Four games down and the tempo increases a notch with the double header of interpros.
As Johnny Sexton alluded to during the week, the bad blood between these sides didn’t start after the 2016 Pro12 final or the thrashing at the end of last season. It’s been building. Let’s face it, the Munster-Leinster thing isn’t what it used to be so it’s healthy for the ratings of the derbies to have some needle in them.
Connacht will be on a high after a very impressive win over Scarlets, getting defeats to Glasgow and Edinburgh out of the system
Leinster, meanwhile, sent out the big guns against Edinburgh and took some heavy hits in a hard-fought victory.
"It was very physical," Sexton, who finished his 65 minutes by converting his own try, told RTÉ Sport.
"That will stand to us going forward."
Connacht boss Andy Friend said: "Our challenge this weekend is to rise to that occasion and make sure we give our fans something to be really proud of cheering of and make it really uncomfortable for them to come to the Sportsground."
Who would have guessed it?
Munster, with Johann van Graan fully bedded in, off to a dodgy start in the league, while Ulster, off the back of an incredible difficult season, are unbeaten and displaying a team spirit beyond what anyone would expect for a newly-assembled side with a late-arriving coach.
Munster have two wins at home and two defeats on the road. More worryingly is that they didn’t really lay a glove on Glasgow or Cardiff in those losses.
"Last week certainly wasn't the standard we would be talking about, a long way off actually," Peter O’Mahony told RTÉ Sport.
Ulster, on the other hand, dug deep out in South Africa, and came back home with seven points from a win and a bonus-try draw. Eleven of their points tally of 15 were earned with last-gasp plays.
"Let say we hadn’t got those kicks, we still would have reviewed in the same way," said Dan McFarland.
"You have to do that. So in terms of achieving the results, the process is really important, so even when your winning there’s a sense you can’t pat yourself on the back and say well done."
Listen to live coverage of both games on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
