It's early days, but Europe has taken note of the big two provinces' fine form in the Heineken Cup - and it's great to see Brian O'Driscoll back to his imperious best
REMEMBER WHEN the received wisdom had it that the Northern Hemisphere should emulate the other side of the rugby world and run off its season in blocks? Who could possibly take another four weekends in a row of the Heineken Cup? The competition would be diluted, and be the poorer for it. Instead, as strong as ever, it takes a well-earned breather after another stunning weekend and will return all guns blazing in December.
We shouldn't get carried away, and it's easy for past deeds to become blurred by the memory. After all, there were the quarter-final wins by Leinster and Munster away to Toulouse and at home to Perpignan three seasons ago, the double over Sale and Bath which preceded it and the final weekend of the '02-03 group stages when Leinster followed up Munster's Miracle match against Gloucester by trouncing Bristol away. But it's hard to think of a better Euro weekend for the big two.
It wasn't a perfect weekend, but although Ulster lost to Harlequins, following on from Leinster's win over Wasps on Saturday, Munster's defeat of Sale Sharks was the 40th victory by an Irish province over English club opposition in 75 Heineken Cup Anglo-Irish head-to-heads. Set against 35 defeats, this gives the Irish teams a highly-commendable 53.33 per cent success rate.
Leinster's 30-point winning margin was also their biggest against English opposition - eclipsing their 32-10 win over an under-strength Leicester team at Welford Road in the final round of pool games in the 1999-2000 season - and the first time they had scored six tries against an English team. Individually, Munster have won 18 of 28 matches against English teams for a 64.29 per cent winning ratio, while Leinster have won 16 of 25 games, for a 64 per cent strike rate.
Of course, England's larger talent pool is spread more liberally across their dozen Premiership teams, whereas the events of the season so far underline that Ireland again remains heavily and unhealthily dependent upon Munster and Leinster.
Yet, looking at the two of them atop pools one and two, it's hard not to become a little giddy and while it's true that eight of the previous 13 tournament winners won both of their opening two games, in the last three years Munster, either side of Toulouse, recovered from losing one of their opening two games to go on and win the cup.
Recent history therefore shows us that, in an increasingly competitive tournament, the ultimate winners need not necessarily come from the seven sides still unbeaten, Munster, Leinster, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, Stade Français Paris, Toulouse and Cardiff Blues.
The tournament is littered with examples of teams who were motoring like a train in October - both domestically and in Europe - before shuddering to almost a halt when it's time to dole out the trophies. Likewise, teams that begin slowly or are just ticking along before the autumnal Test window, grow in confidence and form as the season progresses, all the more so if they are proven winners and have huge squads.
Toulouse readily fall into that category, and who knows, maybe Wasps, Sale or Gloucester might too, given Wasps have serious pedigree when it comes to fast-finishing recoveries from poor starts. The Ospreys too, one would imagine, can only get better when their two first-choice scrumhalves Mike Phillips and Jamie Nutbrown are fit again, and both James Hook and Gavin Henson are in proper working order.
Even so, Europe has taken notice, and even ex-England hooker Brian Moore devoted his column in the Daily Telegraph to the expectations which have been raised by Leinster and Munster, asking if Declan Kidney "can do what Eddie O'Sullivan so conspicuously failed to do - unite the best from the Irish provinces? Ireland have been less than the sum of their parts, settling for worthless Triple Crowns when they should have been winning championships."
There is still an inordinate reliance on two teams and, in many cases, the same players who have soldiered through a run of 10 defeats in Ireland's last 14 Tests. Yet when Kidney announces his squad of 30-plus players for the forthcoming November Tests tomorrow, the vast majority of them will be in good form and on a high, which as Kidney knows very well, can only be a positive thing.
Aside from the bulk supplied by Munster and Leinster, there are also a smattering of players in fine form across the channel, notably Geordan Murphy, Bob Casey, Tommy Bowe, Saturday's hat-trick scorer Johne Murphy, Mike Ross and Eoin Reddan, who may have had a slightly mixed bag in a trying evening in the RDS, but is a strong character as well as a talented player who will probably revel in the change of environment.
As memorable a moment as any over the weekend was assuredly Brian O'Driscoll's second try against Wasps, a virtuoso effort, and both the broad grin he wore after it and the standing ovation he received as he walked back in front of the new grandstand.
Ireland's best rugby player now looks back to his best and, while there's an argument for believing that relinquishing him of the Ireland captaincy might further rejuvenate him, the case for Kidney to reinstate him tomorrow as captain is compelling.
After reaffirming his abilities as first-choice centre, more than anything else, he still wants it. And one ventures it would be a beneficial boost for him.
It would be sacrificing a huge investment in time on O'Driscoll's captaincy, whereas installing Paul O'Connell might, by comparison, merely accentuate the heavy load that had previously been placed on O'Driscoll as provincial and national captain, not to mention Lions captain.
In Kidney we trust, but it would also maintain a well-balanced leadership triumvirate of O'Driscoll as captain and Ronan O'Gara as chief tactician and goal-kicker, with O'Connell continuing to do his peerless bit as pack lead and chief enforcer.
