The new season for the 4 provinces is about to kick into gear as pre-season games begin this weekend. The 4 teams have been back in pre-season with the Irish internationals staggering there return over the opening weeks of the new campaign.
We will also see the end of the Women’s Interprovincial Championship this weekend in the Dexcom Stadium. That Championship has certainly wetted the appetite as it has progressed over the past 3 weeks.
Ireland’s season ended with defeat against New Zealand who themselves are going into the 2nd game of 4 against South Africa in the tour being tagged as “The Greatest Rivalry”.
It’s being an ok tour and yes while the rivalry between South Africa and New Zealand is going strong and the opening test was a great game between both sides and you can be sure the next 3 games will produce the same level of quality, to tag it as the “Greatest Rivalry Tour” is misguided as they are doing it purely from a financial stand point and in turn cutting both Australia and Argentina a drift for a season.
This will come back to bite them in the future you can be sure. It may also be a power play to try and entice the South African club sides back towards Super Rugby which has become poorer for their absence over recent years.
Back to Ireland and the 4 provinces who begin there on field quest for the 2026/2027 season. Plenty of business has been conducted in the off season. Leinster have announced they have begun there recruitment process to see who will succeed Leo Cullen at the end of the coming campaign.
Munster have revamped there coaching ticket again with Jimmy Duffy and Jared Payne coming on board to replace Alex Codling and Mike Prendergast as forwards and backs coach. It is another period of upheaval but at least both men are in the building and have been working through pre-season.
They will want to hit the ground running on what they have worked on over the summer against La Rochelle tomorrow evening in the first of 2 games with Leicester Tigers coming to play in Cork a week before Glasgow Warriors come to Thomond Park in URC round 1.
Munster ended last year at the quarter final stage after being defeated by the Bulls in the URC and went out at the group phase of the Champions Cup. This campaign will need to be different and you would hope that Clayton Mc Millen will have managed to get his message across as the Pool in Europe won’t be easy as Munster are at home to Racing 92 and Gloucester and on their travels to Bristol Bears and Bordeaux Begles.
Irish rugby continues to battle for hearts and minds as well as trying to put more bums on seats beyond season ticket holders. It is a never ending battle that will continue into the new season.
A World Cup in Australia is just over 13 months away and Andy Farrell will also want to have his ducks in a row for the end of the Nations Championship before the 2027 6 Nations campaign begins on home soil against England.
There is plenty to look forward to as the new season begins to loom large on the horizon. Decisions on new coaches will need to be made, fresh faces will hopefully take any chances they get. Let’s hope we see Ireland settle on a style of play as they try to evolve. 3 of the 4 provinces will want to kick on and try to narrow the gap to Leinster in domestic competition. The season starts tomorrow and over this weekend, just under 4 weeks before the URC begins on Friday September 25th….