Provinicial 15 of the Weekend

I suppose, in fairness, you'd need to have seen all four games to do this accurately. But maybe, between us, we can thrash it out?

I only saw Ulster and Munster, and a bit of the highlights of the Leinster game. From what I did see, though, I'd say the whole Ulster front row is in contention. Botha was hot and cold for Munster - I thought the Saints scrum was actually far more dominant than Owens gave them credit for. Tuohy was excellent, O'Connell was outplayed in the loose by Ryan but seemed to be at the heart of every maul (and there were a few). He was -as ever - massively important for the boys in red.

Henry was the MOM for me - a truly brilliant openside performance, light-years ahead of Ronan. O'Mahony was very good indeed, but 1F was amazing. Coughlan and Wannenburg harder to call.

Murray and ROG for halfbacks, although Marshall was impressive. He's inconsistent, prone to bizarre decision-making, but in fairness we saw none of that yesterday and his box-kicking was actually excellent. Passing was fast and more accurate than we've cone to expect. So maybe Marshall wouldn't be a bad shout...

IHumph just all over the place. Brilliant one minute, kicking restarts out on the full the next. ROG has ice in his veins.

Cave was up to his usual excellent standards (although the concensus seems to be Griffen was outstanding, so he'll end up there), Wallace was defensively very good and a lynchpin in attack.

Probably the whole Munster back three for me - Howlett excellent, good endeavour from Hurley, where both Ulster wingers were quiet enough. Trimble is a marked man, and although he made some good half-breaks, he didn't register the way Howlett did. Gilmour was fine, but not up to his usual level. Maybe D'Arcy instead of Murphy - both did good things, interspersed with howlers, and D'Arcy set up iHunph's try.

So, initial thoughts -

Court / Best / Afoa
O'Connell / Tuohy
Ferris / Henry / Coughlan or Wannenburg
Murray / ROG
Hurley / Wallace / Cave / Howlett
D'Arcy

Possibly Ulster-centric, and with Leinster and Connacht guys to cone in.

Cave was good, but I'd have to go with Eoin Griffin of Connacht at 13. Fitzgerald also had a very good game. For me, the fullback spot goes to Gavin Duffy.

1. Tom Court
2. Rory Best
3. John Afoa
4. Paul O'Connell
5. Leo Cullen?
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Chris Henry
8. James Coughlan?
9. Conor Murray
10. Ronan O'Gara
11. Luke Fitzgerald
12. Paddy Wallace
13. Eoin Griffin
14. Doug Howlett
15. Gavin Duffy

Didn't see the Leinster or Connacht games but I'd have O'Mahoney and Donnacha Ryan in there.

Ferris is a bit off a beast isn't he? He looks even bigger and stronger since his injury layoff,if thats even possible.

Now that Ferris is back, I think all the talk of O'Brien has died down a bit. With Ferris around I don't think O'Brien will get a look at the 6 shirt. I say that as a huge fan of SOB, and I think he should continue to perform as an openside instead. Having both in the back row is a good thing, for us Irish fans anyway.

Only saw a bit of the leinster game when they were outplayed so i havent included any. i stand to be corrected/amended

1. Court
2. Best
3. Afoa
4. POC
5. McCarthy
6.Ferris
7.Henry
8. O'Mahoney (just to get him in somewhere)
9. Murray
10. Nikora
11. O'Halloran
12. Wallace
13. Griffin
14. Howlett
15. Duffy (though i really want to say D'arcy)

Was D'Arcy good then?

Just for the try Rory!

Rory it was D'arcy's brilliant break and pass that put Humphreys in for the try. He came on as a late sub for Ulster and won us the game.

I only saw the Leinster game so I can't correct you but I will add that Sexton was immense all game, not just with the last kick.

Yeah Sexton was excellent. Leinsters best player. Better than ROG overall. And he nailed a crucial last gasp kick himself. But ROG's drop goal was unforgettable, so I think most people will pick him.

Fair enough Mick. i actually thought that ROG wasnt great so it is good to hear Sexton did well. Humph remains an enigma.

Watched all the Irish games.

The Connacht 13 was extremely dangerous. 6 and 8 for Munster were tireless, Ferris was unbelievable for Ulster as was the livewire scrum half and Sexton was full of guts for Leinster.

Really impressive efforts from the Celtic sides this weekend. The Irish and Welsh sides have done well and unbelievably the Scots have a 100% record