Ulster failing to kick on after beating Leinster last week is a damning indication that they're still not at the level to compete with the four-time Champions Cup winners throughout the course of a season.
To go to Dublin and win is difficult to achieve in most seasons, but with the dominance that Leinster have had in the league in the last couple of years it shows how big a statement it was from Dan McFarland's side. To tactically outclass their hosts at the breakdown and to fire the last shot in the game should have lifted their season.
However, the latest loss will sow a seed of doubt into the team again.
Ulster’s inconsistency is turning into a problem for McFarland and his coaching team. They had a strong team going over to Swansea and have now wasted the biggest morale booster that they could have asked for.
One loss won’t upset their whole season, yet the timing of the loss will be a sucker punch heading into the European block. The Ospreys are improving again after a few dour seasons in the league, but if Ulster are serious about their business, they have to go to Swansea and win while rotating a couple of positions.
It’s going to take something special to turn Ulster into trophy contenders and while Duane Vermeulen may provide that spark, but one player won’t make enough difference on his own.
From a Leinster perspective, they got to grips with an all-action affair with Connacht, despite an error-strewn opening quarter.
Andy Friend's side were sharp out of the blocks, taking a page from the Ulster playbook and really disrupting Leinster’s breakdown. On the attacking side of the ball, they were quick, moved the ball around while punching holes in the Leinster defence.
The Carty cross-field kick for Mack Hansen to continue his impressive run of try-scoring was an exhilarating finish to really strong build up play. Leinster hit back with another contender for the try of the weekend when Ringrose touched down following Van Der Flier’s juggling and an Alaalatoa offload.
The visitors made two errors within a minute at the very start of the second half and that’s all the men in blue needed to wrap up the bonus point win.
Before this, Connacht were starting to put a string of results together after recently beating Ulster and stylishly beating Ospreys in Galway last weekend. They were the unfortunate ones to face Leinster coming off the back of a loss, but it shows the difference between the Leinster set-up and the chasing pack at the moment.
Strangely, the loss to Ulster probably did Leinster some good in the long run. Going into Europe, they’ll have to improve their attacking breakdown and they’ll have learned some lessons about themselves while going behind in a match, it isn’t often that it happens.
Leo Cullen's team will be feeling the pressure as well to mount a real challenge in Europe, because as the other URC teams have struggled to stop Leinster from winning the league, Leinster have struggled to overcome the real European powerhouses in the last couple of seasons.
Having to improve their standards because of a loss to Ulster will be a positive thing in the long run.
The domestic league is important as it allows regular rugby for teams to build the confidence and resilience needed to launch a bid for a successful season.
If you win a few games in a row, then stutter with a loss and repeat, there’s a lot of time wasted during the year with correcting old errors and dealing with frustrations.
These weekends really allow us to see where Irish club rugby is
However, the Irish provinces will be judged on their performances in Europe. These weekends really allow us to see where Irish club rugby is. There’s no more squad rotation and IRFU restrictions on player management.
Leinster will put the foot down now until Christmas and will steamroll Bath next weekend before facing a much tougher challenge at the hands of Montpellier.
Ulster have the chance to regain control of their season as they travel to Clermont and then host Northampton.
Both teams are in a good run of form and the two weeks will really challenge Ulster and is likely to dictate their success again this year. If they don’t pick up at least one win from the next two games, it could be a very long season of introspection and self-doubt.
The same can be said for Connacht and Munster, particularly for Munster coming off the back of a lot of disruption.
We'll learn a lot about where Irish club rugby is at over the next two weeks
The Champions Cup is a special competition, particularly these winter rounds heading into the Christmas period. The support and atmosphere inside the stadiums are incredible and the rugby played often throws up some surprises. You can really see which teams will make a breakthrough in the early rounds of the tournament.
Success in this competition is becoming increasingly difficult due to the structural changes and the resurgence of French domination in European rugby. The physicality and squad depth needed now to go all the way is something that Irish teams have struggled with in the last five years or so.
We’ll learn a lot about where Irish club rugby is at over the next two weeks. After an impressive Autumn for the international team, the club game needs to back that up with a strong presence in Europe.
