Western Force 7 British and Irish Lions 54Front-runner for the No.

Eoghan Smyth and Conor Kennelly have been selected for the Reds underage set-up for the new season

Séadna Forrest is making his mark with the oval ball

The season ends in painful fashion after Munster gave it their all for 100 minutes and died with their boots on

If the front row can survive then they have a puncher's chance of moving into the semi-finals

Reds are also into URC playoffs after impressive second half-time at Musgrave Park

O'Mahony will go down as one of the club's best players

Reds will now qualify for Champions Cup once they get a win in Cork next weekend

Reds were comfortable in their last home URC game of the season

Crushing Champions Cup defeats mean Leinster have questions to answer but at least they're guaranteed to be in next year's competition...

Two wins are required to reach URC playoffs but more importantly to secure Champions Cup qualification

Reds' season is hanging by a thread after another URC loss

Ultimately, the formula for Munster is a simple one. Win all three remaining games and the playoff and Champions Cup places will be secure.

'What transpired in France on Saturday evening fully exposed the gulf that truly exists between Munster and teams like Leinster, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Toulon'

Reds battled bravely but couldn't overcome their first-half deficit

Munster face another highly-rated French side on the road this Saturday afternoon at 3pm

Reds pulled off an epic victory over Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle, orchestrated by Ireland's best out-half Crowley

Reds survived a Champions Cup classic in France

If the partnership of Jack Crowley and Craig Casey can deliver an 8 out of 10 performance and the Munster bench can furnish us with an impactful contribution, Munster can win this game, but if they drop their guard for any prolonged period, O’Gara will have a road map devised where he’s players will use to rip Munster apart.

La Rochelle are favourites on home soil but are vulnerable given their poor form

Fly-half Daniel Coughlan scored 13 points, including a try, on a day that saw the club overcome an early deficit after their city rivals went ahead against the run of play.

Munster had one player sent off and two more spend time in the sin-bin against Connacht... it could have cost them dearly

With playoffs looming, Reds have no room for error in the coming weeks

GAA's Central Council gave the thumbs up to Cork to host further soccer and rugby matches this year

Huge interest in URC derby at GAA grounds in Mayo shows the potential in Connacht but Munster simply must secure victory to save their season

Derek Daly on the key issues impacting the Reds in the URC as they head to MacHale Park for this unique fixture

Grammar did it the hard way eliminating the roll-of-honour top three one after the other

Two late tries cost the Reds what would have been a huge victory in the playoff race

Reds are away to champions Glasgow on Friday night 

CBC hit 17 points without replay to prevent their rivals from landing three in a row

Kilbree’s Caoimhe Murphy recently won the Purcell Cup All-Ireland final with Mary I and a rugby title with UL

'I can 100% assure you if Crowley was playing with the same quality of player Leinster have, he too would look like a rugby God...'

Error-strewn display could have cost Irish if Italy hadn't been reduced 14 for 30 minutes

Trip to Rome was expected to be a Grand Slam coronation but there will be no white smoke this weekend

'As all great business leaders will confirm, diversity is the best way to reduce your risks and right now Ireland need something new or something different...'

Cork out-half Crowley was this week linked with big money switch from Munster to Leicester

Leinster dominate central contracts with 11 of 14 IRFU deals for next season

Irish didn't have enough physicality on the bench to match the visitors on Saturday

Visitors backed up their recent form as they hit 34 points without reply

'Going on form France should win, but a yellow card here and a red one there and who knows what could happen?'

Ireland are the unbeaten side it is hard to shake the feeling that this French team are capable of igniting at the Aviva

Cork's Jack Crowley is on the bench at the Aviva on Saturday

Rockwell College 12 Bandon Grammar School 15 Bandon Grammar School have made history by qualifying for their first-ever major final with a hard-fought three-point Junior Cup victory over Rockwell College at Fethard Town Park.

Two Louis Carroll tries and one from Hugo Downey, as well as a one Harry Quinlan conversion, set up the final place for Christians.

Reds were down by 22 points at half-time and their comeback came up short

Edinburgh have only played two URC fixtures since the turn of the year with Mike Blair’s men beaten twice

O'Mahony calls time on his career in Irish green and Munster red at the end of this season

McMillan, currently the head coach with Super Rugby side Chiefs, will take over at Munster in July while Mike Prendergast and Ian Costello are set to take up new roles with the province.

It will be an all-Cork final in the Munster Schools Senior Cup final for the third year in a row after PBC booked their ticket to face old rivals CBC.

The Grammar secured their semi-final spot for the second year in a row by avenging their last-four defeat to the same opposition 12 months ago.

They will play the winners of the second semi final tomorrow between PBC and Castletroy

Christians will meet St Munchin’s in next week’s semi-final, while Rockwell College will face either PBC or Bandon Grammar School on the other side of the draw.

Simon Easterby praised Ireland’s mentality for “digging ourselves out of a hole” to overcome Wales in the Six Nations and keep their Grand Slam dream alive.

Six Nations and a Grand Slam is within Ireland's grasp but they need to refocus in their week off

With a new management set-up taking over from Warren Gatland, the hosts were men on a mission

Ireland's opponents in the Six Nations on Saturday have lost 14 games in a row...

Wales have lost 14 games on the trot but have a new manager and that could spark something on Saturday in Cardiff

Another start for Peter O'Mahony, but Sam Prendergast retains his starting out-half berth with Jack Crowley kept in reserve.

After a sloppy first period at Thomond Park the hosts took off and secured a bonus point

Cork school scored 29 points at Dooradoyle but still fell short

Scotland made it 11 losses in a row against Ireland, who can now benefit from England beating France to grab another Grand Slam... 

Interim coach Simon Easterby will be worried about the concession of late scores for the second week in a row

Trip to Murrayfield could define this Six Nations campaign

Scotland have gone a remarkable 10 Test matches without beating Ireland but have showed good form overall recently

City schools hit their Cork rivals for five tries

PBC 12 St Munchin’s 29 St Munchin’s scored a major win over PBC to progress straight through to the Munster Schools Junior Cup semi-final, while the three-in-a-row champions must go the back-door route in their quarter final tie after their loss on ...

Huw Jones has called on Scotland to prove they have developed into genuine title contenders by finally landing an elusive win over Ireland next Sunday.

Cork's Jack Crowley might start against Scotland after having a huge impact at the Aviva

Jack Crowley kicked two conversions in the second half at the Aviva

David Corkery ranks all the contenders, and their fans, aiming to stop Ireland getting their hands on the trophy

Interim coach Simon Easterby made some tough calls this week, including leaving Jack Crowley on the bench

Éanna McCarthy led out the Irish on home turf but Six Nations campaign got off to a losing start

Former underage GAA star impressed on his first start

This is a trip that Munster must successfully negotiate if they are to get their URC campaign back on track this Saturday evening.

Despite a loss in Northampton, rookies are finally stepping up for the Reds

Reds still secured bonus points in a 34-32 epic at Franklin's Gardens

Northampton is still a tough place to go as Munster know only too well by losing twice there in recent years

Munster got their season back on track at Thomond Park but now need another victory on the road to give them a shot of advancing in the Champions Cup last 16

An opening fixture against England awaits as Ireland bid for a historic three titles in a row

Munster rallied at Thomond Park but are well short of the finished article

Dian Bleuler and John Hodnett struck for late tries to turn a frantic tie

'Complete independent and transparent study of what is happening with the structures that go into making up the senior squad is needed'

Understrength Reds never looked like causing an upset against their great rivals

Reds will be really up against it hosting their great rivals at Thomond Park on Friday night

Great rivals collide on Friday night at Thomond Park

Reds clawed their way to a bonus-point success in Ulster but face far tougher opposition this Friday night

Farrell grabbed a hat-trick with the last play after a thrilling second half in Belfast

Season balanced on knife edge for Munster and Ulster before they collide on Friday night

Derek Daly reflects on a bad week for fans of the Reds

'It is starting to look like awarding Beirne the captain's armband was the wrong decision...'

Cork's John Hodnett grabbed a pair of tries but late penalty was enough for the French hosts to secure the win

Conor Owens explains the great strides being made in the Ballincollig school despite missing out after a narrow loss to Hammies

Even after impressive victory on home soil in the Champions Cup opener aside, tonight we'll see what Munster are really made of

Munster face Castres under Friday night lights with momentum after their Champions Cup victory last weekend

Hamilton High School joined local rivals Bandon Grammar School in the knockout stages of the Munster Schools Senior Cup for the first time