Mid-term report card: How are the Irish provinces faring so far this season
Star men: Connacht's Jack Carty, Leinster's Rhys Ruddock, Munster's Peter O'Mahony, and Ulster's Billy Burns.
2nd Conference B
9 5 4 6 26
Had a chance to put real pressure on conference leaders Munster but slipped to another home defeat and now have an 11-point deficit to make up if they are to make a first final appearance since their triumphant charge to the PRO12 title in 2016.
2 2
Game performances in Paris at Racing 92 and home to Pat Lam’s Bristol Bears proved fruitless in terms of results and leave Connacht fighting to make the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Jack Carty. The fly-half has regained the confidence and form he lost after the World Cup and has re-emerged as a genuine contender for an Ireland recall.
Beating Leinster 35-24 at the RDS in Dublin on January 2 not only inflicted the first league defeat on the PRO14 champions since April 2019, it was a statement performance from Andy Friend’s side that Connacht are getting back to their vibrant best.
Some astute signings during the Friend tenure including the trio of Sammy Arnold, Conor Oliver and Alex Wootton (on loan) from Munster last summer, have borne fruit this season, blending neatly into a Connacht set-up that has seen halfbacks Kieran Marmion and Carty regain their swagger of late while lock Quinn Roux also looks like a player reborn.
The lack of consistency from one performance to the next continues to hamper Connacht’s progress under Friend, who has pointed to a need for his players to believe in both the gameplan he wants them to execute and in themselves to fulfil their potentials.
Andy Friend has had nothing but a positive impact on Connacht since his arrival three years ago and he clearly has buy-in from his players. They are a force to be reckoned with when they are at the top of their game but the frustration lies in their inability to scale the heights on a regular basis and the westerners will need to kick on again if they are to be considered title contenders and not just a team capable of putting in stellar one-off performances.
2nd Conference A
9 8 1 9 41
The title is Leinster’s to lose once more as they march towards a fourth consecutive title although their surprise loss to Connacht at home on January 2 brought an end to a 26-match winning streak in the league. With two games in hand of Conference A leaders Ulster and only five points in arrears, another final appearance is certainly within their grasp.
2 2
Sitting pretty atop Pool A as one of only two teams with maximum points from opening wins over Montpellier (away) and Northampton Saints (home), last September’s quarter-final defeat to Saracens still seems to drive this squad on in its quest for a record fifth European title.
Rhys Ruddock may have been overlooked by Andy Farrell in his Ireland selections but the back-row is having a great season in blue.
Returning from Montpellier with a bonus-point victory in the opening round last month was a mark of this side’s calibre as a European powerhouse. They lost Johnny Sexton from the bench before kickoff and fielded a European debutant in Jimmy O’Brien at full-back, as well as a first-time Champions Cup starter at centre in Ciaran Frawley but it was a dominant performance, particularly from the forwards that proved too hot for the big-spending French to deal with.
The production line of talent just keeps churning out gems and Leinster’s ability to field winning second and even third teams in the PRO14 is a testament to a strength in depth that is the envy of Europe.
There have been few setbacks so far this season but losing at home to Connacht nine days ago was definitely one, bringing to an one of the great winning streaks in Irish and PRO14 rugby.
The ongoing injury problems of Tadhg Furlong are a worry for both Leinster and Ireland. The Lions tighthead missed much of last year with a back spasm while a calf injury is now keeping the front row superstar sidelined.
Leinster march on and despite that upset loss at home to Connacht continue their relentless charge towards a fourth PRO14 title in a row but one feels that only further European glory and a first Champions Cup triumph in three years will appear to satisfy Leinster’s hunger for silverware.
1st Conference B
9 8 1 9 37
Bounced back well from their first loss of the campaign at Ulster with a win over conference rivals Connacht on Saturday to maintain course for a first final appearance in four seasons. Now lead the westerners by 11 points for the race to the only qualifying spot.
2 2
On course for the two-legged quarter-finals after seeing off Harlequins at home and then coming back from the dead against ASM Clermont Auvergne in round two to win 39-31. Now have to to repeat the task this month, at home to Clermont Saturday, then away to Quins.
Peter O’Mahony looks back to his best this season and with the emergence of Gavin Coombes alongside CJ Stander as interchangeable blindside/No.8 options, is settling in brilliantly on the openside in what is looking like a complete back row for the men in red.
The 39-31 win at Stade Marcel Michelin last month was one of those very special Munster awaydays in Europe, a victory for the ages and one of the great comebacks from a terrible start as Clermont led 28-9 after 24 minutes.
The lay-off between March and August was good for Munster’s new coaches Stephen Larkham and Graham Rowntree to make a real impression and gain valuable time with the squad and that is bearing fruit this season, particularly with an evolving gameplan.
The loss to Ulster in Belfast on January 2 after head coach Johann van Graan rested his frontline stars en masse not only meant the end of Munster’s nine-game winning start to 2020-21 but underlined there is still a way to go for the Reds to have the genuine strength in depth that old foes Leinster enjoy.
The ongoing absence of Joey Carbery allied to long-term injuries for summer signings Matt Gallagher and RG Snyman is denying van Graan the opportunity to field his ideal starting XV.
Munster are on the up. They are playing with intelligence and vision while their younger players, some of them still in the academy, have made the most of the opportunities afforded them by van Graan.
1st Conference A
11 10 1 6 46
Succumbed to their first league loss of the season in Dublin on Saturday and though this has been a strong start from Dan McFarland’s side as they bid to return to the final for the second season in a row, it looks like they will need a favour from other sides now to stave off the challenge at the top of their conference from Leinster.
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Narrow defeats to both Toulouse at home and Gloucester at Kingsholm have left Ulster in a scrap to reach the Challenge Cup quarter-finals with two pool games remaining.
Billy Burns earned his first Test cap for Ireland in the autumn and he is playing with the confidence to match in an Ulster jersey, keeping summer signing Ian Madigan out of the number 10 jersey for the big games.
It may have been against a below-strength Munster side but some of the attacking rugby Ulster played to open up a first-half lead over their interprovincial rivals was spellbinding, orchestrated by John Coney and Burns in the half-backs with centres Stuart McCloskey and Jack Hume at the heart of everything.
Ulster have reached a level of consistency in the league now that had been lacking in previous seasons and on top of that are playing some exciting rugby.
The Champions Cup campaign has been a disappointment and so too was the weekend defeat to Leinster/ Cause for concern: Marcell Coetzee’s decision to head back to South Africa at the end of the season is a huge blow to their plans for success. The back-rower has been one of the driving forces in the province’s resurgence and finding a replacement will be a tall order.
Two steps forward and one back after a difficult month in Europe and a first loss of the season in the PRO14. The shortening of the league campaign and removal of the play-offs in favour of qualification for just two teams straight to the final has not been kind for Ulster. Saturday’s loss at the RDS could be a defining moment for the campaign.
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