Gordon D’Arcy: Ireland’s second Test victory over the Springboks can prove an important springboard
Ireland finished on a high and if ever there was a case for the inclusion of more club players, Ciarán Frawley and James Osborne are it
Gordon D’Arcy: Ireland may lack strength in depth but they are outperforming expectations
Andy Farrell’s squad will look back at the 80 minutes against South Africa and know they gave a credible account of themselves
Gordon D’Arcy: Ireland to expect the unexpected in South Africa
Several players from the strong squad Rassie Erasmus selected have been vocal in their dislike of Ireland
Gordon D’Arcy: Weakness in the system undermines Ireland’s ambitions
Disappointing seasons for Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht highlighted how the Irish system needs to change
Munster and Leinster must deal with knowing they contributed to their own downfall
Both team’s entered last weekend’s semi-finals as favourites but came up short, their opponents deserving winners
Gordon D’Arcy: Leinster’s URC bid can benefit from Sam Prendergast pushing Ross Byrne
Simon Zebo remains crucial to Munster’s chance of retaining their title
Gordon D’Arcy: Munster are on the march again and Jack Crowley is their main man
Leinster’s Ross Byrne has concentrated on existing strengths rather than try to diversify his game
Gordon D’Arcy: Leinster come up agonisingly short in game of inches
Leinster's attack just lacked that clinical edge that was required to nudge them over the line to Champions Cup glory
Leinster and Toulouse both pursue culture, home talent and picking up quality overseas players
Toulouse have an incredibly high proficiency across all aspects of their game, which makes them more challenging to defend
Richie Murphy can now embrace Ulster’s rugby makeover with certainty
It is not up to the IRFU or Ulster executives to interfere unduly with the fledgling senior coach - they have elected to give Murphy the job so let him do it
Gordon D’Arcy: Leinster’s big players stepped up to get them over the line against Northampton
Leinster failed to hit the heights of the display against La Rochelle but they managed to pip Northampton thanks to some big moments from big players
Sexton’s leadership vacuum will be felt as Leinster can’t replicate the emotion of La Rochelle match
Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton will turn on ‘who finds the right words at the right time and provides that focal point of leadership’
Leinster provide too many players to the national squad for it to be an equitable system
Munster are treading a similar path to last season, pulling out some great wins away from home. They know the virtues of timing a run, better than most
Gordon D’Arcy: All four provinces have the opportunity for a proper crack at the URC
Leinster stand alone in Europe but for Munster, Ulster and Connacht in the URC there is precious little wriggle room for further missteps from here on in
Jacques Nienaber holds key to Leinster’s defence that can unlock way past La Rochelle
The World Cup-winning Springbok coach has changed the way that Leinster think about setting up against the team that has too often proved to be their knock-out nemesis