Connacht's Heineken Champions Cup challenge hangs by the thinnest of threads after a convincing four-try defeat to Gloucester at Kingsholm on Sunday afternoon.

Andy Friend’s Connacht can knock down another barrier in Gloucester tomorrow and in the process take a big step towards a new milestone as they continue to grow impressively under the Australian.

No team in Europe has played as many matches in the Challenge Cup as Connacht

Friend, who coached Harlequins from 2005-08, said his players fell for the ruse when Gloucester’s lineout and scrum tactics were apparently left on a whiteboard for them to see the day before a game at Kingsholm.

Conor Fitzgerald says he hasn’t looked back since resurrecting his career with Connacht after being let go from the Munster academy 18 months ago.

Connacht produced a frustrating and sloppy performance on their way to a bonus point victory over Southern Kings in the PRO14 on Saturday.

As Japan prepares to get Asia’s first Rugby World Cup underway at the Tokyo Stadium tonight (11.45am Irish time), it would be all too easy to forget their opponents as the planet turns its gaze towards the Brave Blossoms.

Ever get that feeling that the stars are aligning for some special purpose?

So, they meet again. Two years on from a semi-final encounter in Dublin that has proven significant for both sides, Munster and Saracens will be reunited at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena tomorrow for another Heineken Champions Cup knockout tussle.

You can hear the excitement in Ian Whitten’s voice as he described the feeling of being in an Exeter Chiefs back-line when everything comes together. The bad news for Munster is that the Ulsterman experienced that buzz only last weekend as the Chiefs put Castres to the sword to set up tomorrow’s pivotal Heineken Champions Cup pool finale at Thomond Park.

One of the more remarkable points to consider about Munster’s upturn in attacking form over the last three weeks is the lack of gametime the province’s inside backs have had together.

Munster skipper Peter O’Mahony will be given “every opportunity” to pass fit for this Saturday’s crunch Heineken Champions Cup pool showdown with Exeter Chiefs, head coach Johann van Graan said on Monday.

Munster stayed in pole position to qualify top of a brutally tight Pool 2 in the Heineken Champions Cup with a superb 41-15 victory over Gloucester at Kingsholm.

Munster reclaimed their grip on Pool 2 and took a giant step towards an 18th European quarter-final as they claimed a bonus-point Heineken Champions Cup win over Gloucester with a stunning performance at Kingsholm.

There are many examples that can be given to demonstrate just how talented a player Franco Mostert is.

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Peter Jackson gets over the gain line, behind the headline.

Mike Haley has a debt of gratitude to Danny Cipriani for the mentoring he provided the full-back as a young professional in the Sale Sharks academy. Now on opposing teams, the Munster full-back knows just how dangerous he will be for Gloucester at Kingsholm tomorrow night, should the fly-half pass a fitness test today.

For all the buzz generated by an exciting bonus-point derby victory over Connacht last week, Peter O’Mahony’s return to the fray also coincided with a return to Munster basics.

Over the years, when their backs were firmly pressed against the wall, Munster always found a way to prevail in Europe, writes Donal Lenihan.

Munster put the “Sold Out” signs up at Thomond Park yesterday as supporters snapped up the last of the tickets for the Heineken Champions Cup pool finale with Exeter Chiefs but it is the penultimate game this Friday night that is occupying Johann van Graan.

Just when Munster were offered a bit of breathing space with Exeter Chiefs recording an excellent away win over Gloucester at Kingsholm on Friday night, Johann van Graan’s side were unable to take advantage, conspiring to lose an eminently winnable game against Castres, writes Donal Lenihan

The opening European home game of the season is upon us and what a fine time it would be for Munster’s developing team and game plan to click into place.

The challenge for Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster is to keep players firmly focused on the task at hand in the face of the inevitable plaudits that will accompany last weekend’s incredible performance, says Donal Lenihan.

THAT was a game Munster will be glad to have put behind them. Johann van Graan’s side will attack with relish preparations for this Saturday’s visit of Gloucester, after returning home from a daunting, Heineken Champions Cup pool opener, at Exeter Chiefs, with a lot more than expected.

Japan ended their World Cup campaign exactly how they started it – by making history.

Argentina 54 Georgia 9: Argentina are at that stage of development where they are potentially both giants and giant-killers at this World Cup, and, having come up short in their attempts to stun the All Blacks last Sunday, the key objective for them in Gloucester yesterday was not to become the victims of shock.

Three days later and the shock waves from Japan’s win against South Africa continue to ripple far beyond the shores of the genteel and chic coastal town of Brighton which now finds itself enshrined in rugby folklore.

ANALYSIS of Ireland’s encouraging start to World Cup 2015 has to be put on temporary hold as a consequence of what Japan achieved in defeating the most experienced South African side ever fielded when the sides met at Brighton Community Stadium on Saturday.

Joe Schmidt’s side may have got off to an impressive start at this Rugby World Cup with their dismissal of Canjada in Cardiff, but Michael Bradley recorded the first Irish success story of the tournament in Gloucester some hours earlier.

Georgia claimed only the third win in their World Cup history as captain Mamuka Gorgodze inspired them to victory over Pool C rivals Tonga at Kingsholm.

GUINNESS PRO12

“Business as usual” was the message yesterday as Matt O’Connor and Jamie Heaslip discussed Leinster’s Guinness PRO12 meeting with Benetton Treviso tonight, but the reality is that no-one can recall when the balance sheet looked so grim.

A first home semi-final is the prize for Connacht if they overcome this evening’s Challenge Cup quarter-final opponents Gloucester at Kingsholm.

Connacht’s biggest signing Mils Muliaina is leaving the province at the end of the season to take up a new contract in Italy.

Guinness Pro12  

Leinster’s weekend of mixed emotions continued through to tea-time yesterday when the three-time Heineken Cup champions were handed a daunting potential Rugby Champions Cup semi-final assignment ‘away’ to reigning champions Toulon in mid-April.

Nothing ever comes easy for Connacht. Their constant battle for recognition and the right to sit as an equal partner with the other three provinces in the eyes of the IRFU has raged for over a century.

With a couple of Ireland caps in the locker and a new Munster contract in back pocket, Dave Foley could be forgiven for allowing himself a small smile of satisfaction after a job well done.

Head coach Anthony Foley will have the pleasure of taking a winning team into Munster’s Guinness Pro12 campaign but he has demanded plenty more hard work from his players ahead of Friday’s season opener at home to Edinburgh.