Interprovincial rugby is alive and kicking once again

With no Champions Cup rugby on the horizon for Munster, Leinster, and Ulster, the clock is being rewound and the internal warfare that defined the treasured inter-provincial series for over a century is back in fashion.

While the honour and glory attaching to being crowned top of the pile proved sufficient for the best provincial players in the country for decades, arguably, the stakes at play for the four Irish provinces over the next few weeks outweigh anything on offer in the amateur days.

Last Saturday’s captivating derby between Connacht and Leinster in Galway launched a sequence of five such encounters with the potential to change the face of provincial rugby in this country.