Writing in the Irish Times, Johnny Watterson believes any side hoping to make an impression in this season's Magners League has to come flying out of the traps.
"Leinster and Munster in particular will be looking for a strong start as the increase in team numbers means there will be four extra rounds of matches in the league phase of the tournament. In order to accommodate this, some games are scheduled to be played during the international windows in November and when the RBS Six Nations championship is being played. Both Leinster and Munster have two scheduled matches in November.
"Leinster will have their eye on going one step further this time around, having fallen flat against Ospreys in last season’s Grand Final at the RDS. Bowe was one of the Ospreys’ two try scorers in their 17-12 victory in May and also grabbed a vital bonus-point try at his old stomping ground as the Ospreys beat Ulster 38-27 in April to stay on course for the play-offs.
"The 22-round league season kicks off on the first weekend in September and runs through until the weekend of May 6th of next year. All games in Round 22 will kick-off simultaneously to ensure no teams have advantage when vying for play-off places or European qualification."
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