A great weekend of rugby kicks off tonight at Dexcom Stadium and it’s the ideal start to the weekend for Connacht supporters.
They’re playing the Sharks who beat Munster 45-0 only a couple of weeks ago in Durban. They’re a strong side, but they haven’t travelled with their full complement.
They have included Ox Nche and Vincent Koch. They’re the starting props and they have three World Cup medals between them. There’s also Eben Etzebeth, who got a 12-week ban after an eye gouge against Wales. He’s back, which means they’ll have a strong front five.
Connacht are on a great run at the moment. The work Stuart Lancaster has been doing is coming to fruition, so despite the strength of the aforementioned front five, I’m going for Connacht in that one.
Ulster will be expected to win against the Ospreys.
The only time they’ve lost at home this season was against Connacht two weeks ago, and they’ve bounced back well from that.
They know Ospreys well from the URC, so with a home crowd up in Belfast, I expect Ulster to win there.
Munster go to Exeter and they’ve been in the news for several reasons.
It’s been a traumatic few weeks for them, redundancies not least amongst them, and the trip to South Africa for back-to-back games was tough.
As I mentioned, they started off appallingly with that 45-0 loss to the Sharks. Then they went to Cape Town to heal their wounds for the weekend.
They showed a lot of courage, as you’d expect from a Munster group up in Pretoria. Playing in 30 degrees, they performed brilliantly but lost 34-31. So you’ve had a response there.
Tadhg Beirne is back for Munster
They’ve had to travel back again and they’re playing Exeter on Saturday.
They’ve named a very strong side. I mean, when you’ve the likes of Tadhg Beirne, Edwin Edogbo and Gavin Coombes up front and you’ve Craig Casey, Jack Crowley and Alex Nankivell in the back line, that means they’re going for it.
But Exeter are playing really well this year. They’re fourth in the Premiership and have a very strong pack themselves.
Sandy Park is a difficult place to go. Munster have been there a few times in recent years and haven’t won, so I think Exeter could just about edge this one.
Then it’s Leinster in the Champions Cup on Sunday. It’s hugely disappointing that Leinster are the only team in [that competition].
You go back a number of years and for Munster and Leinster, this was the time of the year when they really took off. Their history in this tournament is incredible.
But unfortunately, Leinster are the only representatives now. And I think it has to be said, the Champions Cup isn’t what it was. It’s going for a revamp in the next few years and I think it badly needs it.
For Leinster, it’s been kind of a mixed year, but I think this is their time now.
You go back to the start of the year, with the huge contingent they had in the Lions, that slowed the start of their season. You then had the November internationals and the Six Nations, so they’ve been all over the place.
This is the period where they can kick on. Edinburgh are 13th in the URC. The only caveat for Leinster is that RG Snyman is out for the year.
They have the resources, they have the depth in terms of quality up front and across the backline and they’re playing for the win on Sunday.
They’ll get a home quarter-final if they win, which again is incredibly lucrative. So I’m expecting Leinster to win this one with a bit of space at the end.
Donal Lenihan was speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
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