False dawn - The Irish provinces' end of season report

Just as it was in its previous guises, the United Rugby Championship was dominated by the Irish provinces this season.

And yet when it came down to the decider, they were nowhere to be seen, as the Stormers and Bulls went at it in Cape Town in the inaugural URC grand final.

For the vast majority of the season it seemed inevitable there would be Irish involvement in the final, and quite possible it would be an all-Irish decider, but when league rugby turned into cup rugby, the South Africans knew how to get the job done.

For 40 players across the provinces, the season is continuing as they prepare for a grueling tour of New Zealand, but for most it's now a welcome rest period after another season which was at times chaotic due to Covid-19's influence.

This season has also been ruthless on the players. With fewer games in the URC format, teams are adjusting their squad sizes accordingly, with more departures than arrivals across the professional leagues. A handful of the departures are well-deserved retirements, some were injury enforced, but for many the second half of this season has been a fight to get a contract elsewhere.

As well as playing personnel, the summer will see three of the four provinces integrate new coaches into their teams.

The greatest upheaval will be at Munster where head coach Johann van Graan departs for Bath along with his defence coach JP Ferreira, while Stephen Larkham is also leaving after three years in Limerick, returning to Australia to become head coach of the Brumbies. Graham Rowntree will step into the head coaching role, while the province's major recruitment drive has been around his backroom team, with Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy (below) returning to their home-province, while Andi