New head coach Tony McGahan has vowed to maintain the Munster tradition and they will remain the team to beat, even in a pool with two French clubs. They first away match is at Sale, where they lost in the opening round three years ago.
Main man: Ronan O’Gara. Munster have a New Zealand influence in the three-quarters, giving them an extra dimension, but the Ireland outside-half remains their controlling influence and tactical hub. Photograph: Julien Behal/Press Association
A bright start to the Premiership campaign masked back row deficiencies at Edgeley Park. Sale’s failure to replace open-side flanker Magnus Lund has been exposed, and though they will be tough to beat at home, they will need more than a solid defence to get anything out of trips to Munster and Clermont.
Main man: Luke McAlister. New Zealand want the centre to return home next year and Sale’s fate will depend on how often they get the ball to his hands. Photograph: David Jones/Press Association
Clermont are fifth in the Top 14 despite being unbeaten at home. It is nearly seven years since they reached the knockout stage of the Heineken Cup, and they will be without captain and France wing, Aurélien Rougerie, for the first four rounds as he recovers from a shoulder operation.
Main man: Benoît Baby. The France centre’s international career has been hampered by injuries, and an early suspension, but he will be pivotal for Clermont. Photograph: Thierry Zoccolan/Getty
They are appearing in the Heineken Cup for the first time and start with a Friday night trip to the holders. League form has been indifferent with their three victories, all at home, coming against bottom-four. With an average Challenge Cup record this decade, they are the favourites to finish bottom of the pool.
Main man: Vilimoni Delasau. The Fiji wing joined from Clermont and, along with the Scotland lock Scott Murray, offers experience to the squad. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP
The two-times winners have started dreadfully in the Premiership, but should have few problems in their opening match, at home to Castres. Their second game, at Leinster, will be different and will have a significant bearing on the group. In their current mood, all three away matches will be hazardous, but Wasps are never more dangerous than when facing adversity.
Main man: The obvious candidate is Danny Cipriani, if he can stay out of Josh Lewsey’s way. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images
Perennial Heineken Cup underachievers, their failure has contrasted with Munster’s success. They have had the backs, but rarely the forwards needed to prevail in tough group games and have only made the knock-out stage in two of the last five seasons. A Magners League defeat at Connacht hardly augurs brighter days.
Main man: Rocky Elsom The Australia flanker has the thrust to get Leinster on the front foot, while CJ van der Linde adds ballast up front. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty
They are one off the bottom of the Top 14 having won just one of their opening seven matches. They have not made the knockout stage since reaching the semi-final in 2002 and their only away victory in the Heineken Cup since then was in Treviso. Doubled by Wasps two seasons ago and destined to be also-rans again.
Main man: Lionel Nallet. The France captain and second row needs to lead from the front if Castres are to make any sort of impact. Photograph: Remy Gabalda/Getty
Fourteen successive defeats away defeats in Europe tell their own story, but Edinburgh are better at home, where Leicester, Leinster, Wasps and Perpignan have fallen in recent seasons. Given their improvement under Andy Robinson and Wasps’ poor form, they have a sporting chance of making their second-ever knock-out stage.
Main man: Chris Paterson. Back after a season in Gloucester, Paterson’s kicking could be the difference in tight games. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty
The Tigers lost all three group matches away from home last season, but their first trip this time is to Treviso, which should provide some comfort. Despite showing more consistency, Leicester have a transition feel about them and their fate will depend significantly on what they get out of trips to Ospreys and Perpignan.
Main man: Aaron Mauger. Suffocated by Andy Goode last season, the New Zealander holds the key to playing with more width and pace. Photograph: Paul Harding/Action images
Daniel Carter will miss two rounds as he tours Europe with the All Blacks, his stand-in Steve Meyer will be out for six weeks and the No8 Henry Tuilagi for the same period. Perpignan are third in the Top 14, but were well beaten by the two teams above them. The late arrival of Carter may not be enough to see them through.
Main man: Much will be expected of Carter, but Scotland scrum-half Chris Cusiter also has a pivotal role to play. Photograph: Remy Gabalda/Getty
Wales started their Six Nations campaign last season with 13 Ospreys, one reason why the region is one of the pre-tournament favourites. Too often in the past, they have fallen just short - in recent years they have failed to turn superiority into wins against Gloucester, Stade Français and Leicester.
Main man: Shane Williams. A menace every time he has the ball in his hands. Capable of scoring a try out of nothing and in the form of his life. Photograph: David Jones/Press Association
Not the Italian champions for once, after losing out to Calvisano last May, but they lead this year’s Super 10 with four wins from four. Supplied only three players to the Italy squad for the autumn internationals and their true goal will be to win a match rather than the group.
Main man: Andrea Marcato is a promising outside-half who could solve a problem position for Italy, but former Wasps centre Fraser Waters has the task of organising the defence. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty
New (but still garish kit), new coach in Ewen McKenzie and new-found consistency. They are runaway leaders of the Top 14 with seven wins from seven and are yet to lose a Heineken Cup group match at home, yet have only made the quarter-finals once in the past three seasons. Should win the group.
Main man: Juan Martin Hernandez. The Argentina full-back remains a match-winner while Australian rugby league recruit Mark Gasnier is a wing to watch. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty
Semi-finalists in 2007, they failed to win a group match last season. The arrival of former Australia defence coach John Muggleton should see an improvement on last season’s dismal average of more than 35 points a match conceded in their group, but questions remain about their resources at forward.
Main man: Outside-half Stephen Jones’s boot will be as important as ever, but the Scarlets need former Australia No8 David Lyons to make an instant impact. Photograph: John Gichigi/Getty
Ravenhill used to be one of Europe’s most impregnable fortresses, but Biarritz the Scarlets, Gloucester and the Ospreys have all stormed it in recent years. All the while, Ulster have remained poor travellers with just one victory in their last 15 trips. They have not qualified for the knock-out stage since winning the tournament back in 1999.
Main man: Andrew Trimble. The Ireland centre is one of the best attacking midfielders in the tournament. Photograph: Getty
It is nearly seven years since Quins won a Heineken Cup match and their overall record, 10 victories in 30 games, is dismal. This should be their year for redemption, given their relatively kind pool draw and early season form. They may be ranked 35th in Europe, but their counter-attacking prowess can make them a threat.
Main man: Nick Evans. If the former New Zealand outside-half regains fitness, he has the awareness to exploit the pace outside him. Photograph: Joe Giddins/Empics
Last season’s runners-up lost two of their first four league games, but are improving. They will miss scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Élissalde, while most of their forwards are over 30. They have lost two of their last 28 matches in Europe at home, but Bath will be a test.
Main man: Vincent Clerc and Cedric Heymans are clinical finishers outside, but in Élissalde’s absence, former All Blacks scrum-half Byron Kelleher has a crucial role to play. Photograph: Remy Gabalda/Getty
The Premiership leaders return to the main stage after two seasons in which they lost only once in the Challenge Cup. They reached the semi-final last time out, but are more resourceful now and may have greater attacking potential than Toulouse. But can they dog it out in winter fixtures in Newport and Glasgow?
Main men: Michael Claassens and Butch James: The South African half-backs made an instant impact, but James must kick better for Bath to challenge. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty
The weakest of Wales’s four regions would be better off playing in the European Challenge Cup after failing to make any impact on the Heineken Cup in four attempts. They have lost Michael Owen and Ceri Sweeney from last season’s squad and lack experience in key areas.
Main man: Colin Charvis. The Wales flanker turns 36 in December, but his game-turning performance as a replacement against Newcastle shows that he remains an example for others to follow. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty
The Warriors have never made the knock-out stage, but they made a decent attempt last season, beating Biarritz and twice losing to Saracens by a single score. They will find it tougher this time and their league form is patchy, but one of their two wins came against the Dragons at Rodney Parade.
Main man: Dan Parks. The Scotland outside-half has his detractors, but will be influential if the refereeing crack-down at the breakdown is carried into Europe. Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty
The Biarritzzzzz of recent seasons woke up last week when they put 46 points on Montpellier, giving their new coaches a stay of execution. Before then, they had been well beaten by Clermont, Dax and Toulouse and they lie seventh in the Top 14. But they are unbeaten at home and have lost only one Heineken Cup match in the last 23 on their own turf. Main man: Dimitri Yachvili. Usually the temperature gauge for his side: when he is cold, Biarritz freeze. Photograph: Thierry Zoccolan/Getty
The cherry and whites have promised for a few seasons at home and in Europe only to fall short. Their pool seems reasonable, especially as they play the Blues at the Millennium Stadium rather than Arms Park, but they are never more vulnerable than when expected to prevail.
Main man: Marco Bortolami. The arrival of New Zealand prop Greg Somerville in December gives Gloucester added clout, but the former Italy captain needs to rediscover his form. Photograph: David Davies/Press Association
They have usually ended up singing the blues in the Heineken Cup, but they toughened up last season, winning at Bristol after an EDF Energy Cup victory at Bath. Gloucester would make it a west country hat-trick, but their early league form has been mixed. The potential is there, if not the depth.
Main man: Jamie Roberts has made an impact in the centre, but the ability of Martyn Williams at the breakdown will be as important as ever. Photograph: Christopher Lee/Getty
Used to making up the numbers with their last victory in the tournament coming in Beziers five years ago. Current Italian champions, but they were thrashed 46-16 by Rovigo in the Italian Super 10 last month. They boast five of the current Italy squad, but their foreign contingent is largely made up of journeymen.
Main man: Leonardo Ghiraldini was arguably the leading hooker in last season’s Six Nations. Photograph: Martin Bureau/AFP
