Advertisement
It’s the season of goodwill, meeting family and friends and tearing lumps out of your interprovincial rivals. Festive! The opening dish of this annual December feast saw Connacht play host to red hot Ulster, while Munster and Leinster locked horns in a sizzling and meaty Thomond Park epic.
Here are our takeaways from the home-cooked grudge matches.
Leinster: An Ugly Win is Still a Win(ning Run)
13-8 is not a scoreline that screams ‘epic’, but Leinster’s gnarly victory in Thomond Park was just that. A fifth minute Josh van der Flier try, converted by Harry Byrne, was the buffer needed to outlast their bitter rivals in front of a hostile sellout crowd of over 26,000.
The result, however imperfect, marks six wins on the bounce for Leo Cullen’s men, which cannot be sniffed at. Question marks remain, but right now, in the busiest block of the pre-Six Nations part of the season.
As attention turns to Connacht’s trip east on Saturday, Leinster could enter 2026 with three consecutive interpro wins, a firm standing in Europe, and a sleeping giant in the URC.
High standards bring high expectations; but it’s a position 99% of club teams would love to be in.
Munster: Floor Raised. Now Raise the Ceiling
I won’t go full “we lost but we won” because frankly, this was 3 points dropped by Munster. The home side were not at their best on Saturday, and if they had been, it’s fair to assume they would have gotten over the line.
Costly handling errors and a lack of penetrative attack led to a scoreless opening 54 minutes, and in fact when the game needed to be chased down, with fresh vitriol from the replacements bench, Munster did look the sum of their parts.
Given that one of Clayton McMillan’s first stated aims was to “raise the floor” of this team’s performance levels; at the turning of the calendar year, it feels like the Kiwi coach has been successful.
Like the opening URC block, and try bonus point victories over Gloucester and Ospreys; Munster look to be finding a way when off colour. Falling short here was testament to their floor, against a fellow URC favourite; but they now need to raise their ceiling if they are to turnover Toulon, Leinster, Stormers or whomever they face between now and season's end.
Ulster: Fun to Watch, Plus Results
It’s one thing to play flamboyant, entertaining jouer rugby. It’s another to match that with results. Somehow, despite a weaker depth chart than last year, Ulster have managed to marry the two, and look a proper side now.
Saturday evening’s appetiser saw a rotated, imperfect, but fun-to-watch Ulster squad march down to Galway, and strut home with a full complement in a 24-29 victory.
However, this was not a nip-and-tuck contest. Connacht flew out to a 10-0 lead at the half hour mark; conceded 26 unanswered points across the next 22 minutes of play time, hit back with two tries, before Jack Murphy’s late penalty sealed an away win.
If nothing else, it’s gripping to watch.
With Munster coming to town next, and a continually favourable Challenge Cup pool, it’s hard to be downbeat about any of Ulster’s recent or upcoming games.
Connacht: I Cannot Figure You Out Yet
Connacht are a side who are so often misunderstood, and that trend has not changed under Stuart Lancaster. They currently sit 9th in the URC, courtesy of eight bonus points, despite winning just two of their seven games.
So where are they? I have no idea!
There is no shame in losing an interpro, but Connacht have only won 2 of their last 14 interprovincial matches, since their 2023 URC Quarter-Final scalp in Belfast. By any metric, that is pitiful. For Connacht, a team who often ‘pitch up’ for local derbies; it will be a source of frustration.
Their form in 2025 hasn’t been much better. Played 22, won 9, lost 13.
They have spent the calendar year in a perpetual state of unknown, which is really hard to shake off.