Connacht’s search for Eric Elwood’s successor looks to have been reduced by one after former Ospreys coach Sean Holley said he has turned the western province down.

Former Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan has lashed out at the IRFU and Connacht for not giving him a chance to take over from Eric Elwood.

Wales hooker Richard Hibbard says Ospreys’ RaboDirect Pro12 title bid is being driven by a wish to send try machine Shane Williams and his soon-to-depart team-mates out on a high.

The Ospreys have confirmed the appointment of Gruff Rees as their backs coach.

Ospreys 23 Aironi 7

The Ospreys have parted company with head coach Sean Holley by mutual consent, the Welsh region announced this morning.

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THE Ospreys have banned players from having spray tans and coloured boots in an attempt to shed the club’s “Galacticos” tag.

Munster coach Tony McGahan has made nine changes, two of those positional, from the side that defeated Connacht last weekend for Saturday’s Magners League semi-final match against the Ospreys at Thomond Park Stadium, kick-off 6.30pm.

TONY MCGAHAN refused to talk about his future as Munster’s head coach next season.

OSPREYS coach Sean Holley hopes Munster’s Alan Quinlan has played his last game for the province.

SHANE WILLIAMS has declared himself fit for Ospreys’ Magners League semi-final against Munster on Saturday.

THE high cost of Heineken Cup failure was brought into sharp focus in Wales last night as Cardiff Blues cut loose two of its biggest stars and prepared to make others available for transfer.

Ospreys coach Sean Holley has billed tomorrow’s Heineken Cup clash against struggling London Irish as a season-defining game.

Ospreys winger Richard Fussell has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the Magners League champions until the summer of 2014.

REWIND, replay, repeat. Aside from Paul O’Connell’s momentary lapse in judgement at Thomond Park last Sunday, the manner of that home win over Ospreys will be precisely what Munster coach Tony McGahan will be looking for when he sends the same starting XV out at the Liberty Stadium today (3.30pm).

Munster coach Tony McGahan has named the same starting line-up that faced Ospreys in Limerick for Saturday’s Heineken Cup game at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. (kick-off 3.30pm)

JOB done for Munster with an essential home win over Ospreys in Heineken Cup Pool Three.

Only two points separate all four teams in Pool Three ahead of tomorrow’s games between London Irish and Toulon at the Madejski Stadium and Munster’s Thomond Park appointment with the Ospreys.

Tomás O’Leary will partner Ronan O’Gara at half-back for Munster’s Heineken Cup game with the Ospreys at Thomond Parks on Sunday. (kick-off 1pm)

OSPREYS head coach Sean Holley believes his charges will have to step up a gear when they face a Munster side he believes are the team to beat in this year’s Heineken Cup.

Leinster coach Josef Schmidt has named an inexperienced line-up for Sunday’s Magners League clash with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. (kick-off 5pm)

Connacht coach Eric Elwood has named his side that will face the Ospreys in their Magners clash at the Sportsground on Friday night. (kick-off 7pm)

Ospreys may be serial under-achievers in Europe, but they’re still not a team anybody wants in their pool, says Simon Lewis.

ULTIMATELY it was a decent night at the office; third game, third win and a place at the top of the Magners League. It’s exactly where Munster wanted to be at this delicate early stage of the season.

OSPREYS coach Sean Holley is becoming increasingly frustrated by referees’ interpretation of the tackle laws.

MUNSTER have several reasons for wanting to put manners on Magners League champions the Ospreys at Thomond Park tonight (8pm), not least the fact that it marks a red letter evening for Alan Quinlan.

Jerry Collins will start for the champions The Ospreys in their Magners League opener at Ulster this Friday.

The Ospreys coach Sean Holley has targeted Ulster as a possible dark horse for their Magners League title this season.

THE close links between Munster and London Irish will be tested in this year’s Heineken Cup as both have landed in a “Pool of Death” featuring Magners League champions Ospreys and Amlin Cup finalists, Toulon.

OSPREYS coach Sean Holley has tipped young out-half Dan Biggar for stardom on the international stage.

IT was billed as the dream send-off for Leinster coach Michael Cheika but the inspired Ospreys danced all over the script in this inaugural Magners League Grand final at the RDS on Saturday.

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CIAN HEALY faced an anxious overnight wait before getting the nod to take his place in Leinster’s Magners League final squad to face the Ospreys at the RDS tonight (6.30pm).

AN Irishman could hold the key to wresting the Magners League trophy across the Irish Sea to Wales after tonight’s battle at the RDS.

SEAN HOLLEY has fired a warning to Leinster fly-half Jonathan Sexton by claiming Dan Biggar is in the form of his life.

TOMMY Bowe wrapped up a remarkable double after scooping the Player of the Year award in Wales.

SUCCESS breeds success. Last season Ireland finally delivered an overdue Grand Slam, the foundation of which can be traced back to the prosperity of the provinces in Europe.

ONE of Munster’s few consolations after their second successive Magners League defeat at their once impregnable Thomond Park fortress is that they rarely play well in the week prior to a crucial Heineken Cup game.

MUNSTER coach Tony McGahan admits captain Paul O’Connell is in “a race against the clock” to be fit for Sunday’s Heineken Cup semi-final with Biarritz.

AN OSPREYS team containing seven Lions, two All Blacks and 15 internationals travels to Thomond Park this evening with two objectives.

SEAN HOLLEY admits he will spill Biarritz’s secrets to Munster coach Tony McGahan this weekend.

AS sports fans, the Irish can be as myopic as the best of them but spare a thought for the Ospreys side which will pitch up at the RDS for their Magners League tie with Leinster tonight.