Mark McConnell, the Connacht captain and second row, was last night suspended for seven weeks by the IRFU disciplinary committee following his sending off in the province's defeat to Leinster last Friday. According to a brief IRFU statement following last night's hearing, he received his suspension "for a breach of Law 10 4B which deals with trampling or stamping on an opponent".

Blackrock's fate in the Leinster Championship will not be decided until early next week after they were refused a postponement of their opening fixture against Greystones last week. The Leinster Branch's executive committee yesterday formally referred the case to its competitions committee. In the interim, Blackrock's second fixture with St Mary's will go ahead tomorrow.