NEWS:HE WHO pays the piper and all that. The Magners League broadcast partners having agreed upon their schedules, the Celtic League Ltd have confirmed the precise dates for the opening nine rounds of the Magners League, with the stand-out Irish fixture between the reigning League champions, Leinster, and the Heineken Cup holders, Munster, being one of several matches fixed for Setanta's new Sunday evening slot, on September 28th at the RDS with a 7pm kick-off.
As Leinster were made fully aware last season with their 9pm kick-off in Toulouse, Sunday nights constitute fairly prime TV slots in France, even if they're not exactly spectator friendly.
However, ever since their much-hyped European Cup sell-out semi-final three seasons ago, Leinster-Munster clashes have been the stand-out fixtures of the Irish domestic calendar and after last season's rare double by Michael Cheika's side it will be interesting to see if this Sunday-evening slot proves palatable for another 17,000 RDS capacity crowd.
Other designated Sunday evening slots see Munster host the Dragons on September 14th, and Connacht at home to Leinster on October 5th and Munster on December 28th. None of which is exactly designed to prioritise those last in the food chain - the paying spectators.
Between them, BBC Wales, S4C and Setanta Sports, will ensure a minimum of two Magners League games will be broadcast live every weekend, with Setanta Sports featuring action from Ireland and Scotland each weekend, as well as selected games from Wales.
Setanta's Magners League coverage will again be presented by Daire O'Brien, who will be joined by a panel of experts including Ciarán Fitzgerald, Neil Francis, Reggie Corrigan, Emmet Byrne, Liam Toland and Donal Lenihan, while Connor Morris, Fred Cogley and Martin Gillingham make up the commentary team.
Connacht (at home to the Ospreys), Munster (away to Edinburgh) and Ulster (at home to Llanelli) all feature on opening night, Friday, September 5th, with Leinster away to last season's runners-up Cardiff the following evening. In one of those curiosities the league can throw up, the champions then have three successive home games - against Edinburgh, the Ospreys and Munster - before a visit to Connacht in preparation for their pivotal Heineken Cup opener against Edinburgh in their Murrayfield bogey ground.
Once again the fixture list and table will be distorted slightly to accommodate the Welsh regions' participation in the BBC's Anglo-Welsh EDF Cup. This will require the Welsh quartet to begin their campaign with three fixtures in the opening week.
Meanwhile, an eye-catching selection on the USA Eagles' bench for their 37-14 defeat by the French Championship beaten finalists Clermont Auvergne was the Irish under-20 tighthead Ben Barclay; it raises the possibility he will feature for the Eagles against Munster in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday week.
Barclay won 10 Irish Under-20 caps last year as the first-choice tighthead in the Six Nations and the World Under-20 Cup, and having failed to obtain a place in Leinster's academy has attracted interest from London Irish and Wasps. He is qualified to play for the US through his mother Patsey, who is a US citizen, and on his second day on holidays in the US, he was contacted by Rob Holder, the Eagles manager.
"The first thing he said was, hello and congratulations on your selection for the USA Eagles to play Clermont and Munster," reveals Barclay.
"This was my first contact with them, so it came as quite a shock. My agent had said that the Americans were aware of my dual citizenship and might want to talk in the future. I didn't know that would be two days later.
"Opportunities like this have to be taken in the rugby world or they might not come again.
"I had nothing to lose by attending these camps, because the games were not full internationals; they would not affect my eligibility for Ireland, which of course I had in mind . . .
"I have to have a long think about it and decide what is best. I have to decide whether playing for Ireland in the future is a realistic goal, and if not whether I can give up on that ambition and move on.
"It's certainly been great for me so far, and the US, with Scott Johnson and Marty Wiggins at the helm, are definitely going to be a great team to be part of in the near future."
Another Dubliner, the St Mary's flanker Kevin Sheahan, could be on the horns of a similar dilemma; the Boston native played the 70 minutes against Clermont save for five minutes at the end of the first period when having a bad head gash patched up.
TV League Games
Setanta Sports live Magners League games until the New Year:
Friday, September 5th:
Ulster v Scarlets (KO 7.30pm)
Edinburgh v Munster (7.30pm)
Saturday, September 6th:
Blues v Leinster (6.30pm)
Tuesday, September 9th:
Ospreys v Blues (7.35pm)
Wednesday, September 10th:
Dragons v Scarlets (7.05pm)
Friday, September 12th:
Blues v Ulster (7.05pm)
Leinster v Edinburgh (7.30pm)
Saturday, September 13th:
Scarlets v Connacht (5.30pm)
Sunday, September 14th:
Munster v Dragons (6.00pm)
Friday, September 19th:
Leinster v Ospreys (7.35pm)
Saturday, September 20th:
Munster v Blues (7.30pm)
Friday, September 26th:
Blues v Connacht (7.05pm)
Saturday, September 27th:
Ospreys v Ulster (5.30pm)
Sunday, September 28th:
Leinster v Munster (7.00pm)
Saturday, October 4th:
Munster v Glasgow (7.00pm)
Sunday, October 5th:
Connacht v Leinster (6.00pm)
Friday, October 24th:
Glasgow v Leinster (7.30pm)
Saturday, October 25th:
Ulster v Munster (7.30pm)
Friday, November 28th:
Ulster v Connacht (7.30pm)
Scarlets v Munster (7.05pm)
Saturday, November 29th:
Leinster v Dragons (5.30pm)
Friday, December 19th:
Dragons v Ospreys (7.05pm)
Saturday, December 20th:
Scarlets v Blues (5.30pm)
Friday, December 26th:
Ospreys v Scarlets (2.05pm)
Edinburgh v Glasgow (7.30pm)
Saturday, December 27th:
Ulster v Leinster (7.30pm)
Dragons v Blues (5.30pm)
Sunday, December 28th:
Connacht v Munster (6.00pm)
Wednesday, December 31st:
Scarlets v Dragons (2.05pm)
Thursday, January 1st:
Blues v Ospreys (TBA)
Friday, January 2nd:
Glasgow v Edinburgh (7.30pm)
Leinster v Connacht (7.30pm)
Saturday, January 3rd:
Munster v Ulster (7.30pm)
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