Leinster and the Six Nations are at odds over Healy’s eligibility for selection by the province this weekend. (Pic: PA)

Ireland prop Cian Healy’s ban for stamping has descended into farce as confusion reigned over his availability for provincial duty this weekend.

While Leinster are of the belief that their 25-year-old loosehead can be selected for the weekend’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Benetton Treviso, Ireland coach Declan Kidney has been told that is not the case.

Six Nations organisers have declined to publicly clarify the terms of the three-week suspension given yesterday by an independent disciplinary committee, but bafflingly maintain it commenced with Monday’s citing.

Mindful that under normal circumstances Healy would have been rested this weekend, the hearing decided that the punishment for his stamp on England’s Dan Cole during Sunday’s 12-6 defeat in Dublin should be deferred by one week so that he would miss Ireland’s matches against Scotland and France.

A three-week suspension expiring on March 10 would have to commence this Sunday, creating the grey area that has transformed what should have been a routine disciplinary process into a fiasco.

The development is a mess for the Six Nations, who are at risk of seeing the spirit of their ban flouted by the exploitation of a loophole in their decision to defer the punishment.

Kidney – who will consider appealing only when the written judgment is published, which is likely to be on Monday – was told by the hearing at Heathrow yesterday that Healy is not available.

“Experience has taught us to wait for the written judgment or explanation to come down and we’ll take it from there concerning any appeal. Let’s see what’s in the judgment,” Kidney has said.

“It’s certainly an option that he could play for Leinster this weekend, but we’ve been told that he’s suspended and he’s not allowed to.

“Cian’s had a lot going on – a lot goes on with the citings process the way it is. There would certainly be benefit in him playing given everything that’s happened.

“We asked the question yesterday whether he could play this weekend and we were told no, he is suspended.”

Leinster take the opposite view, with forwards coach Jonno Gibbes indicating this morning that the European champions intend fielding a player destined for Lions selection this summer.

“Cian is certainly available. (Leinster coach) Jose Schmidt and (Ireland coach) Declan have talked about the involvement of Test players this weekend,” Gibbes.

“Cian’s available and personally I’d be delighted to involve him, he’s a really big asset. He will definitely be considered.

“There are complications for others maybe, but he’s available for us. It’s a game in the break of the Six Nations and he’s under consideration.

“Nothing is surprising when the rugby judiciary is involved. You have to go in with an open mind because you never know what will come out of it.”

Losing Healy against Scotland and France was compounded by the news that fly-half Jonathan Sexton and second row Mike McCarthy will miss the trip to Edinburgh on February 24 through injury.

Sexton has a grade two hamstring tear that usually requires four to six weeks to heal, making him a major doubt to face France in the penultimate round of fixtures.

McCarthy has damaged the medial ligament of his right knee and will be in a brace for two weeks, at the end of which his fitness will be reassessed.

More positive news was received on the remaining injuries incurred during a brutal clash against England at the Aviva Stadium.

Centre Brian O’Driscoll, full-back Rob Kearney, flanker Seán O’Brien and lock Donnacha Ryan are at varying degrees of fitness, but all should be available to face Scotland.

A despondent Brian O'Driscoll after Leinster's defeat to Ospreys at the RDS, Dublin. (Pic: PA)

Leinster 30
Ospreys 31

Shane Williams signed off in fairytale fashion as his try double helped the Ospreys edge out Leinster in an epic six-try RaboDirect PRO12 shootout.

In his last ever game for the Welsh region, the diminutive winger ducked out of Rob Kearney’s challenge to wriggle over in the right corner for a 78th-minute try.

Williams’ score made it a one-point game and Dan Biggar showed nerves of steel to land the difficult conversion, etching the Ospreys into the record books as the first team to win four league titles.

The late knockout punch left the RDS crowd stunned as Leinster were on course to complete a famous European and domestic double – a feat not achieved since London Wasps did so back in 2004.

Joe Schmidt’s men had led 17-9 at half-time thanks to tries from Sean Cronin and Isa Nacewa, and another from the Fijian international gave them a 30-21 advantage.

However, the Ospreys showed tremendous grit and will to win as Biggar landed his fourth penalty and then added the extras to Williams’ effort to seal a famous comeback win.

The defeat is a bitter pill for Leinster to swallow as it is their third straight loss in a league decider, the Ospreys repeating their 2010 victory in Dublin.

Steve Tandy’s side had beaten the Heineken Cup champions twice during the regular season and they nipped ahead thanks to a ninth-minute penalty from Biggar.

Leinster were level within two minutes though, Jonathan Sexton delivering a crisp penalty strike to reward the carrying of Gordon D’Arcy and Mike Ross.

Prop Ross injured his left leg at a subsequent scrum – a concern ahead of Ireland’s summer tour to New Zealand – and Kiwi Nathan White had to be introduced.

Leinster had the better of the possession in a fiercely contested first quarter, but pressure from the visitors’ blitz defence forced a turnover and Andrew Bishop broke downfield.

He linked with Rhys Webb who was hauled down in sight of the posts as Leinster scrambled back, with the Ospreys having to settle for a Biggar three-pointer.

But the Ospreys struggled to use their scrum as a weapon and the Irish province charged back into scoring range, retaining possession through seven phases.

That set up an opportunity on the left for Brian O’Driscoll to brilliantly draw in two defenders and set hooker Cronin free for a rampaging run to the line.

Sexton converted with aplomb, a quality kick which was matched by the in-form Biggar as he topped off a powerful scrum with his third successful penalty.

However, Sexton’s pinpoint restart kick was fielded superbly by a leaping Nacewa and the winger burst through for an opportunist try.

That defensive lapse was further punished by Sexton adding the extras from wide out, although the Ospreys quickly got back on the front foot.

There were extraordinary scenes as Leinster were camped close to their own line for eight minutes before half-time, frantically defending scrum after scrum.

They had loosehead Heinke van der Merwe sin-binned for dropping his bind against Adam Jones. But youngster Jack McGrath dug in and eventually, with the Ospreys failing to get the shove on and Jones being singled out, referee Romain Poite awarded a penalty to the hosts.

The Ospreys felt aggrieved and as the players headed for the dressing rooms, there was an altercation between the forwards with Alun-Wyn Jones and Jamie Heaslip having to be separated.

Suitably fired up, the Welshmen had the try they craved just 84 seconds into the second half. Joe Bearman’s clever offload released centre Ashley Beck for a well-taken seven-pointer.

Leinster replied almost immediately, Sexton rifling over his second penalty and van der Merwe and Kevin McLaughlin were back on the pitch just moments later.

Ospreys captain Jones infringed at a ruck to allow Sexton to kick Leinster 23-16 ahead and Nacewa then went close on the left after Shane Jennings scooped up a turnover.

In yet another twist, the Ospreys worked numbers on the left to release Williams for a rare scoring chance and he showed his renowned finishing skills by crashing over past Eoin Reddan.

Biggar missed the conversion, leaving Leinster with a two-point buffer, and the league’s table-toppers seemed to be turning the screw when Nacewa swooped for his second of this closely-fought final.

A surging maul got Leinster in sight of the whitewash and Nacewa was able to collect Reddan’s loose pass and stretch over from close range.

Sexton’s conversion completed his 15-point haul and pushed the margin out to nine points with just 16 minutes remaining.

It was an uphill task for the Ospreys but with replacement Kahn Fotuali’i getting them moving well, Leinster were suddenly pinned back and starved of possession.

The defensive workload took its toll on the home side, who had prop White sin-binned for successive scrum infringements. That led to uncontested scrums, and Biggar sent over the resulting penalty to give his team-mates renewed hope.

With their forwards making the hard yards, the Ospreys went for the jugular and as they flooded out to the right, ace poacher Williams had enough of a sniff to go for the kill.

The 35-year-old had scored better tries in his regional career but few have been more important. He passed the baton to Biggar, possibly one of Welsh rugby’s future stars, to loft over the match-winning kick.

Paul O'Connell picked up a suspected knee injury.

Munster 36 Ulster 8

Munster wrapped up the regular season of the RaboDirect PRO12 with a bonus-point home win over a weakened Ulster side.

Simon Zebo and forwards Peter O’Mahony, Mike Sherry, Stephen Archer and Tommy O’Donnell all crossed for the defending league champions, who will travel to the Ospreys in next weekend’s semi-finals.

However, the Thomond Park success was marred by a suspected knee injury which forced Paul O’Connell off midway through the second half.

The Zebo and O’Mahony tries book-ended the first period which ended with Ulster 17-3 adrift.

Sherry and Ulster newcomer Iain Henderson swapped tries in an even third quarter, but Munster finished strongly to rubber-stamp their third-place finish in the table.

In his final appearance at the Limerick venue, Lifeimi Mafi provided the first spark in attack when linking with the onrushing Zebo.

Munster maintained their presence in the visitors’ half and from a powerful lineout maul, man of the match Conor Murray sprung the ball left for Scott Deasy to put Zebo over in the corner.

Deasy, a late call-up at outside-half, added the extras with aplomb and a Murray blockdown and a sniping run from Ivan Dineen kept the Ulster defence working hard.

Nevin Spence put in some strong challenges in midfield before Andrew Trimble was sin-binned for tugging back Zebo as he chased Deasy’s grubber-kick.

Deasy’s resulting penalty was cancelled out by a fine long-range effort from Paddy Jackson in the 20th minute, and Ulster held their provincial rivals scoreless while Trimble was off the pitch.

First-time starter Henderson did well in the lineout for the Heineken Cup finalists and an electric break from Paul Marshall had Munster scrambling back behind their tryline.

Munster’s raids forward were a little predictable, however an O’Donnell surge on the right did the initial damage as the hosts swept through for a second try on the stroke of half-time.

Mafi drew in a couple of defenders and a neat necklace of passes from Felix Jones, Mick O’Driscoll and O’Connell unleashed O’Mahony for the right corner.

Deasy, who missed an earlier penalty, successfully converted to put 14 points between the sides at the break.

Munster resumed on the offensive although stubborn work in defence from Jackson and Trimble saw Sherry robbed on two occasions.

They could only hold out for so long though, with Murray and O’Connell both lively in the loose and the latter’s lineout win allowing Sherry to drive over on the end of a maul.

Deasy added the conversion and Ulster hit back with a tremendous score from young flanker Henderson, whose power and pace took him past Jones and Zebo to stretch over in the right corner.

The sight of O’Connell being helped off will have concerned Tony McGahan and watching Ireland boss Declan Kidney, but Keith Earls did make a welcome return from injury.

The final quarter was scrappy with a flurry of substitutions doing little for the flow of the game.

Ulster could not convert their pressure into points and the contest was over when prop Archer wrestled through to touch the ball against the bottom of the post, with TMO Alan Rogan confirming the try and replacement Declan Cusack converting.

In injury time, O’Donnell’s 25-metre burst saw him gallop through for try number five with Munster’s minds already on next Friday’s trip to Swansea.

Jonathan Sexton takes a penalty in the 2011 Heineken Cup quarter-final. (File pic)

Munster 9 Leinster 18

Leinster found an extra gear in the final quarter to stretch clear of arch rivals Munster and give themselves a boost ahead of next week’s Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

Ronan O’Gara drew Munster level in the 54th minute at Thomond Park, but Leinster secured the provincial bragging rights and four more RaboDirect PRO12 points with a superior finish.

Jonathan Sexton and Fergus McFadden kicked closing penalties and Ian Madigan, another of Leinster’s talented reserves, landed a fine drop goal to seal only the province’s second win at Thomond Park since 1995.

A series of unsettled scrums and unforced errors made for a scrappy first 40 minutes dominated by referee Nigel Owens’ whistle and Sexton’s right boot, with Leinster establishing a 9-3 interval lead.

Owens sin-binned props Marcus Horan and Mike Ross early in the second period and Munster reacted best with O’Gara getting the home side back on terms.

However, with Joe Schmidt unloading an experienced bench, Leinster exerted enough control in the closing stages with man-of-the-match Isa Nacewa the leading attacking threat.

This top of the table clash got off to a typically breathless start with two turnovers in the opening minute and an early try-scoring opportunity for Rob Kearney, who knocked the ball over the try-line as he tried to gather Sexton’s well-weighted kick.

The visitors enjoyed the best of the early territory and Sexton kicked them ahead with a long-range penalty in the 10th minute.

It took over 20 minutes for the scrum to settle with Ireland internationals Horan and Ross going down together on a number of occasions. A decision against the latter went unpunished when O’Gara hit the left-hand upright.

A bout of loose kicking did little for the game as a spectacle, and while there was a distinct lack of continuity the contest at the breakdown was as ferocious as ever.

Munster got on the front foot after the welcome sight of a clean scrum. Sean Cronin infringed at a ruck in the Leinster 22 and O’Gara duly punished him with the levelling penalty from the right.

Munster were guilty of going off their feet at ruck time on the restart, allowing Sexton to swiftly restore Leinster’s three-point advantage.

Leinster began to put more phases together in attack as half-time approached, with Gordon D’Arcy, on his 200th appearance, and Kevin McLaughlin carrying well.

A third penalty success for Sexton, after Horan dropped a scrum, put six points between the sides at the break.

Both Horan and Ross saw yellow three minutes into the second half as referee Owens lost his patience with the pair.

The next scrum saw Heinke van der Merwe infringe and O’Gara made no mistake with his kick from 40 metres out.

Munster gained some much-needed momentum in the third quarter with replacement Wian du Preez steadying the scrum.

O’Gara missed his next shot at the posts, but was back on target in the 54th minute to level the game after Brad Thorn was penalised for a high tackle.

By the hour mark, Leinster had issued a strong response with Nacewa and Sexton threatening from purposeful attacks. The latter then kicked his final penalty to make it 12-9 before being replaced by Madigan.

Leinster’s lead may have been a narrow one but there was a better flow to their game at this stage, and Nacewa was soon sprung through a gap from a lineout forcing Munster to scramble back.

A BJ Botha scrum infringement led to McFadden, Sexton’s place-kicking replacement, landing a 70th-minute penalty for 15-9 and the tide was turning blue.

Leinster’s experienced bench was a key factor as they ground out the result. A short burst from Cian Healy led to fellow replacement Madigan sending over a snap drop goal and the fast-breaking McFadden was a pass away from creating a late try.

Munster's Simon Zebo.

Connacht 16 Munster 20

Connacht had the better of possession and territory but Munster still managed to win a rip-roaring RaboDirect PRO12 derby.

Chasing their first interprovincial win since April 2010, Connacht foraged into a 10-6 half-time lead thanks to a converted try from hooker Ethienne Reynecke.

The 7,022 attendance, a record crowd for a league game in Galway, watched Simon Zebo zip though for a levelling try with just over 20 minutes left.

Miah Nikora, who finished with 11 points, kicked Connacht back in front only for flanker Tommy O’Donnell’s 67th-minute try to seal it for the visitors.

Nikora drifted a drop goal attempt to the left and wide as wind-assisted Connacht enjoyed the better of the early possession.

His opposite number Ian Keatley, back at the Sportsground for the first time since his move to Munster, fumbled a high ball and then threw a forward pass during a nervy opening.

The performances of the respective full-backs, Connacht captain Gavin Duffy and Munster’s Felix Jones, stood out. The pair were rock solid under the high ball and always willing to counter from deep.

Keatley misjudged his first shot at the posts and five minutes later, Nikora landed his first penalty with a steady wind behind him.

Connacht’s lead was quickly erased, though. From the restart Henry Fa’afili was called for obstruction and Keatley brought Munster level.

The visitors were reduced to 14 men when their captain Mick O’Driscoll saw yellow for pulling a player back off the ball as Connacht pressed for a try.

Connacht wasted little time in making their numerical advantage count, a forceful lineout maul resulting in Reynecke muscling over to the right of the posts.

Nikora added the extras but good work from the Munster forwards allowed Keatley claw back three points while O’Driscoll was off the pitch.

Into the second half, Connacht settled back down to their task with an early Nikora penalty and strong carries from Ronan Loughney and Ray Ofisa had them back within sight of the whitewash.

Zebo did well to hold up Duffy over the line after the Connacht skipper had gathered Nikora’s pinpoint cross-field kick. Munster survived a series of five-metre scrums before hitting back on the scoreboard.

Johne Murphy passed long to the left for Denis Hurley who offloaded out of a tackle for the supporting Murphy and he sent the onrushing Zebo in behind the posts for a well-executed try.

Keatley converted to square things up at 13-all. The home side dug deep and earned a kickable penalty for Nikora who he duly sent over.

But Munster showed a clinical edge again when the London Irish-bound Tomas O’Leary attacked off a lineout and passed for O’Donnell to shrug off two tacklers and crash over for a try.

Keatley’s successful conversion opened up a four-point gap and it was enough for Munster to win and jump back above the Ospreys into second in the table.

Munster's Keith Earls and Simon Zeba tackle Scarlets' Liam Williams during last week's victory at Thomond Park. (Pic: Julien Behal/PA)

Munster reclaimed third place in the RaboDirect PRO12 thanks to a bonus point victory over Benetton Treviso at Thomond Park.

Niall Ronan registered the only try of the opening 40 minutes, with Treviso’s Kris Burton converting two of his three penalty opportunities.

Munster improved their 10-6 half-time lead with a converted effort from Keith Earls, only for Manoa Vosawai to hit back with a try for Treviso within four minutes.

But man-of-the-match James Coughlan crossed for a deserved score and Simon Zebo’s late touchdown confirmed a five-point haul for the province.

Treviso, who travelled over early on Friday, were clearly up for this one having already won in Ulster and Connacht this season.

Burton kicked the opening points for the Italians, but Munster threatened straight from the restart with Ronan called back for a forward pass from Conor Murray.

A well-orchestrated maul from the hosts ignited their attack again, but Wian du Preez knocked on with a try looking likely. They remained on the front foot for Ronan O’Gara to draw them level with a 19th-minute penalty.

There was a degree of rustiness to Munster’s play but with 24 minutes on the clock, flanker Ronan raced onto Lifeimi Mafi’s inviting offload and showed a clean pair of heels to the Treviso cover to go over for the opening try.

O’Gara converted but then missed a difficult penalty attempt from the left, after Treviso were shunted back in a scrum.

A crisply-struck penalty from Burton then punished Donncha O’Callaghan for going offside, leaving Franco Smith’s men well in touch at the turnaround just four points behind.

They might have been in an even better position at the break but blew a great counter-attacking chance, and Burton also struck the woodwork with a difficult penalty.

The early stages of the second period were scrappy with Treviso using a decent platform of possession to cause Munster problems.

But lovely footwork from Earls saw him burst away from Burton and go in under the posts for a try that helped settle Tony McGahan’s side, with O’Gara converting.

There were no signs of the Italians wilting though.

A well-worked lineout set up by captain Antonio Pavanello led to big Fijian Vosawai being driven over from a few metres out.

Burton failed to convert from wide out on the left and it was Munster’s turn to find another gear, Murray going close before Coughlan’s drive over from close range was rubber-stamped by television match official Seamus Flannery.

O’Gara converted to make it 24-11 and all but settle the match as a contest.

Brendan Williams blocked a Mafi pass with another home try on the cards as the defensive work ultimately took its toll on the Italian outfit.

The visitors defence was breached once more when a good carry from Coughlan and neat passing from Ian Keatley preceded Zebo’s try in the corner, before frustration got the better of Treviso replacement Simon Picone who received a red card in the final seconds.