For most of the teams in the Guinness Pro14, it's a definitely a squad game with players' game-time carefully managed.
Therefore some of the frontline players are often unavailable for league games, meaning the provinces with the strongest and deepest squads, like Leinster, are less likely to struggle.
Former Ireland head coach Eddie O'Sullivan and Irish Independent rugby correspondent Ruaidhri O'Connor joined Richie McCormack to discuss that and more as they reflected on a weekend which saw Munster and Leinster lose to Glasgow Warriors and Scarlets respectively, while Connacht and Ulster notched wins.
"Certainly Munster, they do struggle when the internationals are away but at the same time I think when they're on the field, we saw last year that they do have to open up their game a little bit and a big part of that, I think Carbery is a big key to that," said Eddie, suggesting that Munster need to get Carbery more game-time from the start in order to both develop his game and that of the team as well.
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But he also continued on the micro-managing of game-time across the board.
"There is a certain problem with the management thing which is in situ for 15 years because I brought it in," he said.
"It's become very micro-managed now. Guys are in and out, they're in for half a game and I just wonder at times is it so micro-managed that guys find it hard to hit a run of form. Most players would play every week if they were asked. Fellas don't ask for time off and I think they need to be protected from that themselves.
"But I think if you can get players, give them a run at it. And some of them are back very early now obviously, so they will be taking breaks down the track.
"And probably the other thing that upsets lots of people is that these breaks are taken during the inter-pros when everyone's looking forward to Leinster and Munster knocking lumps out of each other and you find that they pitch up missing five or six internationals."
Eddie and Ruaidhri also talked about the weekend's results, while they also touched on the issue of concussion following the retirement of ex-Leinster player Dominic Ryan.
