With Andy Farrell due to name his squad for the Autumn Nations Series on Wednesday, the weekend was the last chance for some of the players on the fringes to impress the Ireland head coach.
Certainly, a handful of players did their chances no harm as they bid to get game time against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia in November.
Chief among the hopefuls is Max Deegan, who won the last of his two caps two years ago against Fiji, that coming in a substitute appearance, following on two years from his previous cap in a brief Six Nations cameo against Wales in 2020.
Breaking into the Leinster backrow for European action is a brutally difficult task and he didn't make a matchday squad in the Champions Cup last season.
The path to an Ireland recall is even harder given Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony plays there, while Munster skipper Tadhg Beirne comes into the mix; he was selected at 6 for the second Test in South Africa over the summer.
Ulster pair Cormac Izuchukwu and Nick Timoney, and Connacht’s Cian Prendergast all travelled on that tour as well, while Deegan, who captained Emerging Ireland in 2022, hasn’t made ground since.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport earlier this month the 28-year-old, who was linked with a move to another province last season but signed a new Leinster contract, admitted that his was a crucial period if he aims to make a breakthrough.
"My game is feeling good, I'm playing a good bit more at 6, I feel like that suits my game well," he said.
On what he needed to step up to the next level, he said: "You want to have big moments, lineout steals, poaches or big moments in attack.
"Also, just the nuts and bolts of being a 6, big tackles, being an enforcer in the team and that's something I'm looking to bring into my game this year."
He’s certainly put his money where his mouth was since then.
It was an all-action display in the 33-12 win over Connacht on Saturday and the Dubliner grabbed the bonus-point try in the 45th minute, in addition to making 19 tackles and was heavily involved in Leinster’s line-out success.
It was his fourth appearance from Leinster’s five wins to date and he’s gone 80 minutes in three of those.
Jack Conan suffered a hamstring injury against Munster in round four and, although the Lions number 8 didn’t go on the summer tour, it might open up a spot for Deegan, who can’t have raised his hand any higher for Farrell.
Meanwhile, Jacob Stockdale has also taken his shot in a bid to move up the ranks and add to his 37 caps, the last of which came against Samoa prior to last year’s World Cup.
With Jimmy O’Brien and Jordan Larmour nursing injuries, Stockdale did his chances no harm over the last three rounds.
He scored a stunning trademark try against the Bulls, and added two more against Ospreys on Friday night, including an incredibly skillful finish in the corner for his second.
How did he manage that 😱
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 18, 2024
The @UlsterRugby backs move it perfectly and Jacob Stockdale flies in the corner 🫳#BKTURC #URC | #ULSvOSP pic.twitter.com/RIHs0g7UXG
The 28-year-old, named player of the match, dominated the attacking stats, returning nine successful carries, four clean breaks and 122 metres made.
"He's now being Jacob again, expressing himself and playing with a smile on his face, and that is just superb," former Ireland and Ulster wing Craig Gilroy wrote in the Belfast Telegraph.
"As for Ireland? You can’t take anything for granted here, so we’ll see how he goes as it would be quite a shock if Jacob’s not in the Irish squad for the four November Tests."
He also tops the URC charts for defenders beaten (25) and metres made (317) after five rounds.
The 2018 Six Nations player of the tournament will have his phone on extra loud for the next two days.
On the injury front, Farrell will sweat on Ciarán Frawley, who injured himself in the type of action - taking the ball into contact, occupying two defenders, creating space for the wingers – that will have endeared him further to the Ireland boss.
Leinster are due to issue an update on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Connacht were cryptic on Dave Heffernan’s fitness after the seven-cap hooker, widely tipped to feature in the autumn window, was a late withdrawal from media duty on Monday morning.
With Dan Sheehan, Rónan Kelleher, Rob Herring, Tom Stewart all injured, Munster’s Diarmuid Barron and Niall Scannell both removed during recent matches, it’s the last position that Farrell needs any more dropouts.
Elsewhere, Graham Rowntree (above) won’t know where to start with his charges as they come to terms with their 34-19 defeat to Stormers in Cape Town.
From passing the ball to the invisible man, a haphazard lineout (five lost) and dodgy scrum, the players will hope that Rowntree runs out of energy before he gets to two restarts, from two different players, that didn’t go ten metres as they chased the game late on.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat anything with the lads, they know that," he promised after the game. Yikes.
Watch Leinster v Lions in the URC on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
