United Rugby Championship: How Irish provinces are shaping up for 2026-27 season
After a near-100 day off-season, the United Rugby Championship returns on Friday. As ever, there has been much change across the four Irish provinces over the summer, with players coming and going as coaches sh...
After a near-100 day off-season, the United Rugby Championship returns on Friday.
As ever, there has been much change across the four Irish provinces over the summer, with players coming and going as coaches shaped their squads for the new season.
Leinster head into the season - Leo Cullen's last as head coach - as defending champions, having retained the title with victory over the Bulls in the final at Croke Park in June.
With 12 months until the 2027 Rugby World Cup, it could also be a significant campaign for players hoping to push their way into Ireland head coach Andy Farrell's plans for the showpiece tournament in Australia.
So, as Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht finalise preparations for the 2026-27 campaign, BBC Sport NI looks at the prospects for the four Irish teams.
Ins: Ciaran Frawley (Leinster), Will Connors (Leinster), Francois van Wyk (Bath), Jerry Cahir (Leinster), Thomas Connolly (Belvedere)
Outs: Joe Joyce (Gloucester), Matthew Devine (Ulster), Jack Carty (retired), Jack Aungier (Munster), Chay Mullins (Ulster), Peter Dooley (Leinster)
Last season: Quarter-finalists
First five games: Stormers (H), Benetton (A), Glasgow (A), Zebre (H), Leinster (H)
Stuart Lancaster's first year at the helm in Galway proved a season of two halves. They won just two of their opening nine URC games but eight of the next nine.
That strong late-season push - which included an eye-catching bonus-point win over the Stormers in Cape Town - was enough to seal a play-off spot and return to the Champions Cup.
Now, having laid the foundations, Lancaster hopes to turn Connacht into title contenders. To do so, the Galway-based club have recruited utility back Ciaran Frawley, back row Will Connors and prop Jerry Cahir from rivals Leinster.
Experienced loose-head Francois van Wyk has also arrived from Prem champions Bath to bolster the front row, while the return of Ireland wing Mack Hansen - who has not featured for the province since October - will perhaps feel like a new signing after such a lengthy lay-off.
Lancaster will also lean on key performers such as captain Cian Prendergast, Sean Jansen and Darragh Murray, all of whom have featured for Ireland in 2026 after excelling for the western province.
Former England boss Lancaster also approaches the new season with a slightly reconfigured backroom staff.
Gerard Mullen has replaced Rod Seib as backs coach while Trevor Woodman - a World Cup winner with England in 2003 - has been installed as scrum coach following Cullie Tucker's appointment as Ireland Under-20 head coach.
Ins: Peter Dooley (Connacht), Joey Carbery (Bordeaux)
Outs: Rabah Slimani (Toulon), Ed Byrne (retired), Jerry Cahir (Connacht), John McKee (Scarlets), Will Connors (Connacht), Luke McGrath (Perpignan), Ciaran Frawley (Connacht), Rieko Ioane (Blues), James Lowe (Tokyo Sungoliath)
Last season: Champions
First five games: Lions (A), Sharks (A), Cardiff (H), Munster (H), Connacht (A)
Leinster's off-season was unsurprisingly dominated by speculation over who will succeed Leo Cullen when he brings the curtain down on his 12-year reign as head coach next summer.
While succession planning continues in the background, Cullen's main aim is to ensure he leaves Leinster in a good spot - and he has shown early intent by taking a strong squad out to South Africa for their opening two fixtures against the Lions and Sharks.
Squad changes have been significant with James Lowe, Rieko Ioane and Luke McGrath's departures depriving Cullen of considerable experience.
However, the acquisition of Joey Carbery is eye-catching. The 37-cap Ireland international's fly-half duel with Sam Prendergast and Harry Byrne will be one of the more intriguing sub-plots this season.
Peter Dooley's arrival from Connacht is also a welcome boost to Cullen's options at loose-head, a position ravaged by injury last term, but the ongoing absence of captain Caelan Doris is a concern after he missed Ireland's July Tests with a knee problem.
Even still, Leinster boast a remarkably strong squad and will be viewed as URC favourites while they chase redemption on the continental stage after a bruising Champions Cup final loss to Bordeaux.
Ins: Kieran Brookes (Perpignan), Jack Aungier (Connacht), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Will Harrison (Kintetsu Liners)
Outs: John Ryan (retired), Oli Jager (retired), Niall Scannell (retired), Jean Kleyn (Gloucester), Roman Salanoa, Conor Bartley, Paddy Patterson, Fionn Gibbons (Ealing Trailfinders), Thaakir Abrahams (Bulls), Andrew Smith, Darragh McSweeney, George Hadden, Dylan Hicks, Gene O'Leary Kareem
Last season: Quarter-finalists
First five games: Glasgow (H), Bulls (H), Ulster (A), Leinster (A), Sharks (H)
Clayton McMillan's first season in charge generated much early promise. By the time the season paused for the November internationals, Munster were top of the table with five wins from five, a sequence highlighted by a statement 31-14 success over Leinster at Croke Park.
The rest of the season was, however, plagued by inconsistency, with a 45-0 hammering by the Sharks in Durban unquestionably the nadir.
The early weeks of the new season should provide a severe test, too, with McMillan's men going up against Glasgow, Leinster and the Bulls, three of the four teams that finished above them in the 2025-26 table.
Munster will tackle a tough opening block with a new-look front row, too. Tight-heads Kieran Brookes, who earned 16 England caps between 2014 and 2016, and Jack Aungier and Springbok hooker Marnus van der Merwe represent a serious injection of experience following the retirements of John Ryan, Oli Jager and Niall Scannell.
But injuries - particularly at out-half - have already disrupted McMillan's plans. Ireland 10 Jack Crowley is ruled out until the new year while Australia-born utility back Will Harrison - recruited from Japanese side Kintetsu Liners - has been struggling with a knee problem.
With JJ Hanrahan out and academy out-half Tom Wood also sidelined following shoulder surgery, Tom Butler has re-joined as injury cover having left the club during the summer.
Ins: Eduardo Bello (Newcastle), Keynan Knox (Nevers), Eli Snyman (Benetton), Ben Donnell (Cardiff), Martin Moloney (Exeter), Matthew Devine (Connacht), Jamie Benson (Harlequins), Chay Mullins (Connacht)
Outs: Bryan O'Connor, Angus Bell (Waratahs), Rory McGuire, John Andrew, Matthew Dalton (Kobelco Steelers), Marcus Rea, Sean Reffell, Lorcan McLoughlin, Dave Shanahan, Werner Kok (Newcastle), James Humphreys, Ben Moxham
Last season: Ninth
First five games: Edinburgh (H), Glasgow (A), Munster (H), Bulls (A), Stormers (A)
While Ulster made clear strides last season, a dispiriting run-in which yielded three losses and a draw in their final four URC games and a 59-26 defeat by Montpellier in the Challenge Cup final was a bitter pill to swallow.
Beating Montpellier was always a big ask, but diminishing domestic returns ultimately cost Richie Murphy's side a spot in this year's Champions Cup.
Now the onus is on Murphy and his squad to achieve greater consistency in pursuit of a first trophy since 2006.
The summer was certainly interesting. Having just departed as Australia head coach, former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt was a surprise addition as Ulster's coach development adviser.
While not involved with the senior team on a weekly basis, bringing Schmidt back into the Irish rugby system in some form is a statement of intent by Ulster general manager Rory Best.
Former New Zealand prop Clarke Dermody's arrival as forwards coach constitutes another eye-catching backroom addition following Jimmy Duffy's move to Munster.
In terms of the squad, a raft of exits included popular wing Werner Kok, who left to join Newcastle, and Australia prop Angus Bell, who returned to the Waratahs following his short-term stint in Belfast.
With the Mark Sexton-coached attack having soaked up most of the acclaim last season, the summer intake reflects a determination to improve up front and tighten the set-piece.
Tight-heads Keynan Knox and Eduardo Bello provide fresh front-row options while Eli Snyman, Martin Moloney and Ben Donnell add steel to the second and back rows.
For Ulster to succeed, Murphy needs both his new additions to hit the ground running and last season's top performers to pick up where they left off.
Zac Ward scored 11 tries in the URC last term, Stuart McCloskey enjoyed the best season of his career and Nick Timoney was typically a model of consistency.
While last season's run to a European final generated excitement, this campaign must ensure a Champions Cup return for next year and establish Ulster as a URC force to be reckoned with.