It's hard to believe by Sunday evening we'll be a third of the way through the BKT United Rugby Championship regular season.
Round 6 of 18, and while Leinster and Ulster look to be setting a fast pace, a bloated mid-section of the table sees one bonus-point win separating fourth from 12th.
With this being the penultimate round of games between now and the international break, now is the time to strike, particularly for those on the outskirts of the play-offs.
There are no prizes for guessing the big game of the weekend, with Leinster and Munster renewing rivalries at the Aviva Stadium.
Last week's win for Munster against the Bulls showed they are starting to find their feet under the new coaching ticket, and although their recent record against Leinster doesn't point towards a win, if they can pick off a victory at the Aviva Stadium, it will leave their league position looking far healthier.
Unfortunately, a gastroenteritis outbreak in the Ulster squad has seen their meeting with the Sharks postponed, but kicking things off for the Irish will be Connacht, their third home game in a row seeing them welcome Scarlets to the Sportsground on Friday night, hoping they can marry a result to their performance after last week's 10-0 defeat to Leinster.
TV
Leinster v Munster (Saturday, 5.15pm) is live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, while Connacht v Scarlets (Friday, 7.35pm) is available to watch on TG4.
RADIO
RTÉ Radio 1 will have live commentary of Leinster v Munster on Saturday evening at the Aviva Stadium, and we will also keep you updated on Sharks v Ulster, which kicks off at the same time in Durban.
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
We're expecting favourable conditions at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening, with dry conditions forecast, and temperatures of around 13C. Connacht and the Scarlets will have similar temperatures on Friday, but a 50% chance of rain, according to forecasts, and wind picking up as the night goes on.
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Given their treacherous fixture list to start the season, it's fair to say Connacht have been given some allowances when it comes to criticism of their poor start to the season.
But with two games to go until the Autumn international break, Andy Friend's side have no excuses if they slip up against the Scarlets and Benetton.
Like Connacht, the Scarlets only have one win to show for their first five games, but a draw and three bonus-points have them five points ahead of the province in the table.
The Welsh side have struggled against Irish opposition in recent seasons, losing five in a row against Irish sides dating back to March 2021, one of those being against Connacht in Llanelli last season.
Defensively, Connacht have sharpened up recently; they conceded an average of 34 points per game in the opening three matches against Ulster, Stormers and Bulls, but limited Muntser and Leinster to just two tries and 30 points in total across their last two games.
Unlike last season, the western province are struggling to fire in attack, with their 59 points across five games averaging out at just under 12 points per game.
Connacht: Tiernan O'Halloran; John Porch, Byron Ralston, David Hawkshaw, Mack Hansen; Jack Carty (capt); Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Niall Murray, Leva Fifita; Cian Prendergast, Conor Oliver, Paul Boyle
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jordan Duggan, Jack Aungier, Oisín Dowling, Jarrad Butler, Colm Reilly, Cathal Forde, Alex Wootton
Scarlets: Leigh Halfpenny; Johnny McNicholl, Steff Evans, Jonathan Davies (capt), Ryan Conbeer; Sam Costelow, Kieran Hardy; Steff Thomas, Ken Owens, Harri O’Connor; Jac Price, Tom Price; Josh Macleod, Dan Thomas, Sione Kalamafoni
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Kemsley Mathias, WillGriff John, Morgan Jones, Iwan Shenton, Dane Blacker, Rhys Patchell, Corey Baldwin
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
Last week showed us the first signs of progress for Munster under new head coach Graham Rowntree, but they will need to make an even bigger step up in class if they're to pick off what would be a rare win against Leinster.
Since Munster did the double on their neighbours in 2014/15, Leinster have won 15 of the last 18 between the sides, the most recent Munster victory coming in the Rainbow Cup at the RDS in 2021.
The Aviva Stadium has also been a tough venue for Munster to visit down the years, with Leinster winning all but one of their 12 previous meetings at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road, that victory coming in 2014.
Leinster's start to the season has been straight-sailing so far, five wins from five and three bonus-points along the way seeing them begin the weekend two points clear of Ulster.
Leinster: Ciarán Frawley; Jimmy O'Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne; Johnny Sexton (capt), Luke McGrath; Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Jason Jenkins, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris
Replacements: John McKee, Andrew Porter, Michael Ala'alatoa, Ross Molony, Jack Conan, Nick McCarthy. Ross Byrne, Rob Russell
Munster: Jack Crowley; Shane Daly, Dan Goggin, Rory Scannell, Liam Coombes; Joey Carbery, Conor Murray; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Keynan Knox; Jean Kleyn, Tom Ahern; Jack O'Donoghue (capt), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes
Replacements: Scott Buckley, Dave Kilcoyne, James French, Jack O’Sullivan, Ruadhan Quinn, Paddy Patterson, Ben Healy, Patrick Campbell
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
FULL FIXTURES LIST, RESULTS AND TABLE
