THE TRIPLE CROWN decider in Dublin hogged the Irish rugby focus last weekend, but there were some important results elsewhere that boded well for the future.
Sunday saw Andrew Browne’s Ireland U20s mimic the feat of the senior team as they wrapped up an impressive Triple Crown in style, scoring seven tries in a big win against Scotland.
It was the culmination of an impressive campaign that saw the young Irish team start with a disappointing loss to France but recover to rack up four wins, earning silverware and marking out plenty of potential within the group.
There’s still a Junior World Championship to come in June and July, but the hope has to be that a big bunch of this U20s squad will get chances to kick on into senior professional rugby with their provinces sooner rather than later.
Speaking of the provinces, last weekend was a happy one as Connacht and Ulster both recorded excellent bonus-point wins in their rescheduled URC games.
Ulster came from behind against Edinburgh on Friday night, notching a bonus point to leave themselves third in the URC table with only six regular-season games left. With Ulstermen like Stuart McCloskey, Rob Baloucoune, Nick Timoney, and Tom O’Toole playing such big parts in Ireland’s Six Nations campaigns, these are good times for the northern province.
Friday also saw Stuart Lancaster’s Connacht earn a bonus-point win at home against the Scarlets. That’s a third victory in a row for the westerners, who are now just outside the play-off spots.
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Darragh Murray was back into Connacht training on Monday. Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
Lancaster’s men do still have to go to South Africa to play the Stormers and the Lions, but they have worked their way back into the mix for a quarter-final spot and Champions Cup qualification.
Next up, it’s a visit to Ulster this Friday for what could be a cracking game. Both provinces should be boosted by the return of some Ireland internationals who didn’t have major workloads in the Six Nations.
After Farrell’s squad finished on such a high, the hope is that the good vibes will roll back into the provinces’ campaigns.
Munster, currently sixth in the URC table, have a challenging few weeks ahead given that they’re on tour in South Africa. They play the Sharks this weekend and then visit the Bulls in Pretoria, before the Challenge Cup Round of 16 trip to Exeter.
So this is a very important period for Clayton McMillan’s men. Munster have risen to the challenge when on the road before, and they will need to elevate things a few levels after the middling winter months of their season.
Connacht and Ulster have home games in the Round of 16 in the Challenge Cup, with the Sharks visiting Galway and the Ospreys taking the trip to Belfast.
All three of the Irish provinces will be targeting a spot in the Challenge Cup final in Bilbao on Friday 22 May.
Leinster are the sole Irish side aiming for Champions Cup glory, and it will be intriguing to see how the business end of their season takes shape with so many in-form Ireland internationals returning to camp in the coming weeks.
James Lowe and James Ryan joined the injury list during the Six Nations but most came through unscathed and Leinster are also set to welcome Andrew Porter and Hugo Keenan back from long-term injuries.
Rónan Kelleher at Leinster training on Monday. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
As ever, Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber will have to manage their resources, but they can look into this final block of the season with excitement at having freer rein.
This season has been hugely disrupted so far because Leinster got such a big group of their squad back so late after the Lions tour, then had to manage their playing minutes frugally up until the Six Nations.
Fourth-placed Leinster visit URC leaders Glasgow on Saturday in a big league game, with the Irish province only four points behind the Scots coming into the weekend. There is much to be gained.
As is the case with Ulster, Cullen’s Leinster have already been on tour in South Africa so they’ll be confident of finishing the regular season strongly, while they get their Champions Cup tilt going again with a home Round of 16 clash against Edinburgh on 3 April.
Victory would give Leinster a home quarter-final against Harlequins or Sale the following weekend, so they’d be fancied to reach a semi-final against Glasgow, Bulls, Toulon, or the Stormers. The only scenario in which Leinster would have to travel for the semis is if they’re facing Glasgow.
On the other side of the draw, Bordeaux and Toulouse are on a collision course for the quarter-finals, taking one of the big favourites out at that stage, while Bath are seen as the other team to watch.
The plain reality is that Leinster are expected to be in the Champions Cup final on 23 May in Bilbao, while simultaneously driving on with their bid to get back into the URC final on 20 June.
The Six Nations was compelling and brilliant, but the next three months of Irish provincial rugby should be plenty of fun too.
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As dust settles on Six Nations, exciting times ahead for Irish provinces
THE TRIPLE CROWN decider in Dublin hogged the Irish rugby focus last weekend, but there were some important results elsewhere that boded well for the future.
Sunday saw Andrew Browne’s Ireland U20s mimic the feat of the senior team as they wrapped up an impressive Triple Crown in style, scoring seven tries in a big win against Scotland.
It was the culmination of an impressive campaign that saw the young Irish team start with a disappointing loss to France but recover to rack up four wins, earning silverware and marking out plenty of potential within the group.
There’s still a Junior World Championship to come in June and July, but the hope has to be that a big bunch of this U20s squad will get chances to kick on into senior professional rugby with their provinces sooner rather than later.
Speaking of the provinces, last weekend was a happy one as Connacht and Ulster both recorded excellent bonus-point wins in their rescheduled URC games.
Ulster came from behind against Edinburgh on Friday night, notching a bonus point to leave themselves third in the URC table with only six regular-season games left. With Ulstermen like Stuart McCloskey, Rob Baloucoune, Nick Timoney, and Tom O’Toole playing such big parts in Ireland’s Six Nations campaigns, these are good times for the northern province.
Friday also saw Stuart Lancaster’s Connacht earn a bonus-point win at home against the Scarlets. That’s a third victory in a row for the westerners, who are now just outside the play-off spots.
Lancaster’s men do still have to go to South Africa to play the Stormers and the Lions, but they have worked their way back into the mix for a quarter-final spot and Champions Cup qualification.
Next up, it’s a visit to Ulster this Friday for what could be a cracking game. Both provinces should be boosted by the return of some Ireland internationals who didn’t have major workloads in the Six Nations.
After Farrell’s squad finished on such a high, the hope is that the good vibes will roll back into the provinces’ campaigns.
Munster, currently sixth in the URC table, have a challenging few weeks ahead given that they’re on tour in South Africa. They play the Sharks this weekend and then visit the Bulls in Pretoria, before the Challenge Cup Round of 16 trip to Exeter.
So this is a very important period for Clayton McMillan’s men. Munster have risen to the challenge when on the road before, and they will need to elevate things a few levels after the middling winter months of their season.
Connacht and Ulster have home games in the Round of 16 in the Challenge Cup, with the Sharks visiting Galway and the Ospreys taking the trip to Belfast.
All three of the Irish provinces will be targeting a spot in the Challenge Cup final in Bilbao on Friday 22 May.
Leinster are the sole Irish side aiming for Champions Cup glory, and it will be intriguing to see how the business end of their season takes shape with so many in-form Ireland internationals returning to camp in the coming weeks.
James Lowe and James Ryan joined the injury list during the Six Nations but most came through unscathed and Leinster are also set to welcome Andrew Porter and Hugo Keenan back from long-term injuries.
As ever, Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber will have to manage their resources, but they can look into this final block of the season with excitement at having freer rein.
This season has been hugely disrupted so far because Leinster got such a big group of their squad back so late after the Lions tour, then had to manage their playing minutes frugally up until the Six Nations.
Fourth-placed Leinster visit URC leaders Glasgow on Saturday in a big league game, with the Irish province only four points behind the Scots coming into the weekend. There is much to be gained.
As is the case with Ulster, Cullen’s Leinster have already been on tour in South Africa so they’ll be confident of finishing the regular season strongly, while they get their Champions Cup tilt going again with a home Round of 16 clash against Edinburgh on 3 April.
Victory would give Leinster a home quarter-final against Harlequins or Sale the following weekend, so they’d be fancied to reach a semi-final against Glasgow, Bulls, Toulon, or the Stormers. The only scenario in which Leinster would have to travel for the semis is if they’re facing Glasgow.
On the other side of the draw, Bordeaux and Toulouse are on a collision course for the quarter-finals, taking one of the big favourites out at that stage, while Bath are seen as the other team to watch.
The plain reality is that Leinster are expected to be in the Champions Cup final on 23 May in Bilbao, while simultaneously driving on with their bid to get back into the URC final on 20 June.
The Six Nations was compelling and brilliant, but the next three months of Irish provincial rugby should be plenty of fun too.
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Six Nations Ireland provinces trophy hunt URC