Irish provinces face into more interprovincial rivalries this weekend.
Munster were, arguably, the most comfortable of the four teams last weekend.
They will need to make improvements on last weekend's second-half performance, but they came out of Swansea with a straight-forward bonus point win, despite allowing the Ospreys back into the game.
Clayton McMillan’s team can be satisfied with how they have performed this season so far.
They’ve won six out of seven games in the league, only losing one home game against the Stormers.
Their Champions Cup loss at Bath is the performance that will haunt them. The game unravelled early on and they were playing for pride from there.
Their most impactful win this season so far was their victory over Leinster in Dublin.
For most, it was surprising.
The squads on paper would have indicated a home win, but they got the job done, even missing their commander at scrum-half, Craig Casey.
This Saturday, they will face Leinster again, this time in Thomond Park.
They haven’t beaten Leinster back-to-back in ten years. Interestingly enough, their last three victories against Leinster were away from home.
Munster last got the better of their rivals in Thomond Park in the 2018/2019 season under Johann Van Graan.
James Lowe was red-carded that day for tackling Andrew Conway in the air (above), and Munster went on to win after a Keith Earls intercept sealed the deal.
Leo Cullen’s men are still the yardstick by which most teams are measured.
If Munster can beat them twice on the bounce, it could point towards a shift in the provincial landscape.
It may even point towards a lot more worrying times for Irish rugby, considering Leinster’s international representation.
The visitors are likely to rotate their squad to accommodate their international players and the management of their playing minutes through the IRFU.
Regardless of which team they put out, they will provide a serious challenge for Munster, and the litmus test for their hopes this season.
A win against Leinster could propel you to greater achievements in a season, however, a loss brings you back to reality pretty quickly.
Ulster experienced that rapid grounding in the final quarter of last weekend’s match.
They were in control of the scoreboard for the vast majority of their game in the Aviva stadium.
Richie Murphy’s team were 17-7 in front at half-time and possibly felt the weight of that lead heading into the second half.
They kicked the ball in the majority of their attacking plays in the third quarter.
They changed strategy slightly from what had worked for them in the first half and should regret that change in decision-making.
They weren’t completely free-flowing in attack in the first half, it was an intercept from Nathan Doak who fed Werner Kok for the try that gave them some daylight on the scoreboard.
They did cause Leinster problems with the ball in hand though, and should have continued to play on the front foot, through Stuart McCloskey in midfield.
Munster will take a lesson from that, as well as their victory in Dublin in October.
The difference in Aviva Stadium last weekend could be put down to the Leinster bench, springing multiple internationals while the Ulster squad became tired.
Both McCarthy’s, Joe and Paddy, Tadgh Furlong and Harry Byrne created the impetus for their comeback, and those players may well rotate into the starting team this Saturday.
Munster will also have to rotate a couple of bodies. Whether they play Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne in this fixture or the Ulster game is anyone’s guess.
You’d imagine they would prefer to hang on for one more game before taking a break and try to take a home win against Leinster.
Munster have enough quality across the pitch to cause Leinster problems, even with a slightly rotated squad.
They can now choose from Edwin Edogbo and Jean Kleyn to give them size in the second row, which supports their gainline efforts on both sides of the ball, as well as their ability in the scrum.
The scrum is probably the area that Leinster will target Munster, depending on selection on both sides.
It’s a component of the game that can provide control, access into an opposition half and can get teams out of difficult areas of the pitch if they scrummage for penalties.
Elsewhere, Munster will back themselves.
Casey will most likely resume his place at scrum-half, and having missed the last win, he will be full of energy and purpose.
Munster also have a group of centres that can dominate the tackle line.
Alex Nankivell is the one that gives the team the most personality, although Tom Farrell is also their attacking threat that causes the most trouble. Both will aim to quieten Leinster’s experienced All Black, Reiko Ioane.
Leinster have been getting out of jail in their recent fixtures.
They were slow to put a weakened Harlequins side away, fought back for a scrappy win against Leicester and had to come from behind to beat Ulster.
Drawing on resources like that takes a lot of energy out of a side.
They can’t keep getting away with doing the bare minimum by their standards.
This fixture will either prove that or it will be the right type of fixture to focus the minds and pull off a very Leinster-like performance.
Either way, it’s going to have an impact on their season.
Thomond Park is a difficult place to go for most teams besides Leinster.
This is a clash that they can use to elevate their season.
