North or south?

Joey Carbery’s future at Leinster may be decided by the end of the day, with Ulster set to take on Osprey’s in a crucial play-off for a spot in next season’s Champions Cup.

Peter O’Reilly in The Times is reporting that Carbery may instead decide to move to Munster if Ulster fail to secure a spot among Europe’s elite this afternoon.

“Today’s result may decide whether Joey Carbery joins the club [Ulster]. Joe Schmidt wants Carbery to play more at fly-half but he wants him to play in the Champions Cup, as this is the closest approximation to Test rugby.”

“Should Ulster lose this afternoon, Schmidt may seek to deploy the youngster in Munster, where he’d get the chance to play regularly with Conor Murray.”

While Ulster are in desperate need of a ten having parted company with Paddy Jackson earlier this season, Munster’s outhalf woes are also well documented.

Tyler Bleyendaal has been struggling with a neck injury for a number of years now, while Ian Keatley and JJ Hanrahan have both failed to impress head coach Johann van Graan.

It’s unclear whether or not Munster may send a ten to Ulster in return, but one thing looks pretty clear – Joey Carbery or the IRFU won’t fancy him playing Challenge Cup next season.

Ulster are slight favourites ahead of today’s fixture, but are without the services of two key players in Ireland internationals Rory Best and Iain Henderson.

If the northern province lose today, it won’t just be a disaster for this season – it’ll be a disaster for the next too.