Keith Earls remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Munster overwhelmed an under-strength Ulster as they ran in nine tries in a record-breaking 64-7 Guinness PRO14 derby victory at Thomond Park.

Munster racked up seven tries as they dominated much-changed Ospreys in a comfortable 49-13 PRO14 win in Cork.

Catch up on all the latest headlines this lunchtime...

Ireland face a "huge test" of their squad depth in the wake of Robbie Henshaw's 6 Nations-ending shoulder injury, according to boss Joe Schmidt.

Joe Schmidt may be flooding his squad with new faces but Rob Kearney is planning on bringing his wealth of experience to the party when Ireland appear at the next Rugby World Cup in 2019.

Johnny Sexton set a new Leinster points-scoring record in the 23-17 Guinness PRO14 victory over Munster at the Aviva Stadium.

A strong defensive display earned Munster an opening Guinness Pro12 victory over a disappointing Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets.

Munster secured their place in next season's Champions Cup after a hard-fought 31-15 victory over the Scarlets at Thomond Park earned them a sixth-place finish in the Guinness Pro12.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt has brought in Ulster's Roger Wilson and Munster's Billy Holland to the Ireland squad ahead of Sunday’s Six Nations clash with England at the Aviva.

Joe Schmidt knows his Ireland side has plenty of work to do if they are to match England's opening-night power show in Wales and make a successful RBS 6 Nations title defence over the next six weeks.

The Ireland coaching staff has named a 38 player squad for the first two rounds of the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

The Ireland coaching staff has today named an extended squad of 46 players for the upcoming RBS 6 Nations matches against Italy and France, as well as the Ireland Wolfhounds fixture against the England Saxons.

Munster coach Anthony Foley has made eight changes to the starting 15 ahead of the province’s match against Saracens in the Champions Cup this weekend.

Connacht welcome Munster to the Showgrounds on New Year’s Day for their PRO12 derby match and both sides have made a number of changes to their starting sides.

Munster head coach Anthony Foley has made four changes to the side that were beaten at home last weekend by Clermont as the province head to France for the return fixture on Sunday.

Rory Best will start for Ulster against Munster in tomorrow's match at Thomond Park while Munster coach Anthony Foley has named a strong squad bolstered by a number of returning internationals.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has restored his heavy hitters to the starting 15 for Ireland’s final November series game, against Australia on Saturday.

As expected, Joe Schmidt has made wholesale changes to the side that beat South Africa last weekend for this Sunday’s match against Georgia

Anthony Foley has made two changes to the side that claimed a last-gasp

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Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has named a 37-man squad for the forthcoming Guinness Series against South Africa, Georgia and Australia.

Anthony Foley has named his squad for Munster’s first game in the new European Champions Cup competition - an away match against Sale Sharks.

Peter O'Mahony and Damien Varley are both named as replacements in the Munster squad meeting Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.

Paul O’Connell was named amongst the starters as Anthony Foley made seven changes to the Munster starting 15 to face Zebre.

Anthony Foley has named his starting 15 for Munster’s game against Benetton Treviso on Friday and handed Felix Jones the captaincy for the first time.

Munster coach Anthony Foley has included three debutants as he named his starting side for their opening PRO12 fixture.

Munster have made 11 changes to the side that lost to Toulon in the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup for their penultimate league game against Edinburgh.

Damien Varley will captain Munster as they meet Toulon in the Heineken Cup semi-final at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

Head Coach Rob Penney has made nine changes for tomorrow's Sportsground showdown against Connacht at 6.15pm.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has named Munster's Simon Zebo in his 33-man Ireland squad.

Ulster's Chris Henry knows he may well be playing in the biggest game of his career if chosen to start against England in the Six Nations on Saturday.

Donnacha Ryan has been named in the Munster side for tomorrow night's clash with Zebre at Musgrave Park (ko 6:45pm).

Munster motored their way to a home Heineken Cup quarter-final as they brushed Edinburgh aside 38-6 at Thomond Park.

Captain Peter O'Mahony and Paul O'Connell have been named to start against Ulster tomorrow night in Ravenhill in a side that includes 12 changes.

Donnacha Ryan is set to return to action for Munster in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup match against Perpignan

There are three uncapped players in Ireland's squad of 34 players for the international Tests against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand at the Aviva.

Simon Zebo, Peter O'Mahony and Keith Earls will start their first game of the season against Treviso tomorrow night at Stadio di Monigo, kick-off 8.30pm (7.30pm Irish Time).

Initial reports on Tommy O'Donnell suggest he could be out for 10 to 12 weeks after suffering a knee injury in Munster's victory over Zebre on Friday.

Munster have named their side for their game against Zebre in Italy tomorrow night at 6.30pm (Irish time).

Ireland captain Peter O'Mahony paid tribute to five new faces after the boot of Ian Madigan saw them seal a 15-12 win over the US Eagles in Houston.

Rory Best will captain a senior Ireland squad featuring six uncapped players for the summer tour of the USA and Canada.

Felix Jones and James Downey return to the Munster starting XV for the first time since facing Racing Metro in mid January, for Sunday’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Benetton Treviso at Stadio di Monigo (3pm).