It can’t be easy filling in for arguably the greatest Irish player of a generation but Brendan Macken has not done a bad job covering for Brian O’Driscoll this past fortnight.

Munster head coach Rob Penney expects to have to wait a further 24 hours before he learns if captain Peter O’Mahony will be fit to face Edinburgh in the province’s Heineken Cup pool opener at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Brian O'Driscoll will sit out Leinster's clash with Munster in Thomond Park tomorrow after suffering a calf strain during training.

Lote Tuqiri is unlikely to feature for Leinster against Glasgow Warriors this weekend despite being officially signed on a short-term contract by the province yesterday on foot of his clearance for a work permit.

Lote Tuqiri has landed in Dublin. The Fijian born superstar is to pen a short three-month deal with Rabo Direct Pro 12 and Amlin Cup Champions Leinster.

Leinster coach Matt O’Connor is confident Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien will not follow in Jonathan Sexton’s footsteps and swap their home province for the Top 14.

Leicester 22 South Africa 17

AUSTRALIA ended their six-match tour with a hard-fought 18-11 win over the Barbarians in the Olympic Centenary match at Wembley last night.

Australia 34 New Zealand 19

Australia kick-started their Tri-Nations campaign with victory over South Africa at Subiaco Oval.

TWO second-half tries enabled the NSW Waratahs to overcome a half-time deficit and defeat the Brumbies at the Sydney Football Stadium yesterday.

ENGLAND today move into World Cup semi-final mode, with head coach Brian Ashton claiming: “We have a team to trouble the French.”

England 12 Australia 10

Australia 37 Canada 6

Australia 55 Fiji 12

Australia internationals Lote Tuqiri and Matt Dunning have been hit with a midnight curfew for the World Cup after attending a disciplinary hearing today.

AUSTRALIA winger Lote Tuqiri will not play again before the World Cup after being hit with a two-match suspension and £10,000 fine for another breach of team discipline.

Australia winger Lote Tuqiri will not play for the remainder of the Tri-Nations series after being suspended and fined for missing a recovery session following a late night out.

Returning Australia winger Lote Tuqiri believes a good performance against in-form South Africa on Saturday at Newlands would bode well for Australia’s World Cup campaign.

Australia 49 Fiji 0

All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu has dropped a bombshell on the rugby world by saying he would be willing to switch codes and play rugby league in Australia after next year’s World Cup.

Australia international Lote Tuqiri insists there can be no excuse for a poor autumn Test series in Europe this year.

WILL the real Neil Best please stand up? “I don’t really like fighting, people get injured and lose teeth. My dentist charges enough as it is, I don’t want to give him any more money!” he told RTE, on accepting his man-of-the-match award at the end of a bruising encounter yesterday.

AUSTRALIA centre Lote Tuqiri has drawn first blood in his duel with Brian O’Driscoll by declaring he is ready to expose the Ireland skipper’s Achilles heel.

Australia centre Lote Tuqiri has drawn first blood in his duel with Brian O’Driscoll by declaring he is ready to expose the Ireland skipper’s Achilles heel.

Australia head coach John Connolly admitted choosing his most potent backline is proving troublesome after naming another revamped team for Sunday’s clash with Ireland.

Brian O’Driscoll is backing the new-look Wallabies midfield to be a success but knows they will fear Ireland’s centre pairing at Lansdowne Road on Sunday.

AUSTRALIA coach John Connolly was mightily relieved to see his side avoid a major upset against a spirited Italy in the second of their four-game European tour.

New Zealand wrapped up their fourth Tri-Nations title in five years after a narrow victory over Australia at Eden Park in Auckland.

New Zealand got their Tri-Nations campaign off to a positive start by cruising to victory over Australia in the opening game of this year’s series in Christchurch.

Australia 43 England 18

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan is giving most of the side hammered 45-7 by New Zealand a second chance as he keeps changes for today’s clash with Australia to a minimum.

IF the Irish squad was asked to select a soundtrack for last Saturday’s defeat they would do worse than start off with the Motown classic ‘Nowhere To Run’ by Martha and the Vandellas.

France 26 Australia 16

WALLABIES captain George Gregan said South African coach Jake White’s claim that infiltration of rugby league culture is damaging Australian rugby was “hysterical.”

Four tries by dynamic winger Lote Tuqiri and a man-of-the-match performance by Matt Giteau steered Australia to their second big win of the international season – a 69-21 victory over Italy at Telstra Dome on Saturday.

WALLABIES coach Eddie Jones is convinced that whoever dominates the first 20 minutes of today’s Super 12 final in Christchurch will win the title.

BARBARIANS coach Bob Dwyer yesterday gave an interesting glimpse into the future of Australian rugby by selecting Wallabies winger Lote Tuqiri at outside centre and Matt Giteau at fly-half for tomorrow’s Gartmore Challenge against New Zealand at Twickenham.

Scotland 17 Australia 31

Scotland 14 Australia 31

Vodacom Tri-Nations Series

Australia 23 New Zealand 18

Vodacom Tri-Nations Series Australia v South Africa