Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

Once upon a time, the month of May was devoid of real rugby. How times have changed. Emmet Moloney looks forward to the action...

Over the next two weekends rugby will dominate the sports conversations up and down the country and Leinster will be the starting point.

They deserve to be and they are on the cusp of something special. They are certainly the best rugby team that Ireland has produced on the "club" front since the onset of professionalism. Yes, better than the Munster team that won two Heineken Cups in 2006 and 2008. The smart money is on them to collect their second Heineken Cup on Saturday in Cardiff and to follow it up with a Magners League crown by beating Munster in Thomond Park, to be sure, to be sure.

Even the Munster fans are coming round to the cold hard fact that Leinster are better than them at the moment. This is the ultimate seal of approval!
Where once Leinster were strong on paper, now they're even better on grass. There really aren't any weaknesses in their make-up and, incredibly, without Lions full-back Rob Kearney for most of the season they look even stronger.

The reason this improvement in their make-up has delivered such success over the past three years is down to the strength of their squad. They've had some long-term injuries to deal with, injuries to key players, but they haven't batted an eyelid, all the while rolling over teams playing an exciting brand of rugby. They should do the same to Northampton on Saturday because the Irish side are a class above the English Premiership team.

The one player Leinster cannot do without is their full-back, Isa Nacewa. He has consistently been their best player and following the deaprture of Rocky Elsom, he has filled that leadership role with the quality of his play.

Leinster have been so lucky with the signing of Isa Nacewa. He was born and raised in New Zealand but actually played with Fiji back in the World Cup of 2003, as he has Fijian roots. That one Fijian cap has prevented him from declaring for the All Blacks, despite a legal attempt to annul that solitary cap in order to sign up with New Zealand. Because of this, he has come to Europe and, unlike Elsom, has not been tempted to return in the year leading up to the World Cup to fight for his place. A bonus in more ways than one. Possibly Leinster's most important player right now, he is going nowhere.
At 28, he can play anywhere in the back division and the only fault line here is that his brilliance could hinder the progress of Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald as both of those want the Irish 15 jersey, but neither are as good as the Aucklander.

This is a nice problem for Joe Schmidt to have; but not so nice for Declan Kidney. Joe Schmidt? He's the Leinster coach and don't worry if you haven't heard much about him, his teams do the talking for him. My kind of coach/manager, Schmidt plays it quiet and low key. For some strange reason, almost all coaches are more effective that way. So many could learn that lesson.

It was once thought that Leinster's pack had a soft centre. Remember that? The return of Leo Cullen started the reversal of that theory. On Saturday, they have the likes of Sean O'Brien to rampage through the Northampton back-row and three-quarters. Tough as the English side are, they don't have the threat Leinster carry in the front eight. No longer are they a team that just gets the ball to the backs,; they can win it up front as well.

And let's not forget the young guns like Fergus McFadden and Jonathan Sexton. Confident and bold, they have the luxury of being big players for their province, but the responsibility is shared elsewhere. There isn't as much pressure on them as we'd expect. They are game-breakers, but they're surrounded by similar men. This makes Leinster the most complete team in Europe.

Leinster's style of rugby this season has also been a revelation. They keep the ball alive any chance they get and play with a tempo that few teams can live with. They do it with players like Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy being creative. With the ball, they look to recycle; without it, they are tigers in defence. Above all these two are big-game players. They don't hide when cups are being played for.

There is little left to be said about Brian O'Driscoll's ability but he has some knack for timing. Incorrectly sin-binned in the semi-final, he came back on the field and you just knew he'd be the one to get the crucial try. His knack for being in the right place at the right time of course is no knack - it is simply greatness.

Just watch on Saturday. When the game is still in the balance, there will be a vital tackle made, a crucial pass off-loaded, an outrageous steal or the killer try touched down.

When the bodies get up off the deck, the greatest rugby player Ireland has ever produced will be the man getting the claps on the back.

He mightn't have the speed of old but he still has the heart and the brain. Still irreplaceable. Whatever the World Cup brings, these next two weeks could be the pinnacle of his club career and we should enjoy them for that. None of that tribal and misplaced cheering like we saw from some Munster fans when he was sin-binned against them in Thomond recently. That's not on.

The favourite's tag didn't used to suit Leinster but that was then. Great teams revel in the expectation and they're doing that.

You couldn't write a greatness defining script any better; win the Heineken Cup one weekend then go to a packed Thomond the following weekend to put the tin hat on it.

These are wonderful times for Irish rugby. Even better for Leinster.To catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Irish Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...