Brian O’Driscoll’s last appearance on the field of play could be this Saturday night in the RDS when his Leinster side take on Ulster in the Rabo semi-final. For a while last Saturday, it appeared that O’Driscoll’s chosen opponents for a potential farewell might have been Munster because Leinster were in danger of losing top spot in the competition to Glasgow and putting themselves in line for a tilt at their old rivals this weekend. They held their nerve, however, to win by two points and the top seeds now have Ulster up first, then the winners of Glasgow and Munster in the final, all going well of course this Saturday night.

A lot has to go well for the home side because Ulster will bring momentum and a cause to Dublin. A season that promised so much for the Northerners will be a damp squib if it ends in a semi-final loss to Leinster. In truth, they do deserve better for they were real Heineken Cup contenders before Jared Payne was so unluckily sent off against Saracens in the quarter-final of the European competition.

Since then they have treaded water somewhat but judging on their B team’s performance against Munster in Thomond last Saturday night, they are primed to go at Leinster and to win the Rabo. That was a quality display from a team that was expected to lose by 16 points or more according to the bookies, who rarely get such things wrong. That suggests that Ulster are not coasting to the season’s end and who could blame them.

They have unfinished business and a win on Saturday would crown them as Ireland’s best province, something they must covet after the recent Heineken Cup successes of Munster and Leinster.

Ulster are in a good place right now and their squad is probably the strongest of the Irish provinces at this stage of the season. There is still a kick in them.

Leinster did their official farewells to Leo Cullen and Brian O’Driscoll at the weekend and this is supposed to clear the decks for rugby-only business. It helps that Sean O’Brien has reappeared in a blue jersey and taken some of the media attention a few months ahead of schedule. According to Leinster coach Matt O’Connor, he will definitely play a part this week as well. I wonder would O’Connor have made that statement if it was a Heineken Cup semi-final and not a Rabo last-four tie? No matter, Leinster are a professional outfit and would never take their eye off the ball. They know what’s coming and they are invincible at home. I expect them to win but only just. I won’t be having a bet on this one and expect one score to separate them.

The Rabo send-off fairy tale involves Munster going to Glasgow this Friday night, winning and setting up the All-Ireland-final final that Brian O’Driscoll deserves two weekends later. This looks highly unlikely, unfortunately, as Munster seem to be limping to the season’s end. Their coach has one foot on the plane and the players look tuned out. Their loss in Marseille to Toulon appears to have taken a huge toll because deep down they know they possibly left an unlikely Heineken Cup behind them. Looking at their abject display last Saturday against Ulster, it looks like they haven’t recovered since.

Keith Earls looks like a distant cousin of the player we know he is. Confidence is seeping from him and the entire Munster back line as recent games develop. And when that happens, they turn bad very quickly. Their season appears done. They travel to Scotland in hope and with little else.

Munster have a poor recent record across the water and their form has deserted them. Glasgow, on the other hand, are on fire. It doesn’t bode well for the Men in Red.

Sorry Brian. CL

The Sunday Game returns

The Sunday Game is back on our screens this weekend with a football double-header as Roscommon take on Leitrim and Tyrone and Down put the black card experiment to the real test in Omagh.

Both games will be intriguing because they are championship and therefore they matter. But I’ll be paying particular attention to The Sunday Game itself. They are a little nervous in RTÉ these past few months because of the arrival of you-know-who. So we are expecting them to have upped their game and Sunday will be their first chance to show us the jazzy new show.

Expect fireworks, dazzling graphics, witty repartee, fast-paced analysis and top-class match coverage ... or Pat Spillane, Des Cahill, Colm O’Rourke and Joe Brolly. Yawn. Nice gentlemen that they are, if you get a sense of déjà vu watching the first Sunday Game of the year, it’s because you’ve seen it all before.

We’ve been told that Tomás Ó Sé is a new addition to the show and I hope that he does bring something different to the mix, but ex (and current) Kerry footballers are notoriously slow to tell us what they really think for fear of tipping someone from Cork off. (Pat Spillane is a notable exception to this rule.)

Roscommon are on the up and should take the always honest Leitrim in Hyde Park. I’d keep an eye on the Rossies – they are making serious strides underage and Connacht can be a strange place to play football. They are a team that could do well in the qualifiers when it comes time for them.

Tyrone meet Down in the first round of the Ulster championship and once upon a time this had the potential to be the ugliest example of Gaelic football. With the league over, the Ulster teams tended to try hard to remind everyone that championship football is about being tough enough first, good enough second.

We are hopeful the black card has changed all this but Healy Park will be a test. Referees will want to make allowances for this being championship football but new habits might be hard to break. I wouldn’t be surprised if five or six players take the black bath.

While Tyrone caught the eye in Division 1, Down were motoring nicely in Division 2, finishing mid-table and keeping most of their powder dry. This could be a right good contest and not the straightforward success for the home side that the bookies expect (Tyrone are 1/3). As per usual in Ulster, expect the unexpected.

If only the same were true of The Sunday Game.

Joe Brolly returns to our screens with RTÉ on The Sunday Game this weekend.