It feels like the campaign has just started, but the 2025/26 URC regular season reaches the mid-point this weekend for most sides, barring a few who had postponements earlier in the season.
As usual, 2026 begins with a round of Interpros as Ulster host Munster in Belfast on Friday night, before Leinster and Connacht do battle at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Find out all you need to know about the games here.
RADIO
There's live commentary of Leinster v Connacht on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
TV
Leinster v Connacht (Saturday, 5.30pm) is live on TG4 and Premier Sports, as is Sharks v Lions (Saturday 3.30pm), while Ulster v Munster (Friday, 7.45pm), and all other games, are available on Premier Sports and URC.tv.
ONLINE
We'll have a live blog and live score updates, reports and reaction.
WEATHER
There is a yellow snow/ice warning in place in Antrim in the early hours of Friday, and while it should be finished by the time Ulster and Munster play, it will make for a very cold night in Belfast, with temperatures around 3C, with a chance of some showers.
It could be even colder in Dublin on Saturday for Leinster v Connacht, with temperatures dropping as low as 1C by full-time, although it's expected to be a dry, clear evening which should suit good rugby.
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Two sides who have started the season well, and whoever wins this weekend will be cementing their position as a contender for a home quarter-final this season.
Munster were frustrated to settle for a losing bonus point on 27 December against Leinster, although Clayton McMilllan's side remain second in the table coming into this weekend's game.
They did the double over Ulster last season, including a dramatic, late win in Belfast before Christmas 2024, when Tom Farrell's try with the final play of the game gave them an unlikely bonus-point win.
Munster have won the last three meetings of the sides, and four of the last five, and they also have a reasonable record in Belfast, winning three of their last five at Affidea Stadium.
Ulster are much improved this season though, and have won all four home games across URC and Champions Cup, scoring a bonus-point in each.
Richie Murphy's side are the top scorers so far this season with 231 points (33 per game), a stat that is even more impressive considering they have played a game less than several others after the postponement of their meeting with Edinburgh.
Ulster: Jacob Stockdale; Werner Kok, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Zac Ward; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Angus Bell, Tom Stewart, Tom O'Toole; Iain Henderson (capt), Joe Hopes; Cormac Izuchukwu, Nick Timoney, Bryn Ward
Replacements: Rob Herring, Eric O’Sullivan, Scott Wilson, Harry Sheridan, David McCann, Conor McKee, Jake Flannery, Jude Postlethwaite
Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Dan Kelly, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams; JJ Hanrahan, Paddy Patterson; Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Barron (capt), Michael Ala’alatoa; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Tom Ahern, John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen.
Replacements: Lee Barron, Jeremy Loughman, Conor Bartley, Jack O’Donoghue, Brian Gleeson, Ethan Coughlan, Tony Butler, Seán O’Brien.
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU).
After a slow start, Leinster are putting together a run of results with six wins in a row, four of which have come in the URC.
The defending champions aren't dominating sides in the manner we're used to seeing, but two Interpro wins over the Christmas period have lifted them up to sixth in the URC table, ahead of these two games against Connacht, which book-end the second half of their Champions Cup pool stage.
A lot of that momentum would be lost, however, if they start the new year with a defeat to Connacht, who they have won nine times in a row against since their last defeat in January 2021.
Connacht have struggled so far this season under Stuart Lancaster, and while they are still only ninth in the table, some late bonus-points are doing a lot of heavy lifting for their position.
The province have lost five of their last six URC games, which include defeats to Cardiff and Dragons, the latter of which saw them concede 48 points to the previously winless Welsh side.
Last Saturday's defeat to Ulster was their 10th consecutive defeat in an Interpro, with their last win against an Irish province coming against Munster on New Year's Day 2024.
A defeat to Leinster would put them on their worst run of Interprovincial results for 12 years.
Leinster: Ciarán Frawley; Tommy O'Brien, Hugh Cooney, Charlie Tector, Joshua Kenny; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan (captain), Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, Brian Deeney; Diarmaid Mangan, Will Connors, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, Conor O'Tighearnaigh, Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Luke McGrath, Harry Byrne.
Connacht: Sam Gilbert; Chay Mullins, David Hawkshaw, Bundee Aki, Finn Treacy; Josh Ioane, Matthew Devine; Denis Buckley, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Finlay Bealham; Joe Joyce, David O’Connor; Josh Murphy, Cian Prendergast (captain), Sean Jansen.
Replacements: Eoin de Buitlear, Billy Bohan, Fiachna Barrett, Darragh Murray, Paul Boyle, Ben Murphy, Harry West, Cathal Forde.
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
