European rugby will take a break for the festive period before action returns again in early January.
Irish provinces will mostly take on French opposition during the second weekend in January. The most eagerly-awaited fixtures will be Ronan O'Gara’s visit to Dublin to take on Leinster and Munster’s all-important away match in Toulon, which will be vital to their longer-term progression in this tournament.
In the meantime, rugby will return to the more simplified formats of domestic competitions. The Champions Cup always provided incredible fixtures, and while there might be a romanticised and rose-tinted memory surrounding the old format, the same jeopardy is hindering any of the pre-Christmas match-ups.
Domestic leagues remain simple to follow. Put more league points on the board than those around you and see where you land at the end of the regular season. The BKT URC has some added complications due to the four different pools being created to organise fixture scheduling.
However, at the end of the season, teams are ranked against everyone in the league and not like the European competitions where you are ranked against teams that you don’t get to face.
The URC will focus almost exclusively on derby matches with teams playing others in their pool across rounds 7, 8 and 9, before returning to European action afterwards.
In round 7, Munster will visit the Ospreys and Connacht will travel to the Dragons, while Leinster and Ulster contest an Irish rivalry.
Ulster haven’t won in their last three fixtures with Leinster. However, previous to that, and in the midst of changing head coaches, they registered back-to-back wins against Leinster in 2024. Richie Murphy’s first game with Ulster against Leinster resulted in victory and he’ll be hoping to use Friday night’s game to instil even more belief in his squad.
Leinster have been caught up in tight fixtures in the Champions Cup in the last fortnight. They had a short turnaround from their less convincing win against Harlequins to their hard-fought win against Leicester.
Those games back-to-back will have taken some energy out of Leinster’s front-line players. I don’t expect wholesale changes for the visit of Ulster, but Leo Cullen will have to freshen and manage his squad in this period before heading back into European action again.
Cullen will likely mix and match his squad, getting value for money from his new signing Reiko Ioane as well as splitting his resources when it comes to international players that will need to take mandatory rest in the coming weeks.
Ulster rotated some of their squad in last week’s disappointing, late loss to Cardiff in Wales. Murphy may still have a successful season in the Challenge Cup, although losing in Wales wouldn’t have been in the plans.
This disappointment can be harnessed and their energy can shift to refocusing their minds with a trip to Dublin, something that doesn’t faze them at all.
For the first time in a while, both Munster and Ulster sit ahead of Leinster in the table. While the league table is all the motivation that Leinster need, sitting in sixth position won’t appease them. Laying down a marker with games against the other three provincial rivals in the coming weeks will add to that motivation.
Munster and Connacht will travel to Wales before entering the interprovincial clashes. Both will be expecting to win on the road, despite some Welsh wins in the Challenge Cup in the last two weekends.
Connacht’s loss to Ospreys was disappointing, considering they gave up the lead late on. They rebounded by destroying the Black Lions last weekend and won’t be planning on gifting the Dragons their first win in the competition this season.
The Dragons beat Lyon in the Challenge Cup last weekend, yet they have only managed two draws in the league so far. They will be difficult to break down, especially at home, but Stuart Lancaster should have enough experience to prep his squad for a win in Wales on Saturday.
Munster’s eagerness to beat Gloucester early on resulted in a mass amount of errors. When they settled down they polished off a mixed performance with plenty of dominance. They’ll be using that bounce to beat the Ospreys in Wales on Saturday evening to propel themselves forward to a post-Christmas showdown with Leinster in Thomond Park.
Ospreys have only managed one win and a draw in the league this year, yet they can be dangerous and Munster won’t be taking their eyes off easier league points before they host Leinster on 27 December. Leinster won’t forget their last performance against Munster in Croke Park and will be seeking revenge, once they take care of Ulster this weekend.
The Irish Shield is arguably the most difficult and highly contested of the pools. It’s difficult for Irish provinces to face Leinster twice in the season while teams from other nations will only face them once. They’re not unbeatable as Munster and Ulster have shown, yet it’s still a tough draw.
Connacht haven’t beaten Leinster in their last 11 fixtures, dating back to the last iteration of this competition. They have to face Leinster twice every season, home and away, while the other teams surrounding Connacht in the URC league table will only face them once.
Irish provincial derbies will provide fierce competition across the Christmas period and are a welcomed distraction from the messy European rugby format of the last couple of weeks.
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