Pro14: Irish provinces gear up for belated business end of 2019/20 season

Connacht were the last Irish province to play, against Southern Kings on 1 March, before the season was suspended

On 1 March Connacht recovered from Peter Robb's 15th minute red card to comfortably dispatch of the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.

It was a game that passed with as much coverage as you would expect for a mid-season encounter involving a side rooted to the bottom of their conference.

It might have received a whole lot more attention if Irish rugby fans had known it would be the last time they would see one of the provinces in action for 175 days.

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Nearly six months on, fans can breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to the prospect of a weekend of competitive inter-provincial rugby.

The atmosphere and environment will be far from what we are used to, but there is still plenty to play for in what is left of the 2019-20 season. Let's take a look at where the land lies as we gear up for a much-anticipated return to action.

Ulster and Munster out to join Leinster in semi-finals

Things are fairly straightforward for Leinster in the Pro14, where they have already sewn up top spot in Conference A courtesy of 13 wins from 13 games.

Behind them Ulster are firm favourites to secure the second available semi-final spot, with Glasgow the only side still capable of catching the northern province.

With a nine point advantage over the Warriors, Ulster will book their place in the last four by beating Connacht on Sunday, while a defeat with two bonus-points would also be enough.

In fact Dan McFarland's side might have their semi-final place confirmed before they arrive at the Aviva Stadium, because if Glasgow fail to beat Edinburgh on Saturday then their hopes of overtaking Ulster will be over.

Billy Burns will captain Ulster in the absence of Iain Henderson on Sunday

Conference B presents a tighter picture at the top, although Edinburgh and Munster remain very much in the driving seat to claim the top two spots.

Connacht are in fourth needing maximum points from their two games in order to stand even a small chance of progressing. Even then, Munster gaining a single bonus-point on Saturday would be enough to end their provincial rivals' semi-final hopes.

A win for Munster this weekend would guarantee them a place in the last four, while they will also qualify if Scarlets do not beat Cardiff on Saturday.

Edinburgh's lead over Munster at the top of the Conference is two points, so the fight for a home semi-final could go down to the final weekend of the regular season.

Pride, prizes and promise - provinces out to make their own statements

In terms of the next two weeks of interpros, Leinster clearly have the least to prove having already made sure of their place at the business end of the both the Pro14 and the Champions Cup.

Make no mistake, Leinster are lining up with their strongest possible team for their restart against Munster on Saturday and will go into the Pro14 semi-finals determined to retain their status as the competition's kingpins.

However the province's fans can be forgiven for already having half an eye on that European quarter-final against Saracens on 19 September.

It is a result of their own success in recent times that the bar has been set so high, but for most onlookers anything less than a Pro14 triumph for Leinster would be a failure, and ultimately the province will be judged by how far they can go in Europe.

Leinster's Jack Conan will return on Saturday having been out since the middle of Ireland's World Cup campaign

As for Ulster, head coach Dan McFarland and CEO Jonny Petrie have renewed the sense of optimism around Kingspan Stadium in their two years at the helm.

The next step forward for Ulster is to claim some silverware. Having reached the knockout stages of both competitions last season, it is now Ulster's task to not just prove they can mix it with the best teams, but to show that they can beat them in the biggest matches.

On course once again for a Pro14 semi-final and a European quarter, Ulster will be eyeing a knockout win and the chance to compete for a trophy.

Having reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup in the last two seasons, Munster failed to make it out of their group this time, albeit that group contained Racing 92 and reigning champions Saracens.

So with the Pro14 very much the focus, the job for Johan van Graan's side is to reassert themselves as a force to be reckoned with it.

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While another devastating injury set-back to fly-half Joey Carbery is a major disappointment, Munster's cause has been greatly boosted by the arrival of two World Cup winning South Africans.

Centre Damian de Allende and and lock RG Snyman were regulars in the Springboks' triumph in Japan and are arguably the most exciting new signings made by a European side this year. With old foes Leinster first up on Saturday, Munster will have an expectation for immediate impact from their South African pair.

As for Connacht, a semi-final berth while still a possibility is ultimately a long shot.

Of the four provinces their aspirations are perhaps the most immediate, and they will hope to build momentum for next season with a strong showing in what is likely to be their final two matches of the 2019-20 campaign against inter-provincial rivals.

Congested schedule breeds increased opportunity

For those who have been pining for some rugby, take a deep breath, it's about to come thick and fast.

With six months lost to the pandemic, there is no time to waste as far as competition organisers are concerned, so the break between the truncated end of the current season and the start of the next one will be considerably shorter than what we are used to.

Then for Ireland there is the small matter of six Test matches in the space of seven autumn weeks, which are essential not just for for growth of Andy Farrell's side, but for the financial stability of the IRFU who are hugely reliant on these fixtures being played.

With a saturated fixture list comes opportunity for players, and Farrell has already acknowledged there will be a need to pick from a larger pool of players to cope with the schedule.

That backdrop provides an extra layer of intrigue to the next two weeks of interpros where players yet to assert themselves as international regulars will see an opportunity to make their case for selection come autumn.

At provincial level it is also likely that we will see a more frequent rotation of starting line-ups as coaches look to their depth to help them through what is set-up to be a fast and furious 10 months.