The final round of games in the BKT United Rugby Championship, and a chance for those left out by Ireland head coach Andy Farrell to put the spotlight on themselves.
With Ireland's international contingent all being wrapped up in cotton wool ahead of next week's game against South Africa, the four provinces will be without a lot of their key men this weekend.
There should still be a lot of venom in the air at Thomond Park, where both Munster and Ulster will be desperate for a result; Munster to get back on track after last week's loss against Leinster, while Ulster's gastroenteritis episode in Durban means their postponed game against the Sharks could ultimately become a cancellation if there isn't enough time to reschedule it in the calendar.
Leinster kick the weekend off on Friday night away to the out of form Scarlets, with Leo Cullen's men already putting daylight between themselves and the rest of the league, seven clear at the top after last week's win against Munster.
And after a difficult start to the season, Connacht can end this first block of games with back-to-back wins, if they can get the better of the Ospreys in Swansea.
TV
Munster v Ulster (Saturday, 5.15pm) and Ospreys v Connacht (Saturday, 7.35pm) are both live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, while Scarlets v Leinster (Friday, 7.35pm) is available to watch on TG4.
RADIO
RTÉ Radio 1 will have live commentary of Munster v Ulster on Saturday evening at Thomond Park.
ONLINE
RTE.ie/sport will have live scoring and blogs across the weekend with match reports and reaction from the grounds. All games are live on URC TV.
WEATHER
Conditions should be reasonable in Llanelli for Scarlets v Leinster, with no rain forecast, and temperatures around 14C. The Ospreys and Connacht won't be so lucky, however, with an 80% chance of rain in Swansea on Saturday night, according to forecasts. Meanwhile, there's also a possibility of rain in Limerick for Munster v Ulster, but it's hoped the heaviest showers will have passed before the 5.15pm kickoff.
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Munster's performance showed further progression last week, but when it comes to the URC table it counted for nothing as they fell to a fourth defeat of the season.
This week, the need for a result outweighs the need for a performance, although they will likely need the latter if they're to achieve the former.
Ulster have been in brilliant scoring form this season, second only to Edinburgh in the scoring charts, despite playing a game fewer than most of their rivals.
It remains to be seen what lasting effects remain from the bug that inflicted the team in their trip to South Africa, with 29 players and 13 support staff members of their touring party falling victim to gastroenteritis.
Dan McFarland's side were big winners when these teams met in the quarter-finals of last season's URC, ending a run of three consecutive defeats to their rivals.
It is eight years since Munster were last beaten by Ulster at Thomond Park, although the sides did draw 24-24 in a meeting here in 2018.
Ulster have won only twice away from home to an Irish province since 2015, beating Connacht at the Sportsground in December 2020 and Leinster at the RDS Arena in November 2021.
Munster: Mike Haley; Shane Daly, Malakai Fekitoa, Rory Scannell, Patrick Campbell; Jack Crowley, Paddy Patterson; Dave Kilcoyne, Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan; Edwin Edogbo, Eoin O'Connor; Jack O’Donoghue (capt), John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, Evan O’Connell, Cian Hurley, Neil Cronin, Ben Healy, Simon Zebo.
Ulster: Stewart Moore; Ben Moxham, James Hume, Luke Marshall, Ethan McIlroy; Billy Burns, Nathan Doak; Andy Warwick, Tom Stewart, Marty Moore; Alan O'Connor (capt), Sam Carter; David McCann, Sean Reffell, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: John Andrew, Rory Sutherland, Gareth Milasinovich, Cormac Izuchukwu, Jordi Murphy, John Cooney, Angus Curtis, Craig Gilroy.
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
It's stating the obvious, but the difference between a 2:5 and 3:4 win-loss record for Connacht after this block of games would be huge.
Andy Friend's side look to be growing into the season after their disastrous start but a defeat to this unpredictable Ospreys side would leave them back in trouble.
The new signings are bedding in; David Hawkshaw has slotted into the centre well, linking up nicely with Jack Carthy, while Peter Dooley and Josh Murphy have added some good experience to the pack.
The Ospreys have been impossible to predict this season. Two weeks ago they bounced back from a hammering against Ulster to earn a draw with the defending champions Stormers, but followed that up with a loss against the Dragons in Round 6.
While the Welsh side are at home, the form book gives Connacht a solid chance of picking off a result; Connacht's only defeat in their last five encounters with Ospreys was 20-26 at the Sportsground in January 2021, while they won on their most recent trip to Swansea in 2019.
And the province have also won their last three games against the Welsh sides, looking to do four in a row for the first time in 20 years.
Ospreys: Max Nagy, Luke Morgan, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles, Jack Walsh, Reuben Morgan Williams, Rhys Henry, Scott Baldwin (CAPT), Tom Botha, Rhys Davies, Huw Sutton, Ethan Roots, Harri Deaves, Morgan Morris
Replacements: Sam Parry, Garyn Phillips, Ben Warren, Jack Regan, Tristan Davies, Matthew Aubrey, Luke Scully, Cai Evans
Connacht: Tiernan O'Halloran; Alex Wootton, Tom Farrell, David Hawkshaw, John Porch; Jack Carty (capt), Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jack Aungier; Oisin Dowling, Gavin Thornbury; Shamus Hurley-Langton, Conor Oliver, Paul Boyle.
Replacements: Grant Stewart, Jordan Duggan, Sam Illo, Darragh Murray, Paul Boyle, Kieran Marmion, Tom Daly, Adam Byrne.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
FULL FIXTURES, RESULTS AND TABLE
Watch Munster v Ulster and Ospreys v Connacht in the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday 29 October from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Listen to live commentary of Munster v Ulster on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, or follow our live blog on RTE.ie
