After a weekend off, the four Irish provinces return to action as attention moves from the Christmas Interpros to the second half of the Investec Champions Cup pool stage.
There's plenty at stake for Leinster, Munster and Ulster, each of whom have had different starts to the campaign.
With two wins from two so far, Leinster know a win against their familiar rivals La Rochelle will see them take a big step towards securing one of the top seeds for the remainder of the competition, while Ronan O'Gara's side will have revenge on their mind after two defeats to the province last season.
Munster's campaign is finely balanced with one win and one defeat, and they know a win against Saracens at Thomond Park will give them a great opportunity to get home advantage in the Round of 16.
Winless Ulster face two games against English opposition in consecutive weeks, the first of those against Leicester Tigers on Saturday, and Richie Murphy's side know that a defeat at Welford Road on Saturday night could see them eliminated with a game to spare.
Find out all you need to know about the weekend's games here.
ONLINE
We'll have live updates, live scoring, reports and reaction from all games on rte.ie/sport.
TV
You can watch live coverage of Munster v Saracens (Saturday 5.30pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Leicester Tigers v Ulster (Saturday 8pm) and La Rochelle v Leinster (Sunday 3.15pm) are live on Premier Sports. The Challenge Cup meeting of Connacht v Lyon (Saturday 8pm) is also on Premier Sports.
RADIO
There will be live commentary of La Rochelle v Leinster on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport.
WEATHER
The current cold snap is expected to have eased by Saturday when Munster host Saracens. It's expected to be a dry evening in Limerick, with moderate winds and temperatures around 5C. Weather conditions will be similar in Galway where Connacht face Lyon in the Challenge Cup.
It will be much colder across in Leicester where Ulster take on the Tigers, with temperatures likely to drop below freezing to -1C by the time the game kicks off at 8pm.
Finally, it looks like La Rochelle and Leinster will be playing in ideal rugby conditions in the west of France on Sunday, with a sunny afternoon and 5C temperatures forecast.
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Given how finely Munster's campaign is balanced, their meeting with Saracens at Thomond Park feels quite like 'Moving Day' at a golf major.
With six points from their opening two games, their pool run could still go either way. A win against Saracens has the potential to ignite their campaign, but a defeat would leave them facing a very difficult away trip to Northampton next week, where they would not want to go chasing a result.
This will be a 12th meeting of Munster and Sarries in the Champions Cup, with Munster's previous opponents Castres being the only side they have come up against more often.
The province lead the head-to-head standings 6-5, and have won all four of their clashes at Thomond Park, the most recent being a 10-3 victory in dreary conditions in December 2019.
Three-time champions Saracens have won two from two so far, defeating the Bulls and Stade Francais, and Mark McCall's side.
While they are third in the Premiership, their recent form has been wildly inconsistent. Their pool stage wins came off the back of a defeat to Newcastle Falcons, while over Christmas they were stuffed 68-10 by Bath, a result which was wedged between impressive wins against Northampton and Bristol.
Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Rory Scannell, Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Dian Bleuler, Niall Scannell, Oli Jager; Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Jack O'Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan, Stephen Archer, Tom Ahern, John Hodnett, Paddy Patterson, Billy Burns, Brian Gleeson.
Saracens: Elliot Daly; Liam Williams, Alex Lozowski, Nick Tompkins, Lucio Cinti Luna; Fergus Burke, Ivan van Zyl; Phil Brantingham, Jamie George, Marco Riccioni; Maro Itoje (capt), Harry Wilson; Juan Martin Gonzalez, Ben Earl, Tom Willis
Replacements: Theo Dan, Eroni Mawi, Alec Clarey, Max Eke, Nathan Michelow, Gareth Simpson, Olly Hartley, Tobias Elliott
Referee: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
With two heavy defeats from their two games so far, Ulster's hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions Cup are hanging by a thread as they head to Wellford Road on Saturday evening.
Those defeats came in a brutal run of form for Richie Murphy's side, among five losses in a row in all competitions.
They ended that run with a morale-boosting 17-7 win against Connacht after Christmas, and victory this weekend would see them right back in contention for a spot on the Round of 16, ahead of welcoming Exeter to Belfast next Friday.
This will be the 12th meeting of the sides across the Champions and Challenge Cups, with Ulster leading the head-to-head stakes 7-4. The most recent clash came in the Challenge Cup semi-final, with the Tigers winning 33-24.
Leicester were 56-17 winners against the Sharks in Round 2, rebounding from an opening loss away to Bordeaux.
Michael Cheika's side have made the most dominant carries (69), carry metres (1,136), and postcontact metres (416) in the competition so far.
Leicester Tigers: Freddie Steward; Josh Bassett, Izaia Perese, Solomone Kata, Ollie Hassell-Collins; Handre Pollard, Jack van Poortvliet; Nicky Smith, Julian Montoya (capt), Joe Heyes; Cameron Henderson, Jed Holloway; Finn Carnduff, Tommy Reffell, Olly Cracknell
Replacements: Charlie Clare, James Whitcombe, Dan Cole, Harry Wells, Emeka Ilione, Ben Youngs, Jamie Shillcock, Joe Woodward
Ulster: Ethan McIlroy; Werner Kok, Ben Carson, Jude Postlethwaite, Zac Ward; Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Scott Wilson; Iain Henderson (capt), Cormac Izuchukwu; James McNabney, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Replacements: James McCormick, Eric O'Sullivan, Corrie Barrett, Kieran Treadwell, Harry Sheridan, John Cooney, Jack Murphy, Rory Telfer.
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
This game doesn't need a hard sell.
Four years ago, Leinster and La Rochelle had never faced each other, but Sunday's clash on the west coast of France will be their sixth meeting since.
For four seasons in a row, one of these teams has had their season ended by the other: La Rochelle beating Leinster in the semi-final in 2021, and the finals for 2022 and 2023, before Leinster got one back over Ronan O'Gara's side in the quarter-final last season.
This is also the second year in a row they've been drawn in the pools, with Leinster winning 16-9 in the soaking rain at Stade Marcel Deflandre in December 2023.
This will be the toughest task yet for Leo Cullen's side, who have won 11 games out of 11 in all competitions this season, while their hosts have struggled to hit their best form in the Top14, sixth in the table with eight wins and six defeats.
La Rochelle: Brice Dulin; Jack Nowell, UJ Seuteni, Jules Favre, Dillyn Leyds; Antoine Hastoy, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Reda Wardi, Quentin Lespiaucq, Uini Atonio; Thomas Lavault, Kane Douglas; Paul Boudehent, Oscar Jegou, Grégory Alldritt (capt)
Replacements: Nikoloz Sutidze, Alexandre Kaddouri, Georges-Henri Colombe, Ultan Dillane, Levani Botia, Judicael Cancoriet, Matthias Haddad, Hoani Bosmorin
Leinster: Jamie Osborne; Tommy O'Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O'Brien; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Cian Hely, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Andrew Porter, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Jordie Barrett.
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GEO)
After picking up bonus-point wins against Zebre and Perpignan, Connacht are the only team to have picked up maximum points in the opening two rounds of the Challenge Cup.
Those victories for Pete Wilkins's side have contrast their URC form, where the province have lost three games in a row.
These teams played each other 12 months ago in the Champions Cup - on that occasion Lyon were 34-20 winners on home soil.
Connacht are without Ireland international Mack Hansen due to suspension. The 26-year-old is serving the first game of his three-match ban for comments about the officiating of his side's defeat to Leinster last month.
Tenth in the Top14, Lyon have seen an upturn in their form in recent weeks. Having lost five games in a row leading up to the end of November, the French side won back to back games against Cardiff and Zebre in the opening rounds of this competition, while they have two draws and a win in their last three domestic matches.
Connacht: Santiago Cordero; Chay Mullins, Piers O'Conor, Bundee Aki, Shane Jennings; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Oisín Dowling, Joe Joyce; Cian Prendergast (capt), Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sean Jansen.
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jordan Duggan, Jack Aungier, Josh Murphy, Paul Boyle, Caolin Blade, Cathal Forde, David Hawkshaw.
Lyon: Alexandre Tchaptchet; Semi Radradra, Josiah Maraku, Thibaut Regard, Vincent Rattez; Fletcher Smith, Martin Page-Relo; Hamza Kaabeche, Sam Matavesi, Irakli Aptsiauri; Félix Lambey (capt), Tomas Lavanini; Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, Marvin Okuya, Maxime Gouzou
Replacements: Guillaume Marchand, Lyan Pakihivatau, Jermaine Ainsley, Killian Geraci, Pierre-Samuel Pacheco, Charlie Cassang, Alfred Parisien, Martin Meliande
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Elsewhere in Ulster's Pool 1, winless Exeter host Bordeaux-Begles at Sandy Park on Saturday afternoon, while defending champions Toulouse are in South Africa to face the Sharks.
Leinster's Pool 2 rivals are all in action on Sunday, with Bristol hosting Benetton and Bath welcoming Clermont Auvergne to the the Rec.
In Pool 3, Munster supporters will be keeping a keen eye on Paris, where Stade Francais host Northampton Saints on Saturday, as well as the meeting of Castres and the Bulls.
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