SINCE the traditional curtain-raiser for springtime moved from Five Nations to Six in 2000 no team has won the championship three years on the bounce.

IAIN Henderson has questioned his team's work ethic, accusing players of having been 'a bit lazy' at times, as Ulster prepare for today's must-win European Champions Cup game with La Rochelle at the Kingspan Stadium.

ULSTER are set to confirm the signing of All Black Stephen Donald until the end of the season as a replacement for fly-half Christian Lealiifano, who returns to Australia later this month.

TOMMY Bowe will be out of action for up to eight weeks after sustaining a shoulder injury in Ulster's hugely disappointing 38-7 defeat to Leinster in Saturday night's PRO14 game at the RDS Arena.

THERE was little in the way of festive cheer for Ulster as their 2017 came to a hugely disappointing end with a humiliating 44-16 PRO14 defeat to Connacht in Galway, piling more pressure on under-fire director of rugby Les Kiss.

DESPITE having to settle for the runners up spot to England at the Six Nations there were many positives for the Ireland rugby team in 2017

Best atmosphere, best celebration, best putdown, dodgy assessment, waste of space and many more bests and worsts of 2017.

PAUL Marshall will become only the fifth Ulster player to clock up 200 caps when he comes off the bench to face Benetton Treviso in tonight's PRO14 clash at the Kingspan Stadium.

It's profoundly depressing that a few idiots, seeking a scapegoat after the Republic of Ireland's humiliating home defeat by Denmark in the World Cup play-off, singled out Cyrus Christie for abuse.

France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup after World Rugby's membership voted against the recommendation made by the governing body's independent evaluation committee, prompting criticism from preferred bidder South Africa.