Cian Tracey: Grading the provinces – two fails and two that barely earn passes considering what was expected of them
Leo Cullen
As the dust settles on the Irish club season that came to a shuddering halt a week early, attention begins to turn towards the summer tour to South Africa.
As ever, expectations were high when the campaign got under way last October, a week after Ireland were knocked out of the World Cup by New Zealand. Despite the latest quarter-final exit, the provinces were still fancied to have successful seasons, but the reality is that all four failed to meet their targets.
