198 points and 25 tries has been the return thus far from the festive period of interprovincial derbies.
The Saint Stephen’s Day thriller between Munster and Leinster was Munster’s best attended home game of the season with 26,267 fans turning up to watch a moment of brilliance from Jordan Larmour separate the two sides at Thomond Park.
Three days earlier, Connacht had ran in six tries to two at the Sportsgrounds to record a club record win over Ulster, before Les Kiss’ side then redeemed themselves the following week by reducing a 17-point half-time deficit to win 24-17.
On the same day, 169.9 kilometres south of the Kingspan Stadium at the RDS, Leinster absorbed 28 phases of Connacht’s attack before Max Deegan sealed a three-point victory with a match winning turnover in the 85th minute.
With the exception of Connacht’s 28-point mauling of Ulster in Galway, which certainly had its highlights despite the one-sided scoreline, Irish Rugby fans were treated to three stellar games across a five-day period.
That number could rise to five games across a 10-day period if Munster v Connacht and Leinster v Ulster follow a similar suit to the New Year’s Day fixtures this weekend, but there is an interesting trend within Irish Rugby where the interprovincial derbies generally attract more fans than any other PRO 14, Champions Cup or Challenge Cup group game.
Ulster’s win over Munster was their second best attended game of the season (second to only their defeat to Leinster) with 17,594 fans turning up to the Kingspan to watch the province deliver their most important win of the current campaign.
The attendance was up 17.7% from their season average of 14,946 and eclipsed both the 15,291 fans that attended the Wasps game in the Champions Cup and the 15,646 fans that turned up for the win over Harlequins.
Similarly with Munster, the 26,267 fans that turned up for the Saint Stephen’s Day clash with Leinster eclipsed both of their Champions Cup wins over Leicester and Racing, and was up 65% from their season average of 15,871.
The 7,629 fans that turned up to watch Connacht beat Ulster was their best attended game of the season, eclipsing the 7,089 suppoters that showed for their four-point win over Munster in October, while for Leinster, the 46,374 that attended the province’s win over Munster in October was the best attended game of the PRO14 season, while their three-point win over Connacht registered as their third best attended game after their five point win over Premiership champions Exeter last month.
More fans turned up on Saint Stephen’s Day to watch Leinster play a team that has won just four games from 12 in the PRO14 this season than the amount of supporters that watched the same side play a Montpellier team with Frans Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Nemani Nadolo, Bismarck Du Plessis and Louis Picamoles.
What does that tell us about Irish Rugby? That fans are interested in watching the best take on the best? In Leinster’s case that maybe the case with the Exeter game, but generally, Irish fans turn up in bigger numbers for the interprovincial derbies.
The PRO14 intentionally schedule these games in October before the November internationals, and again over the Christmas break just a month before the start of the Six Nations, providing national team coaches with a chance to watch prospective players face off directly against each other before the international breaks.
During the Christmas period, of which there are three consecutive games for each province in a two week period, the matches are sandwiched in between back-to-back sets of Champions Cup games.
For an Irish player on a central contract, they could theoretically play three interprovincial derbies and four Champions/Challenge Cup games over six weeks, before then preparing for a Six Nations campaign with Ireland.
Given the added financial carrot that a Champions Cup knockout stage game can bring, the provinces tend to rest their frontline players for the interprovincial derbies.
Iain Henderson, Jacob Stockdale, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, CJ Stander, Robbie Henshaw, Jack Conan, Tadhg Furlong, Devin Toner and Sean O’Brien (tight hip) sat out on New Year’s Day while Ultan Dillane, Kieran Marmion, Bundee Aki and Rob Kearney will sit out this weekend with Peter O’Mahony, Johnny Sexton and John Cooney set to start from the bench.
It leads to diluted games where a province rarely actually fields their strongest available side in the knowledge that the games will sell regardless of whatever team is put out and that people will generally look for any reason to get out of their house.
It’s unfortuante, but you can’t really argue with the logic given the unenviable run of games over the period, and the matches that lie ahead, for frontline players.
But while one door closes another door opens. The festive rotation has allowed less heralded players to shine in the absence of their more senior teammates.
Jordan Larmour scored one of the tries of the season with both Rob Kearney and Joey Carbery out of the picture. Dan Leavy has blossomed in a starting role after sitting behind Sean O’Brien in the Champions Cup.
Jack O’Donoghue has impressed in the absence of CJ Stander. Max Deegan has starred and demonstrated why he has been earmarked for future honours.
Rob Lyttle sparkled with his speed and footwork with Ansrew Trimble and Jacob Stockdale temporarily out of sight. Ross Byrne was able to gain valuable experience against a near full strength Munster side in the absence of Johnny Sexton.
The departure of Simon Zebo and the recent uncertainty over CJ Stander and Peter O’Mahony’s contracts created a vacuum of fear where there was a belief that this groundswell of panic could be the beginning of an international exodus in Ireland.
The mass defection to England, France and Japan may be delayed for a while yet, but in the interim, when you remove the top players it has been encouraging that those bubbling underneath the surface have rose to the fore.
Leinster may be leading the charge in terms of their depth, which is staggering and among the very bst in Europe, but each province is in good stead heading into the last round of interprovincial derbies.
The games haven’t always been advertised with the marquee names to match its billing, but with 25 tries in four games, fans have certainly received their money’s worth.
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