FALLING golf club membership is set to continue in Munster, the GUI Branch’s annual delegates meeting has been told.

IT’S not every week you get a chance to see Australia and New Zealand in the flesh, even if the experiences in Thomond Park and the Aviva Stadium were poles apart.

THIS evening’s Ireland versus New Zealand match represents an occasion laden with milestones.

AS A rule, there are better ways to spend an evening than driving two hours on unfamiliar roads to spend 80 minutes freezing in a stadium as rain smashes horizontally into your face, before turning around and driving back across the country again.

New Zealand lock Brad Thorn has been ruled out of tomorrow’s match with Ireland having failed to recover from a hamstring strain.

New Zealand coach Graham Henry has named his side to face Ireland in the 2010 Guinness Series at the Aviva Stadium.

New Zealand have made five changes from the side which inflicted a 49-3 humiliation on Scotland last week for Saturday’s clash with Ireland.

New Zealand’s new “superman” Sonny Bill Williams revealed today how Jonny Wilkinson inspired his remarkable rise from rookie centre to All Blacks international.

Former New Zealand rugby league star Sonny Bill Williams will make his All Blacks Test debut against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Fly-half Dan Carter returns to the New Zealand side for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup clash with Australia but there is no place in Graham Henry’s 22-man squad for Sonny Bill Williams.

Former rugby league star Sonny Bill Williams has been named in New Zealand’s 30-man squad for their end-of-season tour of the northern hemisphere but there is no place for Aaron Cruden, Robbie Fruean or Colin Slade.

New Zealand are fully aware their purple patch could come to an end at any time ahead of tomorrow’s Bledisloe Cup clash with Australia in Christchurch.

The New Zealand selectors have gone for experience in Saturday's first Tri-Nations Test against South Africa at Auckland's Eden Park.

John Afoa, Corey Flynn, Liam Messam and Ma'a Nonu have been recalled to the New Zealand squad for the Tri-Nations series with Australia and South Africa.

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw is confident the wholesale changes to the team this week will not lead to a drop in standards in the second Test against Wales on Saturday.

Keven Mealamu is under no illusions that the Tri-Nations series will present far greater challenges for New Zealand than they have encountered against either Ireland or Wales so far this month.

IT’S THE same question every year. As sure as Cork and Kerry will produce a draw in the Munster football championship, we speculate as to who from the home nations is capable of producing any kind of a win on the annual summer sojourns to the southern hemisphere.

Israel Dagg, Benson Stanley and Ben Franks will make their New Zealand Test debuts against Ireland on Saturday after being named in a new-look starting line-up for the one-off match in New Plymouth.

NEW ZEALAND are almost certain to be without three of their first-choice players for the one-off Test against Ireland next week, assistant coach Wayne Smith has said.

NEW ZEALAND coach Graham Henry clearly has one eye on the future when naming rising stars Aaron Cruden, Israel Dagg and Victor Vito in his squad for Tests against Ireland and Wales next month.

New Zealand coach Graham Henry had one eye on the future when he named rising stars Aaron Cruden, Israel Dagg and Victor Vito in his squad for Tests against Ireland and Wales next month.

Hooker Andrew Hore looks set to miss New Zealand’s Tests against Ireland and Wales in June after dislocating his shoulder during the Hurricanes’ 32-16 Super 14 defeat against the Waratahs.

France 12 New Zealand 39

NEW ZEALAND rugby coach Graham Henry has made three changes from the team that beat England 19-6 for Saturday’s Test against France in Marseille.

NEW ZEALAND have named virtually their strongest side – including Richie McCaw and Dan Carter — for Saturday’s clash with England at Twickenham.

New Zealand are playing a waiting game on Dan Carter's fitness for their Millennium Stadium clash against Wales.

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NEW ZEALAND coach Graham Henry has made five changes and two positional switches to his starting line-up for the dead rubber Tri-Nations match against Australia in Wellington.

Tom Donnelly is set to make his debut for New Zealand this weekend after being included in the team to face Australia in the Tri-Nations.

Dan Carter has been called into the New Zealand squad for the remainder of the team's Tri-Nations campaign.

THERE has been a great deal of unfounded and ill-informed speculation resulting from the recent RTÉ Hidden History documentary on the Pearsons of Coolacrease.

Nick Evans will bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on All Blacks selection by making his debut for Otago against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday.

NEW ZEALAND coach Graham Henry had one eye on the future when he named the two teams for the All Blacks trial next month.

US president George Bush is spelling out details tonight of the handover of power to an Iraqi government, in an attempt to calm fears about rising casualties and spreading violence.

THE families of some of the victims of IRA violence welcomed the IRA apology and said this latest move gave the peace process renewed hope.

Americans who served in the Gulf War were nearly twice as likely to develop Lou Gehrig’s disease as other military personnel, the US government reported today.