DOUG HOWLETT hasn’t shut the door on a possible return to New Zealand at the end of this season and bid to reclaim his place in the All Blacks squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

JEAN de Villiers has apparently taken another step towards a new career with Munster, following the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.

FORMER Ireland hooker Frankie Sheahan is to undergo a scan to discover the severity of a chest injury which threatens his move from Munster to Brive.

MUNSTER’S back-to-back Heineken Cup dream may be over, but they’re already planning ahead and closing in on Springbok star Jean de Villiers for next season.

Munster centre Rua Tipoki has lost his battle with injury and will return to New Zealand at the end of the season.

TONY McGAHAN has a ringside seat to Munster’s phenomenal work ethic and he believes there’s only one word for it: “unmatched”.

Rua Tipoki is the only notable omission from the 26-man extended Munster Squad to play The Ospreys in the Heineken Cup quarter-final at Thomond Park on Sunday.

RUA TIPOKI’S Munster injury saga will drag on for at least another week following confirmation last night that he is ruled out of next week’s Heineken Cup clash against the Ospreys.

Munster coach Tony McGahan confirmed today that Rua Tipoki has suffered some minor setbacks in his bid to return to full fitness.

THE war of words between Munster and London Irish will end today when the two clubs will resolve their differences on the Paul Warwick affair.

GRAND Slam winners, Tomás O’Leary and Jerry Flannery, who both started for Ireland in last weekend’s Six Nations decider in Cardiff, are included in an extended Munster squad for tomorrow’s Magners League clash with Glasgow Warriors at Firhill (7:45pm).

TONY BUCKLEY re-launches his representative career in Munster’s Magners League clash with Edinburgh at Musgrave Park tonight (7.30pm). Buckley hasn’t played for the province since the defeat by Connacht at the Sportsground at the end of December, illness ruling him out of the games against Ulster, Ospreys, Sale and Montauban.

RUA TIPOKI looks certain to return to Magners League action when Munster take on Edinburgh at Musgrave Park on Saturday (7.30).

Rua Tipoki returns from a knee injury to the Munster Squad to prepare for Saturday's Magners League game against Edinburgh at Musgrave Park.

RUA Tipoki has compared Munster and Ireland sensation, Keith Earls, to All Black great, Christian Cullen, saying more international exposure for the 21-year-old can take the Limerick man to greater heights.

THE tantalising prospect of an All-Ireland Heineken Cup semi-final between Munster and Leinster moved closer after yesterday’s semi-finals draw in Edinburgh.

Munster centre Rua Tipkoi believes they have momentum on their side after today's semi-final draw meant they could enjoy a home run to the final.

Munster's Rua Tipoki has been ruled out of action for four weeks as a result of the hamstring injury he picked up in Saturday's Magners League defeat to Ulster.

FOR several weeks it’s been apparent all is not well with Munster.

Munster 11 Ulster 37

Centre Rua Tipoki returns to the Munster side for the first time since mid-November to play Ulster in their Magners League clash with Ulster at Thomond Park on Saturday (7.30pm).

RUA TIPOKI has recovered from a knee injury to make an earlier than anticipated return for Munster in Saturday night’s sell-out Magners League game against Ulster at Thomond Park (Setanta Ireland, 7.30pm).

OVERALL, it was a great year for Irish sport.

MUNSTER’S concession of aplethora of penalties against New Zealand and Clermont Auvergne has many fans wondering if the players are familiar enough with the current laws.

Munster captain Paul O'Connell is looking to his players to show a distinct improvement on their Magner's League showing against Llanelli Scarlets when they travel to Clermont-Auvergne for their crucial Heineken Cup game on Sunday.

RUA TIPOKI and Jerry Flannery are the only notable absentees from a squad of 24 announced yesterday by Munster manager Shaun Payne for Friday’s Magners League game against the Scarlets at the brand new Parc y Scarlets.

Munster will have an anxious wait on the fitness of hooker Jerry Flannery ahead of their Heineken Cup assignment in France in a fortnight’s time.

MUNSTER’S Rua Tipoki looks set to be ruled out until the new year with the knee injury he suffered in last Tuesday’s narrow defeat to New Zealand.

BEFORE looking forward to what is the crucial game of the autumn series against Argentina tomorrow, it is important to reflect on New Zealand’s brief but electrically-charged visits to Croke Park and Thomond Park over the course of the last week.

ONE of Munster’s heroes from an unforgettable night at Thomond Park has revealed the Heineken Cup champions considered performing a Haka in Irish.

THE Haka — it’s an All-Black tradition, one of the most spectacular, one of the most fearsome in rugby.

THIS was supposed to be more about the occasion than the game. Yet what transpired was a contest that nobody could have anticipated.

HE HAS been there for some of Munster’s greatest triumphs — the away wins at Stade Francais (2002) and Leicester Tigers (2003) or the Gloucester ‘Miracle Match’ (2003) form a neat highlights reel of Frank Sheahan’s career.

He’s skipper at Richie McCaw’s Canterbury, but new All Black Kieran Read is still learning his trade and keeping his feet on the ground. Diarmuid O’Flynn spoke to him.

Mick O'Driscoll will lead Munster out against the All Blacks for the 30th anniversary of the legendary 12-0 win over the tourists at Thomond Park in 1978.

NEW ZEALAND’S top try scorer Doug Howlett could have a shock in store for his beloved All Blacks when they take on Munster in Thomond Park on Tuesday.

THE All Blacks have arrived on Irish soil for matches against Ireland and Munster.

MUNSTER’S preparations for the historic 30th anniversary clash with New Zealand have been upset following the cancellation of a warm-up game in London last night.

Rua Tipoki and Ian Dowling have both been named in the Munster squad to play Sale Sharks this weekend despite picking up injuries in the recent game against Montauban.

Rua Tipoki and Ian Dowling will to travel for Munster's Heineken Cup clash with Sale Sharks in Edgeley Park on Sunday.

PAUL O’CONNELL will lead arguably the most experienced team in the history of the Heineken Cup when Munster take on Montauban at Thomond Park on Friday.

Munster has announced its team to face Edinburgh in Friday's Magners League opener at Murrayfield (kicks off at 7.30pm).

ALMOST 15,000 adoring Red Army worshippers thronged the streets of Cork last night to welcome home their Munster heroes and their “second coming” with the Heineken Cup.

THEY COME from a land of the long white cloud, but they’ve gone native. Rua Tipoki, Dougie Howlett, Lifeimi Mafi, three names you wouldn’t normally associate with Munster; after Saturday’s heroics at the Millennium Stadium, now and forever, are names that will resonate forever.