United Rugby Championship Round 10: All you need to know

The traditional Christmas interprovincial programme finds one of the combatants in scintillating form, one in the midst of crisis, while the other two have experienced a resurgence after sluggish openings to the campaign.

The underwhelming European fare led Gordon D'Arcy to argue this week that the Champions Cup is a "shell of what it once was", with so many teams writing off the competition early to prioritise domestic concerns.

Gloucester's decision to ape Mick McCarthy at Old Trafford circa 2010 by picking a weakened team for their away game against Leinster was surely a damaging moment for club rugby's blue riband event.

In that context, the upcoming interpro fare is much welcomed, with the Munster-Leinster showdown on St Stephen's Day already sold out.

TV Connacht v Ulster (Friday, 7.35pm) is live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with Munster v Leinster (Monday, 7.35pm) live on TG4 and Premier Sports 2.

All games are live on URC TV.

RADIO RTÉ Radio 1 will have live commentary of both Connacht v Ulster and Munster v Leinster.

ONLINE Follow our live blogs on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app with match reports and reaction from around the grounds.

WEATHER There is the chance of some heavy rain in Galway on Friday afternoon but that should gradually clear northwards prior to kick-off, although there is still the chance of a few showers during the game. It will be a mild evening, with temperatures of around 10C forecast in moderate easterly winds.

Temperatures could drop to 5C at Thomond Park on St Stephen's Day, although it is at least expected to be dry after scattered showers in the afternoon.

It's hard to conceive of how December could have gone much worse for Ulster. They began the month by surrendering a 19-point lead against 14 men