s new era under Andy Farrell but it doesn’t always have to be one or the other.

Don’t mention the war? It would be nice not to have to but Ireland’s Six Nations opener takes place in the engorging shadow of last autumn’s ill-starred Asian campaign. Yes, we won’t be forgetting the debacle in Vietnam – sorry, I mean Japan – any time soon. The horror, the horror remains fresh in the memory.

Canterbury Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has again gone overseas to complete his coaching group.

Peter Jackson gets over the gain line, behind the headline.

There is no disguising the links that have bonded Munster and Racing 92 since Ronan O’Gara began his coaching journey in Paris in 2013. Donnacha Ryan, Simon Zebo, and Mike Prendergast have since found their way to the Top 14 outfit while the relationship between the European rivals has also been strengthened on a deeper emotional level by the tragic and sudden death of Anthony Foley in the city i

There’s not much worse than old-timers waxing lyrical about how things were better in their day.

We were up in the wildish Scottish yonder last Saturday when this kerfuffle at Saracens broke out.

It's almost exactly 20 years since the famous moment was captured between Neasa Galwey and her dad Mick.

Friday night in Cork is set to be a major landmark for Stephen Archer, but he won’t be thinking about it too much.

Peter Jackson gets over the gain line, behind the headline

Some revealing facts can be laid bare today about the once symbiotic relationship between Munster and the drop goal, a weapon that never seemed to fail in the hands of Ronan O’Gara.

Simon Lewis previews the 20 teams aiming for glory as the Champions Cup kicks off this weekend.

Mark McCall’s public confession that Saracens may have to sacrifice the Champions’ Cup in order to preserve their domestic status will have fallen on stony ground all over Europe.

Johnny Sexton may have only been half-joking when he suggested the knives would be out for himself and half-back partner Conor Murray once Ireland had departed this World Cup.

Oh Lordy. Where do we start? Do we actually have to start? Can we somehow sneak out of it?

There are three changes from the starting line-up Joe Schmidt sent out against Samoa last Saturday for Ireland’s final Pool A game in Fukuoka.

New Plymouth in the rain.

All Blacks fly-half Richie Mo’unga has spoken about his debt of gratitude to former Crusaders coach Ronan O’Gara while admitting he barely understood a word the Corkman told him.

This time four years ago, Keith Earls was not handling the pressure of a World Cup at all well.

There was a time when Johnny Sexton’s schoolboy half-back partner in Japan was Vinny Hammond.

With qualification for the knockout phase secured after an Ireland performance more in keeping with what we have come to expect from this squad, the only outstanding issue surrounded the not insignificant detail as to whom Ireland would meet in their quarter-final in Tokyo next weekend.

Not that Ireland haven’t enough to be getting on with, but there was little evidence in Scotland’s 34-0 defeat of Samoa in Kobe today that Gregor Townsend’s men are ready to rain on Japan’s World Cup parade come their decisive Pool A clash at the World Cup on Sunday October 13th.

That breathless Wales-Australia World Cup classic this morning had enough about it to turn Saturday’s Shizuoka shocker into the realm of a bad dream.

In aid of Cancer Awareness Week, we convinced four of our columnists to bare all for our Examine Yourself campaign.

Here's a preview of our Rugby World Cup daily newsletter, delivered direct to you mailbox every day at 4pm.

“New Zealand are not the standout like years gone by. South Africa are now; I think we all had that feeling, it was coming, at the right time. Just because I know (Michael) Cheika, Australia will get their act together but there is only so much they can do and they have a lot of issues.

Ronan O’Gara, speaking at the Irish Examiner Rugby World Cup Tournament Preview last Monday, has said there are “question marks” over the make-up of New Zealand’s best backline, as Steve Hansen’s side prepare for their Pool B showdown against South Africa on Saturday.

The Rugby World Cup is fast approaching, with Ireland set to kick off their campaign against Scotland on Sunday 22 September.