ULSTER now have little chance of emerging from the group stages of the Heineken Cup after a totally lethargic display at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday left coaches and players alike lost for answers.

SOMETHING of a curate’s egg this. Those of an optimistic bent will look to the rematch in Agen next Saturday buoyed by four tries, a gritty defensive display and a bonus point picked up with impeccable timing at the death by a sublime Brian O’Driscoll.

LEICESTER blew a disjointed Bourgoin side away in the first half to keep their Heineken Cup hopes alive.

Cork City 2 Dungannon Swifts 1

WICKLOW’S victory over Kildare in the Division 2 NHL semi-final affords them the opportunity to play the final against Laois as a curtain-raiser to the Kilkenny/Waterford decider in Thurles on April 29.

THE crisis in the health service is set to deepen this week with nurses cranking up their fight for more pay and shorter working hours and Health Minister Mary Harney moving to recruit hundreds of specialists in a bid to break the grip of consultants over the system.

CREWS fired artillery shells yesterday to safely trigger avalanches before they could pose a threat to traffic on a Colorado mountain highway, a day after a huge snow slide knocked two cars off the road in a high pass and buried them.

REAL MADRID failed to take advantage of slip-ups from La Liga’s frontrunners with a woeful display at the Riazor as they went down to Deportivo last night.

IT’S seldom Shannon players are left with the feeling of having been “mugged” at fortress Thomond Park, but this was one such rare occasion.

SHAUN WRIGHT PHILLIPS couldn’t have looked more dumbstruck if Jose Mourinho had just told him he was going to start a match for Chelsea.

Charlton 0 Wycombe 1

IN bygone days when the extent of my sporting horizon was confined to whether Cork could win an All-Ireland, the highlight of the year was witnessing the hurlers, or occasionally the footballers, parading silverware through the streets on an open-topped lorry.

FIVE points down with 15 minutes left In dark and deepest France, few people would have given Leinster much hope of securing their first away win of the Heineken Cup campaign.

ANTHONY HORGAN, who had to withdraw from last Sunday’s game at the Arms Park at the 11th hour because of an Achilles problem, remains Munster’s only serious injury worry prior to Saturday’s return Heineken Cup clash with Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park.

LET’S get the obvious out of the way first; this weekend, for the final round of pool games in the Heineken Cup, Trevor Hogan should be preparing for Munster’s massive game against Leicester in Thomond Park.

AN HOUR after the final whistle in Geneva yesterday, the Munster front row emerged from their dressing room, and what a sight. Marcus Horan, Frankie Sheahan, John Hayes, all looked like they’d just gone 15 rounds with a young Muhammad Ali.

POLITICS has evolved so much in this country that if you want to get ahead in public life, all you need to do is embroil yourself in a spot of bother.

ARSENAL captain Thierry Henry would love to be able to have a friendly chat with referees — just like in rugby.

The Examiner’s football correspondent Liam Mackey likes a good argument when he hears it, and he’s got strong views of his own. Today, and every Tuesday, he will be acting as referee on your opinions on the Premiership. Let him know what you think and he’ll argue the toss with you. We’ll be offering a free sports prize to the star contribution each week.

AN HOUR after the final whistle in this thrilling Limerick county senior final yesterday, the Gaelic Grounds was still buzzing, the celebrating Bruree supporters milking the last few drops of a fantastic occasion for the club.