Weekend losses leave trail of 'if onlys'

On Rugby: The mildly euphoric state of this time last week has certainly worn off, if not in Munster. As for the other provinces, all - especially Leinster - will reflect on three one-score away defeats and wonder what might have been.

Leinster's capacity to thrill and yet frustrate (particularly themselves, one imagines) remains undiminished. They would - as the saying goes - "do your head in", albeit after doing in their own.

When they win, they usually do so handsomely, and even when they lose, they usually play most of the rugby, as they did at home to Bath and away to Bourgoin last season, and again in Edinburgh on Sunday.

Yet in all instances they and we are left to reflect on countless incidents when they were authors of their own downfall, and in this several patterns are repeated: a malfunctioning lineout, a heavy penalty count against them, a forcing of the play, and a proneness to bad decisions.

Two of these they can undoubtedly work to rectify, even if they and we have been saying this for quite a while. To a degree, mistakes or over-ambitious plays - even tapping a penalty when a three-pointer would have taken them into half-time a point ahead - are part of the package. They are a team that go for it. It is why they are often the best team in Europe to watch.

If they are to become European champions though, their pack simply has to become more reliable and secure better first-phase ball than they did on Sunday, as has generally been the case this season.

Their detractors would say their discipline and even the fiery temperaments of coaches Michael Cheika and David Knox have given them a bad reputation among the refereeing fraternity. But it's hard to buy into that as the root cause of their problems with Joël Jutge, whose 17-6 penalty count did most damage to Leinster's chances on Sunday.

Jutge is widely regarded as one of the best referees in the world, and Leinster perhaps could have adapted more to his interpretations, even to the extent of scarcely competing for the ball at the breakdown. Yet his performance on Sunday won't have disabused Cheika and Knox of the notion their ultra-positive team are being a little victimised. And it's hard to forget Jutge's refereeing of the Sale-Munster game at Edgeley Park last season, when the penalty count was 16-8 in favour of the home team, and five of the penalties against Sale were for foul play.

Ireland's Heineken European Cup tally of four wins out of six is still reasonable, and equals the Welsh return, but despite looking more than a little leg-weary, the French have returned 10 wins out of 14 (four against Italian opposition) and lead four of the six pools.

One of the most oft-repeated yet irritating sayings to have emerged on the English soccer circuit in recent years is the concept of certain teams "making their worst start in the history of the Premiership". For starters, there's the increasing perception - being created by the Premiership's paymasters and the written media - that soccer seemingly didn't exist before the Premiership. But the concept of "worst start ever" is so arbitrary. When is a start no longer a start? After three games, eight, 10?

What we can say though is that the English Premiership clubs in the European Cup have made their "worst start ever" to the competition, whether you apply the first or second round as the cut-off point for a "start". Last week's haul of one win from six was compounded by a further three defeats over the weekend, and their combined tally of four wins (out of a dozen matches) is their lowest in the history of the competition after two complete rounds.

This eclipsed their previous all-time low, after the opening two rounds in 1999-2000, when collectively they managed just five wins, and a draw, from 12 matches (though admittedly, Northampton did go on to lift the trophy). By contrast, two seasons ago they had garnered nine wins, one draw and four defeats at this juncture, when they had seven teams in the competition. That Toulouse went on to win an all-French final further underlines that results at this stage are not necessarily a harbinger of what's to come.

In particular, you can't but feel that Munster would have been better off if Cardiff had driven a stake through Leicester's heart on Sunday.

Instead, Leicester's win has to be interpreted as a sign that they will be alive and kicking come the final round of pool matches, when they go to Thomond Park in what already seems one of the season's epic occasions in the making.

One can only presume Leicester will beat Bourgoin away in round three now that the French team are out of contention. If so, they then have Bourgoin at Welford Road a week later before Cardiff travel to Leicester in round five. It looks likely, therefore, the Tigers will arrive in Thomond Park with around 18 or 19 points, maybe even 20, and that therefore first place in Pool Four will be up for grabs on the third weekend in January - most probably January 20th.

And if there is one team in England who would thrive on the challenge of going to Thomond Park for their first competitive game at the venue, it is assuredly Leicester.

Ulster would probably have hoped for a similar stake-through-the-heart from London Irish, however unlikely, against Toulouse, who will assuredly get stronger as the season progresses. At least their back-to-back meetings with a rejuvenated Llanelli are no gimmes.

Despite those defeats for Leinster and Ulster, who couldn't really complain about their defeat in Stradey Park, not to mention Connacht's heartache, the Irish squad looks to have relatively few injuries going into the November Tests. Many of them look to be in the form of their lives, notably Ronan O'Gara; and even in defeat Brian O'Driscoll again looks to be playing as well as ever.

A pity, therefore, that a good chunk of them didn't go into camp last night with that winning feeling. A good start, but what might have been . . .