The linear view from an Irish perspective of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures, the final round of the league stage of the tournament which will determine the quarter-final line-up, focuses exclusively on Munster and whether they can make the last eight with a win over Benetton in Musgrave Park on Friday night.
The fates of the other three Irish provinces are already determined. Leinster will start the knock-out stage of the competition as number one seeds irrespective of what happens against Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night, while Ulster and Connacht must reconcile not only missing out on the playoffs but being consigned to the European Challenge Cup next season.
However, there is a great deal more at stake this weekend, especially for those Ulster and Connacht players who get one last opportunity to impress ahead of selection for the Paul O’Connell-led Ireland squad for a two-match summer Test series against Georgia in Tbilisi (July 5th) and Portugal (July 12th) in Lisbon.
‘Getting the top two inches ready’ - How important is sports psychology to breaking a losing habit?
The Irish squad will be announced in mid-June, roughly either side of the URC Grand Final. Andy Farrell has chosen 15 Irish players to go on the Lions tour to Australia. Everyone outside that group will be hoping for active rugby duty with the national squad.
Today there’s 838 sleeps to the opening game of the 2027 World Cup in Australia. The next time that Ireland play a Test after the Lisbon game, against New Zealand in Soldier Field, that marker will have fallen below the two-year klaxon. The jostling process in determining a pecking order for Irish selection provides a backdrop to the denouement of the URC.
Looking specifically at Ulster and Connacht, that’s one game. Take for example Jacob Stockdale, a 29-years-old and probably the best finisher in Irish rugby despite a modest try-scoring rate of five for his province this season.
In 13 games for Ulster he has beaten 62 defenders, creating space and opportunity for team-mates, all achieved in a team that has struggled for consistency and form. He’s dabbled a little at fullback too, a position in which he has also played international rugby.
He has played just three Tests for Ireland in the last four years – an ankle injury cost him 12-months – and during that time he has had to try to evolve into the style of wing that Farrell prefers, industrious and showing initiative to work in channels other than the orthodox ones.
Stockdale possesses the size, power, a siege gun left foot, a finely calibrated chip and chase-kicking option, pace and footwork that can inflict huge damage. He needs to be in national team livery this summer to press claims in the absence of the Australia-bound James Lowe, Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan.
The same is true of Connacht’s Shayne Bolton, the South African-born, Irish-qualified right wing, who missed out on last year’s Emerging Ireland tour through injury, having been an original selection. At 24-years-old and blessed with power and speed, he offers qualities that are far from commonplace; he had a strike rate in an injury-curtailed season of just under a try every two matches.
Calvin Nash (Munster), Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster), Tommy O’Brien (Leinster), Jordan Larmour (Leinster) – if fit in time – and Rob Baloucoune (Ulster) illustrate that there’s plenty of competition for wing spots, while young Finn Treacy (Connacht) and Seán O’Brien (Munster) have been consistently excellent when presented with opportunities.
In narrowing the focus on players for whom the weekend is a last chance to impress – the expectation is that Munster will extend their season – there is no shortage of motivation whether you are perennial Irish squad members from Ulster like Stuart McCloskey, Nick Timoney, Rob Herring or Tom O’Toole, occasional ones like Mikey Lowry, or those looking to take the next step.
Centre Jude Postlethwaite is a fine prospect, more so perhaps as a 12 going forward, Stewart Moore is rugby’s version of a Swiss army knife, while young outhalf Jack Murphy has coped very well at times in featuring in some big games.
Up front Cormac Izuchukwu has already been capped, while tight head prop Scott Wilson and backrowers Dave McCann and James McNabney are among the best young prospects in the country.
Down Connacht way, captain Cian Prendergast is an Irish international who would have reasonable claims to start the summer Tests, while flanker cum number eight Sean Jansen is highly regarded by the Irish coaching cohort.
Scrumhalf Ben Murphy has enjoyed a superb season despite being sidelined for a while with an injury. The fact that he managed to hold off Caolin Blade, who played a pivotal role in Ireland’s second Test win against South Africa in Durban last summer, and Matthew Devine, speaks volumes for his input and impact.
Devine is a talented young prospect, recently linked with a move to La Rochelle, something that might seem more appealing if he feels stuck in a logjam at the province. Cathal Forde, Hugh Gavin and Shane Jennings have the talent to progress, with the youngest Gavin (21) perhaps the most likely to squeeze into that Irish squad this summer.
Winning is paramount for Ireland in the two Tests but so too the facility to bring a handful of young players with the capacity to step up in a blended team sheared of so many frontline players. This weekend represents a final audition for Ulster and Connacht players to be pitch perfect in their delivery.
