10 players who will have caught Farrell's eye in the early rounds of the URC

After three games and in impressive start from the Irish sides in the BKT United Rugby Championship, the four provinces will be able to reload their Irish World Cup stars back into their lineups from this weekend.

For Leinster, it's likely to alter their team dramatically over the next few weeks as they bring 18 players back into contention, while for Connacht and Ulster, who each bring three players back into their squads this week, it's a small supplement to what they already have.

There's no time like the start of a World Cup cycle to make a big impression, as the likes of Hugo Keenan and Rónan Kelleher showed in 2019/20, and with the provinces shorn of their internationals, the first three rounds of this season have given an opportunity for several young - and some older - players to catch the eye of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell

Tom Ahern - Munster

It's taken a while for it to happen for the Munster second row, but the 23-year-old has made a hot start to the 2022/23 season.

Ahern has been on the radar since starring for the Grand Slam-winning Ireland U20 side of 2019, and has generally impressed when given opportunities by Munster over the last four seasons.

He'd been expected to make a big leap last season, but after featuring for Emerging Ireland, and making three appearances for Munster, he picked up a shoulder injury in October 2022 which saw him miss the rest of the season.

Appearances can be deceiving, but he looks like he's added some weight to his 6ft 8in frame in the last 12 months, and has been powerful in his three games this season scoring two tries, while also maintaining the speed and skill that was evident early in his career.

Ahern is evidently someone already on Andy Farrell's radar having been included