The opening block of BKT United Rugby Championship is over and we have a mini break before the autumn internationals kick off at the start of November.
Leinster, to no-one's surprise, lead the pack with a perfect record of six from six. They are six points clear at the top of the standings.
Saturday's 24-6 win over the unbeaten Lions was the first time they failed to pick up a bonus point but, aside from that, it’s been an excellent run from Leo Cullen’s side, who have used 47 players.
That includes debuts for youngsters Hugh Cooney and Stephen Smyth, both of whom went on the Emerging Ireland tour.
Cooney got his first start at the Aviva Stadium and impressed alongside Robbie Henshaw in the centre, while Smyth was denied a try when the referee decided he didn't want to wait around for a conversion, awarding a penalty try just before the hooker was about to dot down.
Stalwarts RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani also got their Leinster careers off to good starts.
While they can sit back and enjoy the Autumn Nations Series from the top of the pile, it’s Ulster who have to sit and stew in the thoughts of what might have been.
With Richie Murphy in his first full year in charge and plenty of talk about regeneration and building from the ground up with a youthful squad, they had dug out home wins against Glasgow, Connacht and Ospreys, which had them under par after the tour to South Africa, where they lost both games.
And with just 32 minutes to go on Saturday night in Cardiff they were 19-0 up and looked well capable of coming out of the block with a 4 and 2 record.
But they couldn't hold on, couldn’t add a score themselves and three converted tries by the hosts secured a memorable comeback. Incidentally, it was the most successful weekend for the Welsh outfits in over three years, with Scarlets and Ospreys also winning.
"We’re massively disappointed," said Murphy (above), whose side scored tries from Jude Postlethwaite (2) and Cormac Izuchukwu in the 21-19 loss.
"When you’re 19 points ahead, you should see it out and win the game.
"It's a tough one. We put some really good stuff together in the first half and before half-time Cardiff got into the game and started to put us under some pressure.
"We were probably lucky to come out of that period without conceding anything and we talked at half-time about how we approached that next 10 minutes after the restart.
"Unfortunately, we didn't look after the ball well enough, we kept giving away penalties, Cardiff had a free shot at us and eventually our defence broke.
"Credit to Cardiff who did really well tonight but we are very disappointed going home with a loss."
Leinster are Ulster’s next opponents and the table-toppers will come looking to set the record straight after losing home and away last season.
Connacht finished off their rollercoaster start with a big win over Dragons, scoring five tries in a 31-7 victory. Cathal Forde scored the bonus-point try with seven minutes to play and picked up the man of the match nod. He's been their outstanding player of the opening six games.
That puts them in fifth place on 18 points with three interpros out of the way, including two on the road.
"I think it is significant for us to be sitting where we are on the table going into the November break," said Wilkins on Galway Bay FM.
"I would have taken that at the front end."
The head coach was also asked about the recent stories concerning star man Bundee Aki (above), who has 57 Ireland caps.
The 34-year-old Kiwi native, who was recently granted Irish citizenship, has been linked with a move to France, with Toulon said to be interested in the powerful centre.
"There are always rumours around this time of year at contract time and as soon as the French clubs start doing business there is always chatter about that," he said on TG4.
"But, look, Bundee is happy here. We love Bundee and I think everyone knows that. The Irish public love Bundee and the Connacht public.
"The IRFU will work through that and I’m sure it will have a good resolution."
.@SharksRugby have come flying out of the traps! 📷
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 26, 2024
A try in the first minute here in Durban!#BKTURC #URC | #SHAvMUN pic.twitter.com/Gtvqkot0bp
Munster’s miserable trip to South Africa ended along suspected lines, another heavy defeat against a strong Sharks outfit adding to the round-five loss to the Stormers.
A late surge, including a brilliant Calvin Nash try, earned a bonus point but they were out of the game after conceding two tries in the opening five minutes. Operating in fits and starts against such a high-calibre home side was never going to be enough.
While the lineout showed improvement, a severely depleted front row was under pressure all day and they looked disjointed, missing 31 tackles in the 41-24 loss, which leaves them 12th in the table.
Despite 63% territory and 56% possession, they were on the back foot for the most part, getting turned over 17 times.
Graham Rowntree now has to assemble a side to take on an All Blacks XV in Thomond Park on Saturday.
Elsewhere
New Zealand are first on the menu for Andy Farrell’s Ireland with the All Blacks coming to Aviva Stadium for a Friday night lights blockbuster in 11 days’ time.
It will be the first meeting since last year’s World Cup quarter-final, which New Zealand won 28-24.
The visitors take on England next Saturday at Twickenham and got their tour under way with a big win over Japan at the weekend.
They scored ten tries in a 64-19 victory over Eddie Jones’ side in Yokohama.
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