Europe looms large in provinces' preparations

On Rugby: Allowing for Ulster's third successive Ravenhill defeat, overall it was a pretty encouraging weekend for the Irish provinces. Connacht, Munster and Leinster each scored with the game's final play in registering either a win or an additional bonus point, leaving all three in the top five of the Celtic League.On Rugby

So, as Europe looms, the sideshow of the international 10-week pre-season appears to have been overcome. Or has it? The Irish provinces may conceivably be in better nick come the knock-out stages, but going into the pool stages (and resuming after the autumn internationals) they're in danger of looking a little underdone.

Mark McCall's concerns in Ulster have been compounded by Roger Wilson joining Andy Ward and long-term casualty Neil McMillan on the sidelines, but Munster and Leinster are also still far from full tilt.

It would have gladdened Alan Gaffney's heart no end to see Christian Cullen running on to Ronan O'Gara's skip pass for the first of his well-taken brace of tries in Glasgow. In harmony with Shaun Payne and a rejuvenated Anthony Horgan, Cullen has helped give Munster a cutting edge - out wide - one can rarely recall them having before. However, this was only O'Gara's and Cullen's fourth run-out together.

O'Gara, in only his second start of the season, looked unusually tetchy, and is still searching for his optimum form.

At least Munster know that the Donncha O'Callaghan-Paul O'Connell pairing will add more dynamism to their forward play, yet O'Callaghan hasn't started a match since April and one outing at home to Cardiff on Saturday, at best, is far from ideal preparation for the European Cup.

They retain their winning touch in a crisis, but despite another four tries, Munster were again occasionally imprecise in their use of the ball while their discipline (with Alan Quinlan a repeat offender) could have cost them the match.

Leinster seem in a healthier state, but in fact need even more game-time together and one more outing - albeit away to the high-flying Ospreys next Friday - is hardly sufficient.

The following week Leinster entertain Bath who, judging by their setpiece excellence in a ferocious, full-frontal, forward conflict at Welford Road on Saturday, are rediscovering the form which took them to the English Premiership final last season. Hardly surprising really, given they've had half a dozen games together.

"We saw Bath last week and we're way behind where they are at the moment," maintained Kidney on Sunday evening. At least he took comfort in more of his frontliners getting through all or part of another game. Intriguingly, he added, "there'll be a few selection decisions to be made now for the first time, and that's a good headache to have". His selection to face the Ospreys may well be a pointer toward the side that will play Bath, though there's no point in trying to second guess what goes on in Kidney's head. It would just give you a headache. But it's been the source of much debate for the Kiely's congnoscenti.

Aidan McCullen's excellent form and Victor Costello's rejuvenation complicates the backrow picture, but all across the backline the options are plentiful. Some members of the watching ex-outhalf club weren't overly impressed with David Holwell, but he exudes calmness, has a touch of the Nathan Spooner's about his link play and in an old-fashioned round-the-ankles way, tackles better, whether bringing down Todd Blackadder like some tree-felling exercise or stopping Derrick Lee from scoring, and he's not afraid to hit rucks either.

While he mightn't have a huge goal-kicking range, one bad miss is permissible in a seven from nine haul. Put it another way, what would we expect of, say, O'Gara or David Humphreys, if they'd played for the Wellington Hurricanes 10 days after setting foot in the southern hemisphere for the first time? Felipe Contepomi may well be a luxurious bench extra, but a telling feature of Holwell's arrival was how much it appeared to liberate Brian O'Meara.

Passing crisply, he was notably more pro-active, whether having the wit to release Gary Brown with a skip pass from a turnover ruck inside Leinster's 22, box kicking when he knew no one was home, or sniping.

Perhaps, no less than David Wallace's dynamic, all-purposeful response in Glasgow to Denis Leamy's re-emergence this season, O'Meara has also been galvanised by the arrival of Guy Easterby.

Connacht produced the performance of the season so far when maintaining their remarkable unbeaten run away to Llanelli. Timely too, given the IRFU hierarchy were last week justifying their cuts to the club game by informing the Branches that the western province bleeds more money than the others - a message they took to Galway last night.

The lack of crowds in the Sportsground is an IRFU stick regularly used to beat Connacht over the head, but it's worth pointing out that they haven't had floodlights installed. As the 8,000 who attended the Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-final against Harlequins and 2,000 who marched on Lansdowne Road showed, there is untapped potential there, but the IRFU don't help Connacht by casting them to the Parker Pen seemingly in perpetuity.

And given Sunday's 4,500 attendance at Donnybrook shouldn't Leinster, with their location, be doing more to promote their star-studded cast? Relative to population sizes, budgets and the hand the IRFU deal them, Connacht punch above their weight.

And what would the average crowds be at Thomond Park, Musgrave Park, Ravenhill, Donnybrook or Lansdowne Road if any of the other provinces were consigned, for ever more, to the Parker Pen Challenge Cup?