REAL MADRID overcame the second-minute dismissal of Iker Casillas to beat Espanyol 1-0 last night and move to within five points of fierce rivals Barcelona at the top of the Primera Division.

LEINSTER rugby chiefs have welcomed confirmation their Heineken Cup quarter-final with Leicester Tigers at the Aviva Stadium is fixed for a 6pm start on Saturday, April 9.

The dates for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals have been announced today.

THE Ospreys’ troubled preparations for Sunday’s Heineken Cup tie at Munster took a new twist yesterday after they were hit with yet another fine by rugby officials.

THE thing I admire most about Ronan O’Gara is his passion. After 13 years dedicated to the Munster cause, O’Gara and Paul O’Connell remain the standard-setters. The benchmark. Everything in the Munster camp revolves around those two.

THE external bruises from his date with the Cardiff Blues were there for all to see, steri-strips acting as a poor camouflage for yet another cut and bloodied right eye.

THE Irish dream of yet another Heineken Cup perished yesterday at the Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian, when, just like their neighbours Toulouse against holders Leinster on Saturday, Biarritz proved too good on the day for Munster, the 2006 and 2008 champions.

Ronan O’Gara insists the vast experience of Munster’s grizzled veterans ensures their love affair with the Heineken Cup will continue.

MARCUS HORAN believes the disappointment of losing the home Magners League fixture to Ospreys last weekend will spur Munster as they tackle another mountainous European climb at Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian, tomorrow.

They’ve been one of France’s most successful club sides over the last decade yet what Biarritz Olympique truly crave is some European silverware, argues Ian Moriarty in Biarritz

He’s put his rugby days behind him, locked them down and thrown away the key, but before Munster and Leinster began their European rugby odyssey, one Cork man already had a Heineken Cup medal to boast of. Not that he would. Brian Roche spoke to Adrian Russell

BIARRITZ and France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili has upped the ante ahead of Sunday’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Munster at San Sebastian by insisting the Irish side are favourites for the tie.

BIARRITZ and France international No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy is fit for Sunday’s Heineken Cup semi-final with Munster at San Sebastian.

MUNSTER’S Marcus Horan yesterday blasted tour operators, hoteliers and those who ‘‘screw our supporters left, right, and centre’’.

PAUL O’CONNELL, despite a visit to an acclaimed specialist in Liverpool, will not feature in Munster’s plans for Sunday’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Biarritz.

BACK in the early spring of 2001, Brian McGoey, a keen member of the Red Army and proprietor of a Limerick restaurant, promised to provide any member of the Munster team that scored three tries in a Heineken Cup tie with a lifetime supply of pizzas.

MUNSTER coach Tony McGahan admits captain Paul O’Connell is in “a race against the clock” to be fit for Sunday’s Heineken Cup semi-final with Biarritz.

JEAN de VILLIERS may be coming to the end of his Munster stint, but he won’t be replaced in the province’s back line by England’s Riki Flutey.

MUNSTER and Leinster have commenced their ticket sales for next month’s glamour Heineken Cup ties.

RYANAIR have announced a series of flights ahead of Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Biarritz on May 2, (Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian, 3.15pm, Irish time).

DESPITE the recession, up to 10,000 Munster supporters are expected to travel to San Sebastian in northern Spain for the Heineken Cup semi-final clash with French side Biarritz Olympique.

DIMITRI YACHVILI has issued a stark warning to semi-final opponents Munster after claiming: we can win the Heineken Cup for the first time.

TOULOUSE have lost the services of one of their major strike forces, wing Yves Donguy, ahead of their Heineken Cup quarter-final with Stade Francais.

WELSHMAN Nigel Owens renews his close relationship with Munster in the competition when he takes charge of the Heineken Cup quarter-final clash with Northampton Saints at Thomond Park on Saturday, April 10.

Munster's Heineken Cup quarter-final against Northampton will take place on Saturday, April 10.

Leicester and the Ospreys were today both awaiting an official European Rugby Cup response over a 16th player blunder involving Wales and Lions full-back Lee Byrne.

NORTHAMPTON’s return to Limerick in April will also challenge the Saints with preserving English rugby’s self-respect in the Heineken Cup.

Fulham are hoping to sign South Korea international Lee Chun-Soo on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent transfer, according to reports in Korea.

Biarritz 6 Northampton 7

ERC yesterday announced the list of potential venues for the penultimate stage of the Heineken Cup.

The Heineken Cup will break new ground in January after tournament organisers confirmed reigning champions Munster will take on Bourgoin in the Swiss city of Geneva.

Sevilla moved to within one point of Primera Liga leaders Barcelona after a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo.

Munster star Ronan O’Gara has rejected notions of French champions Biarritz being a dour and uninspiring team as the sides prepare for a Heineken Cup final showdown in Cardiff tomorrow.

French star Damien Traille has predicted a bruising tussle when Biarritz and Munster go head-to-head in Saturday’s Heineken Cup final at the Millennium Stadium.

Biarritz's Benoit Agustin will appear before an independent disciplinary committee in Dublin on Friday, May 5 after he was cited for an incident in the Heineken Cup semi-final against Bath Rugby at the Estadio Anoeta last Saturday.

Biarritz captain Benoit August could miss the Heineken Cup final after being cited for allegedly gouging Danny Grewcock during the semi-final win over Bath at the weekend.

Ronan O’Gara believes Munster must heed the painful lessons of their two previous Heineken Cup final appearances if they are to overcome the competition’s “sleeping giants“.

Bath 9 Biarritz 18

Ireland will be represented in both Heineken Cup semi-finals as Alain Rolland has been appointed to referee the game between Biarritz and Bath at Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian, on Saturday, April 22.

EUROPEAN Cup Rugby bosses last night confirmed that the Heineken Cup semi-final between Leinster and Munster will be played at Lansdowne Road on Sunday, April 23.

Biarritz 11 Sale 6

Biarritz 11 Sale 6

Sale coach Kingsley Jones is delighted the Sharks travel to San Sebastian as underdogs, and remains confident they can storm Biarritz’s Basque stronghold.

Sale boss Philippe Saint-Andre hailed his medical staff after Mark Cueto and Jason Robinson were passed fit for tomorrow’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against Biarritz.