Ulster fly the last Irish flag in European top-flight competition this Saturday when they host Oyonnax in the final round of pool matches. To make the last eight in the tournament, they need to win in Ravenhill and capture a bonus point – a result that would put them on 18 points. After that, we will have to look elsewhere as only the best three runners-up make the quarter-finals.

The formality that this French team are supposed to be was tested in France two weeks ago when Les Kiss gambled on his starting lineup, resting key players. That gamble backfired massively. At half-time, Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar joined the fray and led a magnificent comeback that saw them home by a point.

This Saturday lunchtime, Ulster should be at full strength and thinking about tries early and often. This might be the last Six Nations window for the likes of Jackson, Chris Henry, Jared Payne, Stuart McCloskey and Andrew Trimble. They will want to take it.

Supporters will be watching games from all over as clubs like the Ospreys, Northampton Saints, Toulon and Clermont could all pass Ulster out, but in saying that a couple of teams might stand still too. My gut feeling is that Ulster are more than capable of securing the five-point win and this will just about be enough. This will probably see them as seventh or eighth seeds in the last eight, playing away against one of the star teams. Considering their start to the tournament, when they were hammered at home by Saracens, it will be no mean feat for Les Kiss to reach the knockout stages.

Waiting for them will be either Leicester, Racing Metro or the aforementioned Saracens and Ulster will travel to that game as underdogs. That won’t be until the second weekend in April and who knows what can happen between now and then.

At least Ulster should be there, unlike Munster and Leinster. Munster did their northern cousins a favour at the weekend when they beat Stade Français in Thomond Park. That left the French side on 14 points and they now need to beat Leicester at home with a bonus point to ensure progress.

Of course, Munster did their supporters and themselves a favour too, winning the Munster way. It bought Anthony Foley some time and restored one or two reputations too. They are in Treviso at the weekend and will end their campaign with a healthy enough total of 15 points, but it won’t mask the long-term issues.

Leinster’s campaign is also long over. They travel to Wasps on Saturday afternoon and the English need a win to guarantee a playoff place; therefore there can only be one result. Leo Cullen will probably throw a few more kids into the European fray as big-game experience is all they can realistically take from the Ricoh Arena.

Connacht have the Russians Enisei-STM at home on Saturday afternoon in Galway and a bonus-point win will see them into the last eight of the Challenge Cup. That probably won’t be enough to garner a home quarter-final, however, and last week’s agonising late loss to Brive will haunt them on that front. The men from the west have suddenly forgotten how to win close matches – something that was key to their early season form. This weekend at least they will get back into the winning habit.

It’s a strange last weekend in Europe for Irish rugby fans. We are used to the drama and permutations of who we might be playing the last eight. We are usually on edge as the games between Welsh, French and English clubs suddenly concern us. Not this time. Even Ulster, our last viable candidates for the tournament, will have little trouble with defeating their opposition. Their win should be workmanlike and the bonus point will surely be sealed before the 80th minute. That too will remove the tension.

The problem for Ulster fans will be the timing of their game. They play Oyonnax at 1pm on Saturday in the day’s first contest. That will be followed by at least 24 hours of TV watching and perhaps some calculating before they know if they have made it through.

It’s a far cry from the days of us wondering if our big three could avoid each other in the last eight. Hopefully we see that soon again. For now, we get behind the Red Hand – Irish rugby’s last men standing. CL

Lost in a GAA vacuum

At this time of year, many GAA fans and pundits are consumed with structures, the football championship, abolishing the provincial championships and a “Champions League format”. It is at times like these that I smile to myself and think about another phrase, one that is often trotted out by officialdom: “The GAA is the most democratic organisation in the county, if not the world.”

There is a lot of truth to that. It is often said the main difference between a democracy and republic is that in a democracy you vote on every decision but in a republic you vote on for the people who will then make every decision.

The football championship is the popular stick to beat the GAA with these days. It is lopsided and far from fair or perfect. The football qualifiers are similar and contain too many games.

Why is this the case? Because the GAA, as is their wont, try to please too many people too much of the time. By trying to keep everyone happy, no one is happy. But they’re not that put out, whereas a root-and-branch reform of the championship would definitely put some people way out of their comfort zone. It will happen though, just not as quickly as it should. Such is the GAA way. For now, I hold my tongue and laugh when I hear those criticising the provincial championship structure, decrying how it is seemingly set in stone.

Would this be the same provincial structure that, over the space of a year, had Kerry, Antrim and Galway playing in the Leinster hurling championship? Only in the GAA does compromise come before everything else.

By the way, I have seen five inter-county hurling matches in the last seven days. I can only see two in August when the ground is firm. Go figure.