As opening weekends go, the BKT United Rugby Championship organisers couldn’t have wished for much more.
After 41 tries scored, there was a combined total of 12 points separating 12 teams across the six fixtures, as no side won by more than a score.
The action began on Friday night with Edinburgh putting Leinster to the pin of their collar before Leo Cullen's men scrapped home 33-31, and ended with Ulster’s Dave Shanahan scoring with the last play of the game to earn an unlikely 20-19 win over the defending URC champions Glasgow.
Leinster lost their opening game last season, against eventual champions Glasgow, and had to rely on some heavy hitters - in the form of Ireland players Jamison Gibson-Park, James Ryan, Jack Conan and Garry Ringrose - to get the job done this time. Charlie Tector at inside centre had a fine outing, too.
In between those games we were treated to a ten-try Thomond thriller as Munster and Connacht decided that attack was the best form of attack.
Ultimately, it was Graham Rowntree's side who prevailed by two points as Connacht ran out of time after giving it their all, Mack Hansen making a sparkling return after his long-term shoulder injury.
Josh Ioane, who has one New Zealand cap to his name, opens the scoring for Connacht against Munster on his debut for the province. #MUNvCON pic.twitter.com/kCBtDMjCxe
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 21, 2024
That game saw competitive club debuts for Munster’s Billy Burns, Tom Farrell and Thaakir Abrahams, while Josh Ioane and Ben Murphy impressed on their Connacht bows.
Elsewhere, the other matches in the first round weren’t short on drama either: Cardiff had only five points, 22-17, to spare over Zebre, while the Dragons, Leinster’s opponents this Friday, edged a Welsh derby 23-21 over Ospreys.
Benetton and Scarlets, meanwhile, fought out a 20-20 draw in Treviso.
But the final stages of the Ulster-Glasgow clash was the most dramatic finish of the weekend. Kyle Steyn’s try with five minutes to play looked set to earn the visitors what would have been a deserved victory but Ulster refused to give in.
Richie Murphy’s men, trailing by four, had a scrum inside their own half in the final minute, almost lost possession but subsequently won a penalty and debutant Aidan Morgan kicked deep to the corner.
They pulled off a short lineout move before going through the phases within a couple of metres of the line. 'Stand up for the Ulstermen’ rang out across Ravenhill as the crowd sensed it was on.
A full three minutes later, Shanahan snuck over for the winner and Ulster took the four points.
Elsewhere
The South African franchises were not in URC action as they postponed their derby fixtures so as not to clash with the Currie Cup final, which, naturally enough, was decided by a late score.
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV beat the Fidelity ADT Lions, 16-14, thanks to a 59-metre penalty in the third minute of overtime from Jordan Hendrikse.
The Sharks, incidentally, will be in Galway on Saturday to take on Connacht, while the Lions will host Ulster in Johannesburg.
Not to be outdone, the Rugby Championship served up two more classics on Saturday.
After scoring four tries in the opening 25 minutes, New Zealand held off a late surge by Joe Schmidt's Australia to win 31-28, while Manie Libbok missed a penalty with 62 seconds left as the Springboks fell to a 29-28 defeat to Argentina.
The Pumas travel to South Africa for the final game of the tournament on Saturday but remain five points behind the world champions, who just need a solitary point to guarantee the title.
The defeat for the Springboks also put Ireland back on top of the world rankings, despite them not having played since the dramatic second Test in South Africa during the summer.
No half measures
There was some new blood and some rejigging but the combined half-backs across the four provinces had a major say on the outcomes.
Shanahan's quarterback sneak was the winning score for Ulster but out-half Morgan scored a fine try where he blocked down and collected a kick before getting back into position to drive his way over.
Nathan Doak, who started at scrum-half, contributed five points off the tee.
Gibson-Park was player of the match and Leinster needed all the Ireland scrum-half’s guile to edge Edinburgh. Sam Prendergast looked assured after being given the start ahead of Ross Byrne.
Murphy, who switched from Leinster over the summer, was the catalyst for Connacht’s pacey attack and the scrum-half scored twice and set up the break that led to Ioane opening the scoring with a touchdown in the corner.
Billy Burns, who moved from Ulster, was not convincing with his kicks out of hand but did contribute three conversions for Munster before departing with a shoulder injury.
It was his replacement, Tony Butler, on his ninth appearance, who kicked two late conversions to get the hosts over the line.
Munster's Ethan Coughlan, Connacht's Matthew Devine and Leinster's Cormac Foley are the three scrum-halves going on the Emerging Ireland tour, while Prendergast and Ulster's Jack Murphy are the only two out-halves going to South Africa.
Watch Zebre v Munster in the URC on Saturday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
Follow the RTÉ Sport WhatsApp channel for the best news, interviews, analysis and features, as well as details of our sports coverage across all RTÉ platforms.
