The second Six Nations break week means that attention turns back to domestic action, and a full round of games in the United Rugby Championship.
Eleven players from the Ireland squad have been released back to their provinces, and it will bulk out the teamsheets for the Irish sides, particularly Ulster and Connacht who face crucial games on Friday night.
Dan McFarland's side can solidify their place in the top two this weekend when they face Cardiff at Kingspan Stadium, while Connacht will be looking for a third win in a row as they travel to the Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
On Saturday, leaders Leinster will be expected to cement top spot, with Leo Cullen's side away to Benetton, while Munster will prepare for their South African tour with a home game against the lowly Dragons.
TV
Ulster v Cardiff (Friday) and Benetton v Leinster (Saturday) are live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, while Edinburgh v Connacht (Friday) and Munster v Dragons (Saturday) are live on TG4.
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
All four provinces are set to get reasonable weather conditions this weekend, with clear skies and temperatures of around 5C expected in Belfast for Ulster v Cardiff, and it's likely to be similar conditions across in Edinburgh where Connacht are in action against the Scottish side, albeit with a slight chance of rain. Leinster are in Treviso on Saturday afternoon where it's forecast to be a sunny afternoon and temperatures creeping into double figures. Munster v Dragons will naturally be a bit colder, but it's expected to be a dry evening in Limerick with just a slight breeze.
FUL URC TABLE, FIXTURES AND RESULTS
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
The table may say this is second against twelfth, but the table lies.
Cardiff have been hit hardest in the league by Covid-19 postponements, and with just seven games played in the URC this season, they have four games in hand on their hosts, with their 'true' position being arguably inside the playoff spots.
The Welsh side haven't played since their dramatic win against Leinster at the end of January, and they will hope they've not lost too much momentum in those six weeks.
It's 12 years since Cardiff last won in Belfast though and Dan McFarland's side have been formidable at home, winning every game they've played at Ravenhill this season.
The northern province are on a good run of form all-round, looking for a seventh win in a row in all competitions, which would bring them back to the top of the table, for the time being at least.
The return of Iain Henderson, James Hume, Nick Timoney and Robert Baloucone has also boosted Ulster's depth, and all four go straight into the starting team.
Ulster: Stewart Moore; Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Ben Moxham; Billy Burns, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Marty Moore; Alan O'Connor, Iain Henderson (capt); Jordi Murphy, Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Jack McGrath, Gareth Milasinovich, Sam Carter, Duane Vermeulen, John Cooney, Ian Madigan, Aaron Sexton.
Cardiff: Hallam Amos; Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Aled Summerhill; Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Brad Thyer, Kirby Myhill, Dmitri Arhip; Josh Turnbull (capt), Matthew Screech; Ellis Jenkins, Josh Navidi, James Botham
Replacements: Keiron Assiratti, Rhys Carre, Will Davies-King, Teddy Williams, James Ratti, Jamie Hill, Ben Thomas, Matthew Morgan
What a difference a few weeks makes. At the start of February Connacht fell to their fourth straight defeat in all competitions, while Edinburgh were looking like genuine title challengers.
But three defeats in a row - the last two of which came against Irish opposition - have seen the Scottish side drop down to fifth in the table, one place above Connacht who are looking for a third win in a row.
Andy Friend's side got their first win of the campaign without Jack Carty last week against the Stormers, but their captain is back from Irish camp this week and will start tomorrow night's game at the new Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
It's a ground that could suit Connacht's style of play, with a 4G pitch and favourable weather conditions exactly what the 2016 champions like to play with.
Even before Edinburgh moved into their new purpose-built stadium in the shadows of Murrayfield, Connacht have performed well in this fixture, winning on four of their last six trips to the Scottish capital.
Connacht: John Porch; Peter Sullivan, Sammy Arnold, Tom Daly, Alex Wootton; Jack Carty (capt), Caolin Blade; Jordan Duggan, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier; Oisin Dowling, Leva Fifita; Cian Prendergast, Conor Oliver, Paul Boyle
Replacements: Shane Delahnut, Tietie Tuimauga, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Niall Murray, Abraham Papali'i, Kieran Marmion, Tom Farrell, Jarrad Butler
Edinburgh: Henry Immelman; Ramiro Moyano, James Lang, Chris Dean, Emiliano Boffelli; Blair Kinghorn, Henry Pyrgos (capt); Boan Venter, Dave Cherry, Angus Williams; Pierce Phillips, Glen Young; Ben Muncaster, Connor Boyle, Mesulame Kunavula
Replacements: Adam McBurney, Harrison Courtney, Lee-Roy Atalifo, Jamie Campbell, Rudi Brown, Ben Vellacott, Jaco van der Walt, Matt Currie
Leinster fell to a surprise defeat to Cardiff on their last away trip at the end of January, and while they've blown hot and cold in their three home wins during February, it's hard to see them slipping up in Italy this weekend.
Leo Cullen's side have lost just once in their last 13 visits to Stadio Monigo, and that was nearly 11 years ago, while Benetton are expected to be without the best of their Italian internationals.
Marco Bortolami's side are winless in their last three, with a draw against the Dragons followed up by defeats to Glasgow and the Sharks in recent weeks.
It's seen them fall to 11th in the table, while they've played several games more than Cardiff and the Scarlets who sit just below them.
Benetton: Andries Coetzee; Lorenzo Pani, Joaquin Riera, Filippo Drago, Rhyno Smith; Tomas Albornoz, Alessandro Garbisi; Federico Zani, Corniel Els, Nahuel Tetaz; Nicola Piantella, Carl Wegner (capt); Matteo Meggiato, Lorenzo Cannone, Toa Halafihi
Replacements: Tomas Baravalle, Matteo Drudi, Cherif Traore, Abraham Steyn, Alessandro Izekor, Luca Petrozzi, Marco Zanon, Luca Sperandio
Leinster: Jimmy O'Brien; Jordan Larmour, Jamie Osborne, Harry Byrne, Tommy O'Brien; Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (capt); Peter Dooley, Seán Cronin, Thomas Clarkson; Ross Molony, Joe McCarthy; Rhys Ruddock, Scott Penny, Max Deegan
Replacements: James Tracy, Ed Byrne, Michael Ala'alatoa, Devin Toner, Dan Leavy, Cormac Foley, Rory O'Loughlin, Dave Kearney
Having had last week off, Munster are heading into the busiest period of their season.
Johann van Graan's side will be in action for the next nine weekends in a row, and that could become an even longer run should they advance to the quarter of semi-finals of the Champions Cup.
They will be expected to make a winning start to their stretch of games, with the Dragons second from bottom in the table, and their only win being a victory against Connacht way back in October.
Munster have had a couple of close shaves at home this season against Connacht and Ulster, but they're yet to be beaten, and are on an eight-game unbeaten run at their home ground.
The province can also call on Craig Casey and Gavin Coombes who have been released from Irish camp.
A win for Munster will see them consolidate their place in the top four, while they could move as high as second in the table, depending on results elsewhere.
Munster: Mike Haley; Shane Daly, Chris Farrell, Dan Goggin, Simon Zebo; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Jack O'Donoghue (capt), Chris Cloete, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Alex Kendellen, John Hodnett, Neil Cronin, Ben Healy, Rory Scannell
Dragons: Jordan Williams; Will Talbot-Davies, Jack Dixon, Aneurin Owen, Rio Dyer; Sam Davies, Rhodri Williams; Greg Bateman, Taylor Davies, Chris Coleman; Joe Davies, Joe Maksymiw; Harri Keddie (capt), Ollie Griffiths, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Ellis Shipp, Aki Seiuli, Mesake Doge, Huw Taylor, Ben Fry, Dan Baker, Lewis Jones, Josh Lewis
