Leinster and Ulster will hold the Irish flag in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup semi finals in Dublin and Belfast where Leinster take on Toulon and Exeter Chiefs visit Belfast. Both sides have had mixed performances since their respective quarter final wins.

In a clear sign of intent in particular from Ulster, they made wholesale change heading down to play Munster in the URC last weekend. While Leinster mixed and matched in defeat to Benetton who won with the last kick of the evening sealing a 29-26 win for the Italian side.

Those 2 defeats have hampered there URC play off ambitions but if both sides make it through the semi final stages this weekend in Europe those 2 losses won’t overly matter as both teams will be preparing for Finals in Bilbao.

Ulster have issues in the prop department and could be forced to select a number of players short on game time vs Exeter but could also welcome back Aengus Bell and Tom O Toole if injury reports are to be believed.

Only time will tell and when the team line ups will be announced we will then find out where Ulster is in terms of fit and available props for the tough task that awaits them against Exeter.

They have managed to secure a home semi final and that will provide them with extra opportunities in terms of trying to gain victory and reach a 1^st European final since the Heineken Cup final appearance back in 2012 in Twickenham.

Saturday night in Belfast offers Ulster a huge chance and they have played well enough through the campaign to feel they can secure a big win over Exeter who beat Munster in the last 16 before winning their quarter final against Benetton.

It will be a tight game between Ulster and Exeter and Ulster will back themselves on home soil but the issues they have up front could be the snag that could see them come up short. Exeter have had trouble up front themselves but seem to have found that kick and pick up in form just as Ulster have found form hard to come by in recent weeks but will know they have the attacking game plan to trouble any side.

Even though they are on home soil, I feel Exeter will just have enough to get past Ulster and book a spot in Bilbao.

Leinster will face Toulon at 3pm on Saturday in Dublin and will know they have to hit all the right notes if they are to get beyond another Euro semi final and make the big day in Bilbao. Leinster will not only have to face Toulon, they will have to battle those inner demons that have come up several times in the past couple of seasons due to a number of semi final defeats.

They have been here before and will of course dip into that experience and will pick Rieko Ioane from the off rather than leave him on the bench like they did with Jordie Barrett in a strange selection call from last year. Ioane can easily slot in on the wing as well at centre but to be fair the likes of Jimmy O Brien and JJ Kenny can lay claim to one of those wing spots with Tommy O Brien on the right wing.

Like Ulster, the form in recent times has been mixed and that is being generous from a Leinster point of view, of the 4 sides left I would put Leinster at no.4, Toulon at 3, Bath at 2 and Bordeaux Begles at number 1 as defending champions and the best positioned to retain their grip on the Champions Cup trophy.

I will go against the grain and say that Toulon will cause a shock on Saturday and beat Leinster in Dublin and the wait will go on for another Champions Cup win for Leinster.

It is certainly going against the conventional wisdom that both home sides would lose both semi finals but I am backing that very scenario to come up and say that Exeter and Toulon will make it to Bilbao over Ulster and Leinster…..  

The AIL ended yesterday with both the men’s and women’s finals taking place in Dublin in the Aviva Stadium. UL Bohs defeated Blackrock College in a tight finish scoring the winning try after the clock had gone over 80 minutes.

UL Bohs will be delighted that they found a way past a stubborn Blackrock side to gain victory on the AIL’s big day on centre stage in Ireland where there were no games in the URC or Women’s Six Nations to compete with for air time or coverage.

The men’s final saw St Mary’s College take on Clontarf in a fabulous advertisement for the club game and dare I say it, it matched if not bettered certain URC games of recent years. The standard is very high and yes it was two Dublin sides contesting the show piece this year as has been the case a few times in recent seasons with Cork Constitution one of the sides to break that strangle hold.

The AIL has struggled for breathing space since the early 2000s when it was the provincial set up that the IRFU went with to meet the fresh demands of professionalism. This of course has caused ongoing problems between both club and province. It is a dance that has been done for many years and will continue.

The new season will see certain AIL divisions regionalised to cut down on costs and allow teams to rebuild from within if they need to. As is the case in all of sport, money has dictated this as well due to certain costs associated with travel to and from games in certain places.

Yesterday’s game was the culmination of the 25/26 season and saw St Mary’s College crowned winners for the first time in 14 years. Head Coach Mark Mc Hugh was a Mary’s player himself and you could see what the win yesterday meant to him and his coaches.

Interestingly, Mary’s had ex Munster centre Dan Goggin in the Number 8 shirt with Conor Dean at 10 who had a good underage career with Ireland having been capped at Under 20 level for Ireland and played professionally with Connacht.

As the son of ex Irish out half Paul, he certainly showed the same safe hands and movement on occasion as his Dad did in green for Ireland over a successful 32 caps between 1981 and 1989 winning a Championship under Mick Doyle in 1985.

The AIL has done well to try and marry both the pro game and amateur with a large number of current and ex professionals still involved both as players and coaches as was in evidence yesterday with Cian Healy assisting Clontarf and guys like Hugh Cooney currently on the books at Leinster at 13 while you had Jordan Coughlan at 8 who spent time on the books of Munster and Leicester Tigers as well as an underage career with Leinster.

The game yesterday was a real advert for what attacking rugby can achieve. Mary’s went after Clontarf and were deservedly 15-12 up at half time going on to win 46-31.

In a refreshing change no TMO was in use and the rule in the AIL level for tackles below the chest was also in evidence, where you have to keep your tackles below chest height, anything above that will result in a penalty.

The match officials also had a great game and have to take huge credit in allowing the game to flow and also being up to the pace of the game as it was very fast moving over the 80 minutes. My own biggest take away is that the club game is in good health, I know plenty will say that is not the case everywhere and I am sure plenty is being done to help push other clubs on in all divisions of both senior and junior rugby.

Well done to all those sides at both senior and junior level who won this weekend and a word for UCC captain Sam O Sullivan who suffered a cardiac incident during Saturday’s play off vs Shannon. All the very best to him in his recovery.

Well done also to Tralee RFC who beat Killarney RFC in the Martin O Sullivan Cup Final played in Virgin Media Park yesterday afternoon, Tarbert man Sean Thompson was in the winning Tralee squad.

Another European adventure has come to an end for Munster and with it the hopes of a European Final spot almost 20 years on from there win over Biarritz in Cardiff.

The team now is a far cry from that group and with the best will and intentions in the world this group is really struggling to put its stamp on games.

Losing like winning is a habit and Munster are really struggling to lay down any real marker and there their recent slump has seen them losing games from winning positions namely Stormers in the URC having been 21-6 up at half time and losing out in the 2^nd half another example was Castres in a must win game in the Champions Cup and again losing it from a winning position.

There are several off field problems that have come to light in recent weeks that have added to the trouble on the field and with the news of proposed volunteer redundancies in the near future, the pressure has ramped up on those in the playing group to try and secure Champions Cup rugby for next season and the financial benefits it will bring.

Clayton Mc Millian didn’t sign up for the mess behind the scenes but will have to truly earn his money over the last few weeks of the campaign as the 31-21 loss to Exeter knocked Munster out of the Challenge Cup and with it an outside shot at European redemption.

Even the opening block of league games outside of the Leinster victory in Croke Park, which on recent evidence has become an out liar in terms of performance. They are coming out on the wrong side of the ledger in many tight contests and as I stated at the start winning is a habit but losing can become a habit too.

This recovery is going to have to come from within and not just be “Stand Up and Fight” or “Boot, Bite and Bollock” and whatever catchphrase is used to describe what Munster will need from the final 4 league fixtures.

This last block has now become the biggest of the professional era from a Munster perspective and I don’t write those words lightly. Not qualifying for the Champions Cup will have dire consequences from a financial point of view and given the delicate balance that Munster has had to apply since the revamp of Thomond Park and the repaying of loans etc, you can see how crucial the last few games are.

The players have a short break now without Europe next week and then will face Benetton in Italy before Ulster in Limerick, then away to Connacht and lastly at home to the Emirates Lions in the last game of the regular season.

They have 4 games to rescue what has been a poor season. It isn’t going to be easy given what has gone on and what’s at stake but it is time for strong characters and even stronger performances.

I am going to speak from the heart as a Munster fan now and make no apologies for it, watching over the last few months has been very tough and has driven me to distraction but that is the way it goes being a fan or supporter, the ups and downs.

Being a Munster fan has never been easy given the amount of near misses and tough luck stories but again that all part of the fun I suppose. The hard edge and never say die attitude is still there but only sparingly over many years.

Heart and determination will only get you so far and although Munster have been knocking around the URC knock out rounds in recent seasons since winning the title in 2023, there has been an air of hope rather than real expectation of a knockout victory look at the tight win for Glasgow in 2024 in Limerick to see what I mean.

Thomond Park is not the fortress of times past but will have to come close to it in 2 of the last 4 games in the URC against Ulster and Emirates Lions.

 The players will of course have to up the performance levels as will the coaches. Time and again the set piece has let Munster down along with poor handling and first up tackling. The phrase “shooting yourself in the foot” is used frequently to describe a Munster showing in recent times.

The slate has to be wiped clean for the last few fixtures of the year and let whatever repercussions may occur let them happen in the summer but for now, Munster needs everyone to be pulling in the one direction to see can they pull another poor season away from the brink.

Time now for cool heads and minds with full focus on Benetton in Italy in 2 week’s time to see can Munster pull off the greatest rescue mission of the professional era…..

20 years are about to pass marking Munster’s 1^st Champions Cup win in May 2006, It is hard to think it’s 20 years but it is. Plenty of water has gone under the bridge since that day in Cardiff in 2006.

Unfortunately 4 men crucial to the success of that afternoon have passed away Conrad O Sullivan, Anthony Foley, Garrett Fitzgerald and Jerry Holland. All 4 men played there part in getting Munster to that big day in 06.

On Thursday week, this success after the many near misses will be celebrated in Cork. Let’s hope the current team will be preparing for a Challenge Cup Quarter Final that weekend. This celebration dinner will bring together the famed team and squad of 2006.

For this author who was at the Final in Cardiff as a fresh faced 16 year old, looking at the match programme, highlights of the game on YouTube and having a signed shirt of that squad in my home mark a truly special occasion for yours truly.

Having been in Twickenham in 2000 and watching Munster come so close then again in 2002 before the defeats of 03, 04 and 05 before the promised land was reached on that never forgotten day in 2006.

The never say die attitude of that side was a sight to behold in action. They were constantly up against it, having to beat Sale Sharks in the final round to make sure of a passage to the quarter finals. They did that with an emphatic win in Thomond Park  on one of those “you had to be there days”.

They faced Perpignan in the quarter final beating them in a tough week for the side as Conrad O Sullivan was buried in the weeks leading up to the game.

They then faced Leinster in Lansdowne Road in the 1^st European clash of the sides winning a tight semi-final contest with Trevor Halstead intercepting a pass in the 79^th minute to put the icing on the cake of that famous win over Leinster.

The final saw them take on Biarritz Olympique winning 23-19 with a crucial try coming from Peter Stringer alongside the opening score from Trevor Halstead with the rest of the points coming from the boot of current La Rochelle boss Ronan O Gara.

Here is the side that faced Biarritz that day in Cardiff :

15 Shaun Payne

14 Anthony Horgan

13 John Kelly

12 Trevor Halstead

11 Ian Dowling

10 Ronan O Gara

9 Peter Stringer

8 Anthony Foley

7 David Wallace

6 Denis Leamy

5 Paul O Connell

4 Donnacha O Callaghan

3 John Hayes

2 Jerry Flannery

1 Marcus Horan

–

16 Denis Forgarty

17 Federico Pucciariello

18 Mick O Driscoll

19 Alan Quinlan

20 Tomas O Leary

21 Jeremy Manning

22 Rob Henderson