Another day, another Media Watch as the Guinness PRO14 returns after two weeks of European action

Tuesday’s Media Watch starts atUlster, where John Cooney’s blistering form continues to encourage Irish fans he should be Andy Farrell’s first-choice No.9 by the time the Guinness Six Nations comes around.

He has at least been named in the 45-man squad that will gather at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre in Dublin next Sunday and Monday, with eight of Cooney’s Ulster teammates – including uncapped pair Billy Burns and Tom O’Toole – also receiving a call-up.

There is no place for World Cup veteran Rob Kearney however, with change seemingly afoot in the new Farrell era and theLeinster man getting caught in the shuffle.

Rob Kearney left out of Ireland squad get together https://t.co/bjsFRTpdIB via @IrishTimesSport
— Irish Times Sport (@IrishTimesSport) 16 December 2019

Johnny Sexton still has a central IRFU contract until the end of the ²⁰²⁰⁄₂₁ season and the latest update on his knee injury is that he will see a specialist again in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, Sexton’s club boss Leo Cullen admitted he wasn’t 100 per cent happy with how his team played in their last match, despite thumping Premiership leaders Northampton Saints 50-21 in Dublin.

WhileLeinster made history as the first team to qualify for the Champions Cup quarter-finals after only four rounds,Connacht were merely pleased to keep their knockout hopes alive with a dramatic win over Gloucester.

Now, head coach Andy Friend has challenged his team to use their latest result to lay down a marker in Conference B, where they currently sit in second place.

However, there is likely to be a serious strain on all the Irish provinces over the Christmas period, with the IRFU player’s welfare programme restricting each of their World Cup players to just one of the three festive fixtures.

But in Wales,Dragons andOspreys are looking forward to being significantly boosted by the returns of Ross Moriarty and Justin Tipuric this weekend respectively, with both set for their first appearances since the tournament in Japan.

Another recent returner for the Dragons, Cory Hill, is looking forward to taking on the other Welsh regions now that he’s back from ten months of injury frustration.

And we finish in Scotland, whereGlasgow Warriors assistant coach Jason O’Halloran announced that he will leave his role at Scotstoun at the end of the current season.