Let's hear it for the IRFU's three-tiered, four proud-provinces-of-Ireland structures one more time then. And let's hear it for the inaugural Celtic League too, that unlikely launching pad for conquering Europe. Okay, notions of conquering Europe may be a little premature but collectively the Irish provinces can surely never have stood so proudly.
Dating back to the third last round of the Celtic League, when they started their push for four home quarter-finals, the four Irish provinces have now put together a combined winning sequence of 20 on both the Celtic and European fronts, each of them having put together at least five wins on the spin. In Leinster's case the tally is nine in a row, while Connacht's run of five wins is an all-time provincial record.
As the longer suffering readers of this column will know it is customary hereabouts to work out the national winning ratios at various junctures of the European Cup. About four or five years ago it was also the norm for the Irish provinces to have a collective winning percentage in the 20s or maybe at a push the 30s, and this usually left Ireland languishing fourth or fifth in a national table. Admittedly, these are still early days in the European Cup yet, but such a table has never been easier or more pleasurable to work out.
Yerragh, read it and laugh. Of course such a table could be drastically altered in just one round of matches but for the time being the Irish provinces have clearly been better placed than others to hit the European ground running after making full use of the Celtic League. Against that, the upcoming two-week hiatus is liable to upset the rhythm of the provinces more than their European rivals.
However, there is talk of an 80-minute run-out, comprising four periods of 20 minutes, between Leinster and Munster next Friday week (the night before the England game) to keep the remainder of their squads ticking over.
In the interim they can luxuriate in jobs well done, culminating in a first hat-trick over English clubs in the European Cup on the same weekend. For Munster it was only a second away win over English opposition, while Ulster's win at home to Wasps last Friday constituted their first victory over English opposition in this competition in eight attempts (and first in five attempts against Wasps alone).
I could go on, and damnit, why not? David Humphreys' haul of 37 points - aside from reminding us what a God-given talent he's always been and taking his aggregate to 60 in two matches - surpassed the competition record of 35 points which Joel Stransky had accumulated for Leicester against Glasgow in a 90-19 quarter-final play-off romp at Welford Road four seasons ago. Ditto Humphreys' tally of four drop goals, another competition landmark.
Next game up, Humphreys goes head-to-head with Diego Dominguez, who overtook Neil Jenkins as the all-time leading European Cup points gatherer over the weekend. Given Stade's status as last season's runners-up, Ulster still look to have the most daunting task on paper of the three provinces in the Cup.
This allows for the Humphreys-inspired semi-final win over Stade three seasons ago - indeed that is liable to steel Stade's resolve and it's possibly a pity in some respects that the first meeting is in Paris. But if Ulster could nick one win over Stade, then with the Treviso game at Ravenhill to finish they would know that a victory over Wasps in Loftus Road would earn them 10 points and a quarter-final place regardless of whether they win the pool or not.
Munster coach Declan Kidney maintained after each of Munster's opening wins that 10 points remains the likely threshold for qualification - all the more so, one might add, if one wants to obtain the home quarter-final which is almost complusory for advancement. Once again this season, home wins (15) outnumber away wins (seven) by about two to one.
It's interesting to note that Wales has proved a tricky destination for Munster, whose win in Newport last season was their first in the Principality in the Cup at the fifth attempt, but were they to win in Bridgend next time out and then complete the double over them at home, they would be in the driving seat in Pool Four.
Leinster, despite not having played away yet, are arguably in the strongest position of all, thanks to their 4-1 and 4-0 try tallies in the wins over Toulouse and Newcastle. Both are already four points adrift of Leinster and Newport, and if, say, Toulouse overtake Leinster they would have to make up four points on them and then outscore them by four tries in the return meeting.
Thus, it's hard not to believe that the luckless French champions' 21-20 defeat in Newport constituted a good result for Leinster, even if the back-to-back, head-to-heads with Newport look like deciding the pool.
Of all the ingredients which have gone into this gradual about-turn over the last few years in Europe, discipline, as Eddie Butler noted in his commentary of the Harlequins-Munster game last Saturday, is now a notable feature of the Irish provinces' forays into Europe, and I think I'm right in saying not one Irish player has been sin-binned in the cup to date. Yet there have been 32 yellow cards in all, and it comes as no surprise to learn that a dozen of them have been incurred by French clubs.
There is only one fly in the ointment. Coupled with the even more inexplicable 18-year run since Ireland's last defeat away to Wales, the extraordinary sequence of 20 wins in succession by the provinces provides another noose for Warren Gatland and the Irish team. Sequences in sport nearly always end and success at one level doesn't necessarily beget more at the next.
For starters, Ireland's leading players are more heavily concentrated than all bar the Scots of their European rivals, and accordingly are the continuing envy of England, Wales and France. It's nice to be envied about something.
