Resurgent Ulster and Connacht defy expectations with excellent start to season

Connacht, for however long, are hogging it for once, and for all the right reasons.

Having won their first three games for the first time, in the post-match euphoria of their win over the champions, Connacht even fleetingly led the table overnight. And while overtaken by Glasgow and the Ospreys over the remainder of the weekend, are still the leading Irish province.

In times past, September was supposed to favour them over the other Irish provinces because they were the slimmest suppliers to the Irish squad, whose players made frequently delayed returns to playing action. This season, due to the two-match Argentinian tour ending in mid-June, the Leinster, Munster and Ulster players have returned sooner. Yet Connacht are off to their best start.

Leinster have lost two out of three, albeit both defeats have been away and by one score. Indeed, in Joe Schmidt’s first month in charge four seasons ago Leinster lost three from four – again all away from home. So history ought to tell us not to jump too hastily to conclusions. Leinster are well capable of winning their next three games.

Admittedly, one of those includes Munster at the Aviva on Saturday week. The southern province hogged attention for all the wrong reasons a few weeks ago with the unfortunate leaking of that internal management document mistakenly sent to the squad.

The opening night defeat to Edinburgh has

been put into perspective by Connacht subsequently winning at Murrayfield and Edinburgh’s nine tries to one, 62-13 defeat to the Ospreys on Sunday. Since then Munster have overcome the Italian duo of Treviso and Zebre, which was the least expected of them.

The Italian teams between them have not managed a single losing point in six games thus far. There is, worryingly, no hint of a revival in fortune as their annual hidings in Europe loom ever larger, given the higher concentration of quality in the European Champions Cup. You wonder how long they can last as entities in the Pro12.

However, there are there signs of a revival in the English club game, thanks in part to the increased salary cap and permission to sign marquee players. Consequently, the hype associated with the Aviva Premiership is beginning to look justified? That would be another worrying portent for Munster given the presence of Saracens and Sale in their brutally tough European group as well as early French pacesetters Clermont Auvergne.

In any event all the while Ulster have been slipping in under the radar, positioned in fourth on the same number of points as Connacht and behind them only by dint of winning a game less. When last season’s controversial Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat at home to Saracens following Jared Payne’s early dismissal was compounded by another knock-out defeat to Leinster in a closely fought Pro12 semi-final, it appeared valid to wonder whether a generation’s best opportunity had passed them by.

Given they had earned a home quarter-final in Europe, certainly Ulster had never had a more favourable opportunity to become European champions again since they had previously done in 1999.

Coupled with this was another ill-disciplined defeat at home to Leinster which effectively consigned them to an away semi-final, amid an emotional Ravenhill farewell to Johann Muller.

It seemed the bottom then fell out of the organisation with the announcement the day of the second test in Argentina that David Humphreys was leaving to become the director of rugby at Gloucester. Arguably, there has never been a more influential individual in the province in the professional era and rumours quickly began circulating of a rift in Ulster; that nothing else could explain Humphreys' departure from his native province.

But according to sources there was no in-fighting, not even a squabble. The Gloucester offer was just too good for Humprheys to turn down, not only in offering greater financial security for him and his family, but also affording him a more hands-on role, more in keeping with his old London Irish and Ireland sidekicks and good friends, Conor O’Shea at Harlequins and Mark McCall at Saracens. The ensuing departure of Mark Anscombe was largely unrelated, and was prompted by the Ulster chief executive Shane Logan.

This left a void at the top of the organisation and the IRFU loaning Les Kiss to Ulster as an interim head coach seemed to underline the point.

Yet despite John Afoa and Tom Court also leaving, the squad had been reinforced by Humprheys' trio of farewell signings: full-back Louis Ludik; lock Franco van der Merwe; and tighthead Wiehahn Herbst. Ludik has added to an already potent back line, reinforced by the prodigal return of Ian Humphreys, van der Merwe is a more youthful version of Muller and Herbst is a serious scrummager. What's more, unlike Ruan Pienaar this trio are available through the November and Six Nations windows.

Ulster have been involved in three

entertaining games thus far and in actual fact the seemingly impending promotion of Neil Doak to the role of head coach, with Johnny Bell remaining as defence coach and Allen Clarke joining the ticket, has ensured a fair degree of continuity.

Expectations of Ulster were assuredly reduced this season, yet it could just be that they are better placed than they have been for years.

gthornley@irishtimes.com