Duncan Casey: Provinces might be struggling in URC but club rugby is going from strength to strength

If you ask those at the coal face, the verdict is pretty unanimous: the standard of the AIL is the highest it has ever been.

STRENGTH TO STRENGTH: Clontarf players celebrate with supporters. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

It was a weekend to forget for the Irish provinces, with all four teams suffering defeat in the 16th round of URC action. While the effect on  Leinster will be nothing more than a bruised ego, it leaves the rest sitting in the bottom half of the table – outside the playoffs – with just two games to go. It’s a troubling sight. My money is on Munster doing enough to make the top eight but Ulster and Connacht falling short, meaning neither the Galway nor Belfast contingents will see Champions Cup action next year.

Plenty of recent column inches, including my own, have been dedicated to the worrying growth in the gap between Leinster and the rest this year. The problem is apparent to anyone with even a passing interesting in Irish rugby and while it will continue to be discussed at length in the months and years to come, I’ll take a break from the doom and gloom on this occasion and focus on a branch of the game that is going from strength to strength in Ireland.