RABODIRECT PRO12

Munster head coach Rob Penney will discover whether the blow torch treatment he dispensed to his squad this week had the desired effect this evening.

Flanker John Muldoon (pictured) is thrilled to be finally starting his first match tonight for Connacht since October.

Joe Schmidt has had to ring the changes for Leinster as they go in search of their first victory at the Liberty Stadium since September 2009.

Connacht’s Eric Elwood is once again putting his faith in youngsters with Ireland U20 player Darragh Leader making his debut tomorrow against the Ospreys in Liberty Stadium (2.30pm).

Ospreys 30 Munster 15

There hasn’t been much talk about it recently, but Munster are still embarrassed about the capitulation to the Ospreys in last season’s RaboDirect semi-final.

Joe Schmidt: Leinster coach will be in Auckland to watch Ireland take on the All Blacks but only because he’ll be there on a family holiday.

Tony McGahan is banking on youthful enthusiasm to help carry defending champions Munster through their RaboDirect Pro12 semi-final at Ospreys in Swansea tonight (7.35pm).

OSPREYS replacement Dan Biggar held his head in his hands as his last-gasp drop-goal to win an enthralling Welsh derby with Newport Gwent Dragons hit the post.

MUNSTER concede they have to step up ahead of the Heineken Cup double header with the Scarlets after falling victim to the Ospreys for the second time this season.

MUNSTER coach Tony McGahan will hope his side can settle a score with the RaboDirect Pro12 leaders,Ospreys, at the LibertyStadium tonight.

AFTER last weekend’s historic Heineken Cup fixture against Toulouse, Connacht’s desire to translate their strong European form into points in the RaboDirect Pro 12 came unstuck against league pacesetters Ospreys.

IN a return to RaboDirect action, the challenge facing Connacht does not get any easier with the visit of the Ospreys to the Galway Sportsground this evening.

THE PORTENTS weren’t good when over 6,000 ticket-holders failed to turn up for Munster’s RaboDirect Pro12 clash with arch-rivals Ospreys at Thomond Park on Saturday night.

THE Ospreys travel to Thomond Park tonight in search of their second win over Munster in 18 months – a victory that would see them become the first team to beat all four Irish provinces in the one half of the regulated two part RaboDirect Pro12 (formerly Magners League) season.

FLY-HALF Ian Humphreys has been given a further 24 hours to prove his fitness by Ulster ahead of tomorrow’s RaboDirect Pro12 League clash against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium (4.30pm).

EUROPEAN kings Leinster made a nightmare start to the RaboDirect Pro12 after being blown away by the Ospreys in Swansea last night.

ON A night short on inspiration,a young New Zealand-born,Tralee-raised centre showed Thomond Park that blond-flecked hair aren’t the only highlights Danny Barnes can bring to the Munster cause.

ANDREW TRIMBLE has not been released by Ireland for Ulster’s Magners League trip to face the Ospreys at Swansea tomorrow (5.10 pm).

Ospreys 19 Leinster 15

LEINSTER will roll out the big names for Saturday’s crucial Magners League clash with Munster at Thomond Park (7.30). The return of Brian O’Driscoll, Luke Fitzgerald, Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney was a no-brainer for coach Michael Cheika as Leinster set about trying to overhaul leaders Munster.