ON RUGBY:SUNDAY WAS one of those lovely sunny days at the Sportsground, and long after the dust had settled, so to speak, there was one of those sunsets unique to the west. The majority in the crowd of almost 5,000 had drifted disappointedly into Eyre Square and the night by then, but it had been a fairly fluid and entertaining four-try spectacle, with Connacht at times showing they have the collective skills and offloading ability to run the ball from deep, writes GERRY THORNLEY

Back in 2004, on January 2nd, and then, later that year, on December 25th, the teams met at the same venue. Two night games when the icy wind and equally icy rain slanted in from the coast. Munster won both matches by 3-0.

On a previous visit to the Sportsground, where they return tomorrow, the then Leinster forwards coach, Mike Brewer, wondered aloud what would happen if a place-kick were blown back by the gale after bisecting the posts. There were a few hums and haws from those close by, and sure enough Brewer’s question soon applied before, amid initial confusion, the kick was awarded.

That shouldn’t apply tomorrow, and hopefully the conditions will be somewhat similar to Sunday evening. Connacht may not agree, the way things are panning out, and for Leinster, too, this rearranged fixture is being forced upon them like a square peg in a round hole, but it ought to make for a damn better spectacle than would have been the case when initially frozen off back on January 2nd.

Rugby generally starts to become a good deal better to watch around this time of the year. Like the last two pool rounds of the Heineken Cup in January, there is also a more acute realisation of the need to secure bonus points in the scramble for lucrative and coveted play-off places, whereas in the first few rounds coaches and players are more aware of the consequences of defeat. As is oft said, you may not be able to win the Heineken Cup in October or December, but you can go out of the tournament.

Similarly, teams are now scrambling harder for maximum returns as the cut-off points loom in domestic leagues, or as teams strive to avoid relegation. In these more rewarding, if pressurised circumstances, teams are more willing to take chances.

But that doesn’t fully explain the wondrous entertainment of the Heineken Cup quarter-finals the weekend before last.

We forget sometimes that the biggest single factors are the playing surface and the weather, and this appears to have been a longer and more inclement winter just past (touch wood) than most. Some pitches have suffered from the ravages of this winter more than others, and the RDS is rapidly looking like the beach we normally associate with Donnybrook at this time of year.

Perhaps the RDS has suffered from being overused, what with Lansdowne Road being closed and hence Lansdowne sharing it, as well as hosting the Leinster Schools’ Cup finals there and plenty of training sessions too. Ironically, Donnybrook looks resplendent by comparison.

In any event, despite the upturn in the weather, players are still slipping in the sandy patches, but this is still preferable to mud and rain and wind, and it didn’t detract one iota from the Leinster-Clermont thriller, which was played on a gorgeous evening.

The kicking game will always be critical in rugby, as Ronan O’Gara’s latest masterclass against Northampton underlined. It’s no coincidence, though, that with his innate feel for the game, his need to be primary decision-maker, and with both his kicking boots and running game in mind, O’Gara talks about the quality of the playing surface and the shortness of the grass, and how it facilitates running rugby, more than most. As with Brian O’Driscoll et al in Le Stadium in Toulouse, so O’Gara and co will love the racing green surface and summery conditions at the Estadio Anoeta the next day. If anything, it might be too hot.

A dry ball and a good pitch makes passing and catching easier, and favours the top-of-the-ground runners. Counter-attacking is less risky, whereas in the rain and on a muddy pitch, kicking is a much safer option, so of late players have begun to work harder in retreating back to give their fullback more running options.

The Super 14 and Tri-Nations often looks to possess better skills, and at a higher intensity. But for all the debate about different refereeing standards, and specifically the extent to which referees are applying the IRB’s edict regarding the tackler releasing the ball-carrier before re-engaging for the ball (sure enough, players in the Super 14 have started to clap their hands now), the biggest factor in this is probably the conditions.

Save for wet nights in windy Wellington and the like in New Zealand, the vast majority of Super 14 games – especially those in Australia and South Africa – are played on excellent, dry grounds, with a dry ball and little wind. That helps.

By contrast, European coaches and players have to adapt to a much greater variety of conditions. They have to multi-task more.

The IRB are still looking into the possibility of one of their favourite hobby horses, namely the possibility of a global season, with the club, representative and international windows in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres running in perfect harmony.

The intermingling of the Northern Hemisphere season, which may jump back and forth, at least keeps interest alive on different fronts simultaneously, and makes for more variety.

The biggest single advantage of a global season is, arguably, the possibility of the Heineken Cup and Super 14 winners, ie, Leinster and Blue Bulls last year, meeting in a north v south decider. Now that would be a mouth-watering one-off to somehow cram into the over-congested calendar.

Undoubtedly, the Super 14 champions would start favourites were this to come to pass no matter the respective finalists. Throughout the professional era, there can be little disputing the south’s supremacy, as evidenced by the continuing presence of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia in the world’s top three.

But as that first bank holiday weekend in southern France and northern Spain is also liable to highlight, the biggest single mitigating factor against a global season is probably not the manifold logistical and political difficulties attached to such a move.

It is the French summer.