Start as you mean to go on for Connacht and Munster

While both Connacht and Munster can look back at the bounce of a ball here or there as the difference between defeats and wins in their Round 8 games either side of Christmas, a losing bonus-point was what each of them had to console themselves with.

Connacht's defeat to Ulster, and Munster's loss at home versus Leinster, continued a poor run of form for both. It's five defeats in a row for Connacht and six losses in their last seven games. Munster's three game winless run isn't as drastic, but combined with their growing injury list and a total of just 11 second half points in those three games, a New Year's Day victory would be just the tonic ahead of two must-win European ties later in the month.

You can chart the changes in this Munster team from their recent visits to the Sportsground. On New Year's Day in 2022 the province fell to a 10-8 defeat in Galway, with their performance that evening an indictment of their previous conservative style under Johann van Graan.

Nine months later they were again beaten by Connacht in Galway, but this time it was more emphatic as Connacht dished out a 20-11 beating on a Munster side who looked lost as they tried to get to grips with a drastically new attacking style under Graham Rowntree and Mike Prendergast.

It was the valley of a 2022/23 season which eventually peaked in the BKT United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town last May. The gameplan that looked so alien in October of 2022 slowly clicked into place over the season, and it's made Munster one of the most exciting teams to watch in the URC.

No gameplan is perfect though, and in the bucketing rain and howling winds of Thomond Park on St Stephen's Day against Leinster they overplayed their hand at times. Two years on from