Our funny old game continues to surprise

It's a funny old game, as Ulster's season thus far underlines. First, Ravenhill's pitch turns orange, then Ulster's games are moved to a temporary stadium which effectively runs across two GAA pitches. But, even so, best of all was the scoreboard awaiting Ulster and Munster last Saturday at Queen's. Due to a missing digit, it could be read as Ulster NO, Munster OO. Shurely shome mishtake? Methinks not.

Next Sunday week, the scoreboard could look even wittier given that the `visitors' will be Ireland. In the interim, Munster entertain the national side this Friday evening at Musgrave Park and will be obliged to do so without their five World Cup squad members.

Aside from weakening Munster's hand, as Declan Kidney dryly observed, this will mean that far from having insider knowledge of Ireland's line-out calls and the like, the reverse will be true. At least it will save on the need for huddles. Smart cookies, this Irish management team. You don't take chances with Munster, of all people.

Not that Munster won't happily take up the challenge anyway. Perhaps last week's rather grand announcement of a 25-man squad for the Ulster game was a pre-emptive flexing of their muscles. Hence, the absence of Keith Wood and Peter Clohessy (who, along with Paul Wallace, probably won't play on Friday night anyway) gives the Munster brains trust a chance to blood some of their young players, lads such as Marcus Horan and Frankie Sheehan.

They may even go further and pick young locks Mike O'Driscoll and/or Donnacha O'Callaghan, while even without David Corkery they could field an entirely different back row if they felt the need. (How about Alan Quinlan, Ultan O'Callaghan and Eddie Halvey?).

For Munster to lose two scrum-halves (Tom Tierney and Brian O'Meara) might seem particularly unfortunate, but then Munster will

just smile and pick what they'd probably contend is the country's third best scrum-half anyway, Shannon's significant new recruit Peter Stringer.

This, of course, begs the question as to what ever happened to the promised relocation policy? Might not another province, say Connacht, be glad of Stringer and might not Stringer himself benefit from more representative exposure?

As it is, Munster have an almost impossible balancing act in accommodating just the best two (on current form and selection criteria). Why else would they have replaced Tierney for the third time running last Saturday after a pretty impressive 50 minutes? In what was probably an understandable desire to make the most of this fleeting opportunity, O'Meara's passing was untypically hurried and scattered.

Aside from being a little uncharacteristically porous through the middle, Munster's real lacking has been real pace out wide, and in a potentially worrying sign for the Euro fare to come, Ulster exposed them both ways off limited opportunities. Nonetheless, the wonder is, on current interpro evidence, that Munster will only have five World Cup players, for they have been by some way the pick of the four provinces so far this season. Their bedrock has been a mastery of the basics, where Wood and John Langford have added further bulk to their tight five in the scrum, but have also given them a top-class line-out. (It will amuse Leinster people not a jot that Langford first made contact with them).

Peter Clohessy, despite a troublesome leg/back injury which was aggravated from early on last Saturday (and may sideline him for a little while), has been outstanding. His chasing down and covering tackle on Andy Ward (which probably prevented a long-range try) betrayed a new Claw. After all, this is early September.

The comparatively out-of-tune showing of Ulster's World Cup octet (especially their high profile back row) must be of some concern to the Irish management. And quite why Dion O'Cuinneagain was used, futilely, as Ulster's defensive line-out jumper remains a mystery. More encouraging for Ulster was the commanding form of David Humphreys and the work-rate and strong running of James Topping. There will, invariably, be astonishment and even anger in Ulster that Simon Mason hasn't as yet been called in to the Irish squad following Girvan Dempsey's withdrawal. Likeable fellow and outstanding goal-kicker though he is (a 17 out of 20 strike rate so far), it's worth noting that Ulster hardly ever use him as a strike runner - which would have to be part of the full back's role for Ireland.

Nor, by all accounts, did Mason dissuade fears about his relative lack of pace for top-flight rugby in a sub's appearance against Wales A last season. That the only alternative to the unfortunate Dempsey (another goal-kicking option who might well have pressed hard for Conor O'Shea's place) seems to be Gordon D'Arcy highlights how bare this cupboard is. D'Arcy's chip and runs betray the signs of a player still barely a year out of school. Another option, though it doesn't seem to be on the table, might be to bring in Shane Horgan as the second outside centre and revert Bell to full back. At least Leinster (with seven World Cup members) should have Dempsey back when the province's season continues. But they remain a mystery wrapped in an enigma and should be playing better than they are.

LEINSTER didn't use their batch of forward target runners on Friday night to expose a defensively vulnerable Connacht back row. They seemed directionless again and made desperately heavy weather of beating

Connacht. Where would they be without the wonderkid Brian O'Driscoll? Friday's match-winner is now not only being compared to Brendan Mullin or Barry McGann, but Diego Maradona.

Connacht, in fairness, with far less talent have regrouped well amid signs of a back-to-basics approach. Their defence was much more like its old self, Mel Deane is now looking like a real capture at inside centre and it was worth noting the effective performance of the suddenly much-pilloried Matt Mostyn. His intercept and run created Connacht's try, and another weaving run when stepping inside led to their late penalty. This in turn followed a clever awareness of the rules and the touchline when taking a box kick with his feet over the line to ensure an attacking late line-out.

It would be no surprise if Connacht pushed Leinster close again in the re-mat ch. Either way though, both look like remaining in the bottom half, whereas the Munster-Ulster return showdown will be for the big boys.

Yet this makes the IRFU's provisional pencilling in of these fixtures on the same weekend as the World Cup semi-finals even harder to understand.