As he prepares to lead Ulster out at home for the first time since taking over as captain, Iain Henderson has a vision of what he wants.

At the risk of redefining the delusional practice of clutching at straws, perhaps there is something to be said after all for making an early exit from the World Cup.

The IRFU’s World Cup post-mortem will go on for some time yet but the evidence of the weekend just passed would suggest that many of the players involved have turned the page.

The text message came through on Billy Burns’ phone seconds after the draw was made.

The competition in Ulster’s back three means a shiny new three-year contract guarantees Rob Lyttle nothing — but he is more than willing to fight for every chance he can get.

The improvement in Ulster’s away form in Europe last season under Dan McFarland is something the head coach wants to see maintained and, if possible, bettered as they head into the unknown.

As a man more than familiar with the slings and arrows that can follow even the least outrageous fortunes of professional sport, Leo Cullen is a good place to start when assessing Joe Schmidt’s legacy.

A sport has to unite to showcase itself, and there remains plenty of scope for improvement in that department in horse racing.

The importance of Munster getting a good start to their Champions Cup campaign was underlined by the release of the pool fixtures this morning.

Ireland's Natalya Coyle has qualified for her third Olympics in a row.

Aileen Lee meets stained-glass artist and owner of WildBird Studio, Alison Byrne.

For Felipe Contepomi it’s on a par with River Plate v Boca Juniors; for CJ Stander and Johann van Graan a reminder of Bulls versus Stormers games.

When the Soviet writer Solzhenitsyn was in the gulag, he used to sew bread rations into his mattress, so that if the guards withheld his food, he wouldn’t die.

Ulster's reward for making a first European Cup quarter-final in eight years may yet be a trip to Dublin to face Leinster's reigning champions.

Bath Rugby have issued a lengthy statement about the reasons behind their decision to prevent Leinster distributing 1,500 flags to travelling supporters last Saturday.

Leinster, like Ireland, are no longer governed by the old standards.

Sport retains the capacity to cut even the best of players and teams down to size, writes Donal Lenihan

Toulouse’s new captain Julien Marchand is hoping to crown a week where he was called into the French senior squad for the first time by ousting European champions Leinster on Sunday.

The perseverance of some players is necessary to overcome damaging perceptions of them, writes Ronan O’Gara

An unholy trinity of ghastly misadventures in sport happened at three historic venues: Aintree; the old twin-towered Wembley; and St Andrews. That the misadventures are still talked of five decades later says everything about their enduring appeal, writes Peter Jackson.

Ulster’s new will-o’-the-wisp fly-half Billy Burns is in ebullient mood ahead of tomorrow’s PRO14 clash with Edinburgh, one of only two teams that chalked up a victory at the Kingspan Stadium last season.

Mathieu Bastareaud has always stood out in a crowd, never more so than when surrounded by some of the most famous players in the world.

Roger Bannister, the first person to run a sub four-minute mile, died at the weekend. He was 88.

Police raided the headquarters of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) yesterday as part of an investigation into alleged conflict of interest involving the federation’s president Bernard Laporte, a source close to the matter said.

The big guns are back for Munster’s Champions Cup showdown with Leicester Tigers at Thomond Park tonight (7.45pm) and what a noise there has been around them these past few days.

There is a "consensus view" among Conservative MPs that Theresa May cannot continue as UK Prime Minister until the next planned general election in 2022, George Osborne has said.

Everything about Francois Louw screamed ‘Springbok’ as he stood there on Saturday night trying to make sense of it all.

Former Irish scrum-half Peter Stringer said he feels as fit now as he did 10 or 15 years ago and is determined to keep on playing as long as he has the opportunity.

Catch up on this morning's headlines...

The cost to the exchequer of the reduced 9% Vat level on tourism and related services since its introduction six years ago is now running at over €2.2bn and increasing the tax back to 13.5% would raise an extra €491m a year for the Government.

I’M thinking of doing Airbnb. I tell a friend.

My message has always been that it’s OK to be a home cook, says Trish Deseine.

From the ‘koffwey rooms’ of 16th century Constantinople, to the high street chains of today, coffee shops have always been about so much more than simply drinking coffee, explains Robert Hume

TV3’s ‘The Restaurant’ judge Marco Pierre White has swapped Michelin stars for wellies, says Esther McCarthy.

After four quiet days, Irish racing action returns at Dundalk, where Thomas O’Malley has been found what looks a good winning opportunity in the Elusive Pimpernel Maiden.

Team Sky have issued an apology after their team bus narrowly avoided a collision with a cyclist in Wales on Wednesday.

2,000 years of history, John Chambers finds there’s more to the historic town of Bath than buns and Jane Austen.

Arguably the best week of racing of the year gets underway this afternoon, when Royal Ascot kicks off with the Queen Anne Stakes. 

KATE MOSS may have been “discovered” at the age of 14 - but her daughter has beaten her in the modelling stakes, with her first Vogue cover at the age of 13.

Detectives are “one important step” closer to finding the killer of Melanie Hall thanks to DNA evidence from where her remains were found.