If you want to know where England found the wherewithal to get off their knees and make the World Cup final, then look no further than the Heineken Cup this weekend. Gloucester versus Ulster in Belfast tonight, Wasps versus Munster and Leicester in Dublin to play Leinster tomorrow; it is a tasty start to the world's best club competition.
When England were faced effectively with a couple of knock-out games just to get out of the pool stages, even before the quarter- and semi-finals, it was crucial that so many players knew how to win do-or-die games, often on foreign fields. And that is what the Heineken Cup had given them. Those two Australians with European experience, John Connolly and Eddie Jones, think the same. There are very few second chances in the Heineken. Lose at home in the first six rounds and you are playing catch-up even to get through to the knock-out stages where you will almost certainly concede home advantage. It has got tougher and tougher and, with so many southern hemisphere guys heading north, the quality will be even better - so good it gives me a tingle. This is what I coach for: big games on big stages where the passion of the club fan adds a special something rugby Test crowds often lack.
Pool One
London Irish, Newport-Gwent Dragons, Perpignan, Treviso
That said, there are anomalies and one crops up in Pool One. Because so many of the best Italians play abroad, Italian clubs have gone backwards and having a side like Treviso in the group usually means getting a chance at one of the two best loser slots, which should benefit London Irish. I can tell you from our experience last year that Perpignan are no longer bad travellers and I expect them, with their vast influx of foreign stars, led by Percy Montgomery to top the group.
Pool Two
Bourgoin, Gloucester, Ospreys, Ulster
This is the first of the toughies and could go down to bonus points. Gloucester, who have built up a really strong squad to bolster the young, home-grown talent, will need to take something from their visit to the Ospreys in the penultimate round but they should just about edge the Welsh out of top spot. Actually this group is so tight, with half of Wales now playing in Swansea, that it could go down to tries. Lesley Vainikolo had better get on his bike at Ravenhill this evening.
Pool Three
Bristol, Cardiff Blues, Harlequins, Stade Français
Pool C should belong to Stade Français. I like the kind of football Cardiff are playing but the French champions have so many big guns that Fabien Galthié is still resting Juan Martín Hernández, Dimitri Szarzewski, Pieter de Villiers and Christophe Dominici after their World Cup labours.
Pool Four
Biarritz, Glasgow, Saracens, Viadana
Pool Four is one for the betting man. The bookies will make Biarritz odds-on favourites but I've got a feeling for Saracens. The Basques are always there or there abouts - three quarter-finals, two semi-finals, and a final in the last seven years - but under Patrice Lagisquet their rugby has become dated and too boot-oriented. Who can forget Northampton's win at San Sebastian last spring - it was an accident waiting to happen. With Viadana in the group, two of the other three should go through but, if Saracens can nick a bonus point at the Parc des Sports Aguiléra, they will be favourites for home advantage in the quarter-finals.
Pool Five
Clermont Auvergne, Llanelli Scarlets, Munster, Wasps
I will steer clear of a prediction. Sunday's comeback win over Gloucester lifted spirits at Wasps but we have not had an easy season so far, with 10 away at the World Cup, and Munster first up means the holders meeting the 2006 champions. Clermont Auvergne were the surprise package in the French league last year, leading all the way until Stade pipped them in the final and Llanelli Scarlets reached the semi-final last season. So much for seeding.
Pool Six
Edinburgh, Leicester, Leinster, Toulouse
Another brute. Toulouse, the most successful side in Europe, fell off the pace last year and they have lost Frédéric Michalak and Benoit Baby. However, they still have Yannick Jauzion, Vincent Clerc, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Florian Fritz and Cédric Haymans along with Fijian centre Maleli Kunavore and the new boy Byron Kelleher at scrum-half. They beat Stade at a canter last weekend, so Leicester and Leinster be warned. Leicester are pretty invincible at home, so I pick them to edge it.
