Munster Loses Leinster Wins

Munster had the consolation of a bonus point as they lost 25-19 to Clermont Auvergne in France in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

A late Ronan O'Gara's penalty ensured Munster left France just a point behind group leaders Sale Sharks at the halfway point of the pool stage.

Captain Paul O'Connell said afterwards, "Clermont is a difficult place to come and sometimes the bonus point is the most important thing in a group as tight as this, especially after Sale got a bonus-point win this weekend to get them right back in it.

"But we're still disappointed to lose because things were going well for us in the first half. We had a poor first 20 minutes before Marcus Horan scored his try but we showed great resilience to get in position to earn the bonus point and at the end we were pushing hard for the win."

Meanwhile, Leinster expect to have captain Brian O'Driscoll fit for Friday night's Heineken Cup return against Castres in France.

The Ireland skipper suffered a slight hamstring strain in Saturday's 33-6 win over the struggling French side at the RDS as the Blues stayed top of Pool Two.

"He felt a slight twinge in his hamstring and I wasn't about to take any chances," said boss Michael Cheika. "He was happy to stay on but I wanted him off!

"But the game was won at that stage and I'm happy that Brian will be good to play on Friday."

Felipe Contepomi, Isa Nacewa and Shane Jennings could all make their respective returns from injury at the Stade Pierre Antoine.

Harte's Series

Tyrone football boss Mickey Harte, currently in San Francisco with the all-stars, has again called on the GAA to establish a world series to promote Gaelic games around the globe.

​
Nster.com