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

Here are just a few of the families.

Simon Zebo and Donnacha Ryan will remain central to Racing 92’s bid to strengthen their grip on Pool 4 when they start for the Parisians at home to Ospreys tonight.

When Beirne arrived in Limerick from Scarlets in the summer of 2018, he was filling the void left by Donnacha Ryan

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.

Watching Andrew Conway score that cracker of a try against Ulster last weekend belied the notion that reintegrating Test players back into their clubs is difficult.

This may be a pool of death Munster are facing into as the 25th Heineken Champions Cup campaign gets underway this weekend but the fixture schedule has at least handed Johann van Graan’s side the most palatable of introductions, albeit away, with a trip to off-form Ospreys.

Having been through the wringer as often as he has in his rugby career, Tyler Bleyendaal has learned to make the most of his on-field opportunities when they arise and this weekend will be no exception.

They once boasted one of the strongest playing rosters in European rugby and were famously labelled the ‘Galacticos’ of Welsh rugby.

Munster have moved to ease their fly-half problems by adding academy number 10 Ben Healy to their Heineken Champions Cup squad.

The jury assessing damages in a case taken by an Aer Lingus pilot against the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) over defamatory emails it sent is expected to go out to consider its decision on Thursday.

Simon Lewis Rory Scannell embarks on his fifth European campaign this weekend confident that the value new attack guru Stephen Larkham can add to Munster’s arsenal could be the missing ingredient to

The prospect of Munster being without Joey Carbery for several weeks has underlined Johann van Graan’s assertion that to win trophies the province will need a squad deep in quality.

Despite the disappointment of last Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final exit to New Zealand, Peter O’Mahony insists Joe Schmidt vacates his role as Ireland head coach with considerable credit in the bank.

Peter Jackson gets over the gain line, behind the headline

Kyle Naughton, Bersant Celina and Borja Baston – who celebrated his 27th birthday by becoming the division’s top scorer – were on target as Birmingham’s resistance crumbled after the break.

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

Cork City defender Conor McCarthy says it was "heartbreaking" to see Sean McLoughlin leave the club to move to English Championship side Hull City.

Peter Jackson picks his XV for the Heineken Champions Cup Team of the Tournament.

Four tries from full-back Dan Evans kept Ospreys in contention for Champions Cup qualification with a 29-20 victory over Dragons in Swansea.

Des O’Driscoll looks back on the strange set of circumstances that led to the founding of the festival in 1978.

It’s not that hard, is it?

Connacht loosehead prop Denis Buckley has likened the end of this campaign to a fallow period during Pat Lam’s tenure and is confident the province can bounce back.

Wandering around Horse Island, visitors must take the utmost care lest they suffer the same fate as the numerous sheep that have fallen headlong to their doom down deep mine shafts, writes Dan MacCarthy.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is determined to make a swift return to action after it was confirmed he would be out of action until April with damaged lateral ligaments in his right ankle.

Kane was pictured with his foot in a brace and using crutches on Monday.

Sorting out Cork people for ages

Mauricio Pochettino has offered to help VAR bosses get the system right as he fears it will "kill the emotion" of the game.

Zenit St Petersburg boss Roberto Mancini will see a “much different” Scott Sinclair when their paths meet again tonight, according to the Celtic winger.

Liverpool bounced back to winning ways in the Premier League and maintained their Champions League challenge with a 3-0 win at Huddersfield.

Arsenal have reached agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund over the club record £55.5m (€63m) signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

John Muldoon looks set to remain involved in rugby and having built up considerable coaching experience during his playing career, Connacht supporters will be hoping that the province’s finest player will return in due course when he hangs up his boots in May.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan last night described his move to Arsenal from Manchester United as a “dream come true”.

Son Heung-min and Pedro Obiang each scored a stunner as Tottenham were held by West Ham to a draw at Wembley.

"Subs have been running roughshod all over the place, like a herd of buffalo".

Swansea 0 - Man City 4: Manchester City set a new Premier League record of 15 consecutive wins with a 4-0 victory at bottom club Swansea last night.

Pep Guardiola is prepared to apologise to Manchester United if they consider Manchester City’s celebrations after Sunday’s derby were excessive.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has questioned Manchester City's behaviour in the wake of the post-derby fracas.

Forget Sergio Aguero’s lethal finishing, Raheem Sterling’s late winners, David Silva’s magic and Kevin De Bruyne’s peerless mastery.

Weekend review

Arsene Wenger has likened modern football’s need for instant success to Britain voting for Brexit.

Manchester United are set to be boosted by the return of Phil Jones for Tottenham's Premier League visit on Saturday.