Keith Earls will make his first Munster appearance of the season in tomorrow's Champions Cup opener against the Ospreys.

Munster were ruthless and clinical as they ended a two-year wait for a win at the Arms Park by putting Cardiff Blues to the sword to leave the Welsh capital with a priceless bonus-point.

The host will be without a sizeable number of internationals including record try-scoring wing Josh Adams along with fellow Welsh stars, Owen Lane and Hallam Amos.

World Cup demands deprive both Munster and Ospreys of the majority of their top players when they meet in the Guinness PRO14 at Musgrave Park tonight.

Johann van Graan sends a mix-and-match Munster side into Stadio Monigo tonight with one eye firmly on next weekend’s European semi-final with Saracens.

Rival coaches Johann van Graan and Richard Cockerill have adopted contrasting strategies in choosing their teams for tonight’s (7.35pm) Guinness PRO14 encounter at Musgrave Park.

Joey Carbery may not be happy to take the late hits but if it frees up a teammate then he will continue to endure the pain for the Munster cause.

Munster 38 Cheetahs 0

Munster have the best record of the Irish provinces on the opening day of the league and Johann van Graan will be hoping to maintain that when they kick off their PRO14 campaign at home to the Cheetahs today at Thomond Park.

Munster 33 Zebre 5: Munster coach Johann van Graan accurately summed up the view of the majority of Saturday night’s sparse Thomond Park attendance when he commented that “this won’t go down as the greatest game in the history of Munster”.

Michael Bradley, the former Ireland scrum-half and now head coach of Italian side Zebre, was last night casting an envious eye at the strength of the squad announced by his Munster counterpart Johann van Graan ahead of tonight’s Guinness PRO14 tie at Thomond Park.

Zebre 19 Munster 29: Alex Wootton was one of the players that Rassie Erasmus name-checked in his final week with Munster when he was asked what he would miss when he returned to South Africa.

Rassie Erasmus admits that he will experience mixed emotions at Musgrave Park tonight when Munster take on the Dragons in what may be his last game as the team’s head coach.

B&I Cup final:

Munster A 26 Ulster A 3: It was rugged, it was tough, but Munster A secured a well-deserved B&I Cup quarter-final victory over Ulster at Musgrave Park yesterday and earned themselves a home date with Ealing Trailfinders, who had a huge 84-7 win over Llanelli Scarlets.

It won’t be easy, but Munster A head coach Peter Malone believes his side have a fighting chance of getting through to the knock-out stages of the B&I Cup.

Victory in today’s B&I Cup clash at Clifton Lane is essential if Munster A are to have a chance of qualifying for the quarter finals.

Munster must plan without Peter O’Mahony for this afternoon’s Guinness PRO12 tie against Treviso at Thomond Park.

Roger Wilson will make his 200th appearance for Ulster when the Guinness Pro12 table-toppers welcome Scarlets to Kingspan Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

Ulster’s new director of rugby Less Kiss has named Rory Best and Ruan Pienaar on the bench for tomorrow’s Guinness PRO12 clash away to Newport Gwent Dragons.

Ireland international wingers Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble start for Ulster in the pre-season game against Edinburgh at Goldenacre tonight (6:30).

Ulster 21 Leinster 24: A little half-time word in the ears of his charges gave new Leinster head coach Leo Cullen a perfect start to his tenure with what was in the end a comfortable warm-up victory over Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium last night.

When Ulster coach Neil Doak named 33 players in his matchday panel for tonight’s friendly with Leinster (7.30pm), he said he was throwing down a challenge in his squad.

A disastrous start left Ireland with an impossible task when they fell 19-0 behind after just 15 minutes at Stadio Zaffanella last night.

Ireland’s new captain Josh Murphy says the squad has put the disappointment of the New Zealand loss behind them and are now determined to claim fifth place in the World Rugby U20 Championship.

Ireland 3 New Zealand 25: The fairytale did not happen but neither did the nightmare.

Had things gone differently, then former Limerick minor hurler Stephen Fitzgerald might be preparing for a big one in the Gaelic Grounds instead of being part of an Irish squad bidding for glory at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy.

A winner-take-all clash with New Zealand is Ireland’s prize for Saturday’s four-point victory (24-20) over Scotland in Saturday’s World Rugby U20 Championship Pool game in Calvisano.

Ireland’s promising hooker Zack McCall says the World Rugby U-20 Championship is a huge stepping stone for anyone hoping to become a professional rugby player.

Ireland 18 Argentina 16: There is something familiar about a kicker from Cork Con having nerves of steel to land a last-gasp winning penalty, but Tomas Quinlan wrote a script all of his own to get Ireland’s World Rugby U20 Championship off to a winning start.

Ireland coach Nigel Carolan has been forced to make a late change ahead of their opening game in the World Rugby U-20 Championship against Argentina in Parma today.

Nigel Carolan may be in charge of the Irish U20s at a world championship for the first time but the Galwayman has been involved with enough underage national sides to know they face a tough test against Argentina today, 3.30pm (live on TG4).

Munster A 41 Ulster Ravens 27: Kiwi outhalf Tyler Bleyendaal made his long-awaited Munster debut for the province’s second string during a 41-27 victory against the Ulster Ravens at Naas yesterday.

Scotland U20 17 Ireland U20 10 

Nigel Carolan has asked his Irish U20 side to finish their campaign positively in Netherdale tonight by returning to the full-throttle game which has been suffocated by two defeats in a row.