ON RUGBY:THE SIX Nations had better be careful. After much of the forgettable, badly-refereed games witnessed over the 2011 championship's five weekends, last Saturday night in Thomond Park was much more like fare worth paying to see. And the good news is there's probably better to come this weekend.
There are few more absorbing weekends than the last round or two of the pool stages in the Heineken Cup, and then Euro quarter-final weekend. There were few better weekends last season than the corresponding one. Leinster’s 29-28 thriller over Clermont set the tone, followed by equally dramatic games as Biarritz beat the Ospreys by the same score in San Sebastian, Munster scaled the heights when renewing rivalries with Northampton at Thomond Park and Toulouse tore Stade Francais apart. There were 19 tries in the four games and they could be every bit as lively this weekend.
Further proof that this competition reaches parts no other tournament does comes in the shape of two ties in Spain which bookend the quarter-finals. Perpignan break new ground when they play host to Toulon at the Barcelona Olympic Stadium in Saturday afternoon’s opener, then Leinster welcome Leicester. The next day Ulster travel to the stadium:mk to play Northampton and then Biarritz entertain Toulouse.
Even Munster’s presence in the Amlin Challenge Cup adds to the intrigue next Saturday when they travel to Brive.
No disrespect to Leicester, but if you had your choice of inviting anyone to your ground in quarter-final week the Tigers would probably be last on the list – out of respect, really. They are undoubtedly England’s flagship team at home and in Europe. There’ll be a whiff of cordite in the air too. The two-time Heineken Cup winners and five-time finalists won’t have forgotten their defeat by Leinster in the final at Murrayfield two seasons ago.
Away from home, as they showed in recovering from 10-0 down to Harlequins last Saturday to eke out a 17-13 win, they know how to hang in there, limit the damage when the opposition are on top and take their chances. It’s in their DNA.
They beat Leinster at this stage at the old Lansdowne Road six seasons ago, winning 29-13, and perhaps most significantly they remain the only team to have to stormed Munster’s Thomond citadel in the 14-year history of the competition. This will not faze them as it did England.
Furthermore, returning to the Aviva Stadium with five of those who suffered at the hands of Ireland a fortnight ago will only stiffen the resolve of Dan Cole, Louis Deacon, Tom Croft, Ben Youngs and Toby Flood, particularly as they will be facing nine of the Irish match-day squad that day.
After 10 wins in 11 matches, Leicester are seeking to top the Premiership table for the third season in a row and reach a Twickenham final for the seventh season in a row. They have scored the most tries in the Premiership (54 in 19 games) and conceded the fewest, also scoring 25 in six Heineken Cup pool games. The Samoan Tuilagi brothers, dreadlocked winger-cum-human missile Alesana and English-qualified younger brother Manu at outside centre, are the joint leading try scorers in the Premiership.
They are also in away-day mode, this being their third away game in a row with a late Saturday afternoon kick-off, following their wins away to Bath and Harlequins.
The 37-6 win in Bath appeared to be particularly restorative for Youngs and Flood, who attack the fringes better than any other half-back combo in Europe.
Bath were admittedly awful on the day. By the time Leicester led 17-3, they had taken both of their two try-scoring chances, whereas Bath had failed to take any of four. Furthermore, Butch James wasn’t prepared to take on four eminently kickable penalties.
Harlequins might have punished another slow start more than they did last Saturday at the Stoop in a game which, to be brutally frank, was nothing like the quality or sustained intensity over 80 minutes witnessed at Thomond Park. They are the best England have to offer, but they are not without their flaws defensively and they are beatable.
Northampton lie fourth in the Premiership but are probably the second-best team in England. As they slipped to six successive league defeats, the thought of them playing hosts to Ulster in Milton Keynes (where the Saints have not played before) did not look especially intimidating.
But their absent Englishmen are key figures in their direct, high-tempo brand of rugby, with Dylan Hartley and Tom Wood, along with Courtney Lawes and Soane Tongauiha, among their primary ball-carriers close in. And much of their game is geared toward working one-on-ones out wide for Chris Ashton and Ben Foden, who are lethal. With their Englishmen back in harness, the Saints have scored a dozen tries in beating Sale and Wasps over the last two weekends.
Ulster have won six on the spin and Ian Humprheys, it’s true, adds a different dimension to Ulster. That much was underlined by his two-try return last Friday night. Unfortunately, the tackling remains an issue – put another way, he’s good for the scoreboard – and one can readily expect him to be targeted by James Downey as the ex-Clontarf, Leinster and Munster man seeks to avail of this day in the shop window.
As for Brive, they are more old school French, with a heavy emphasis on mauling and kicking, with South African number eight Antonie Claassen and inside centre Fabrice Estebasnez their go-to, target runners. This weekend finds them in a good place too, as Saturday’s bonus point 26-9 win over La Rochelle leaves them nine points clear of the latter and the relegation places, virtually sealing their Top 14 place for next season, and follows their 50-6 trouncing of Bourgoin the week before.
There’s a feeling that Brive might put out their second string, but this is a marquee game for them (Munster’s cache also means they come with a big X on their backs), and it’s also their last route into next season’s Heineken Cup. Like Munster, Leinster and Ulster, they too have the carrot of a home Euro semi-final dangling in front of them this weekend.
