Champions Cup refreshes the parts the old Heineken could not reach

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jan/22/european-champions-cup-heineken-cup

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Time for a round of applause. So stand up the architects of the Champions Cup. A bit of format tweaking, qualifying made more competitive with fewer easy rides, and hey presto. Not that there was much wrong with the Heineken Cup, but when it comes to the bottom line there can be little argument.

Remarkably, as we enter the last round of pool matches, only one side, Toulon, are through. This time last year six of the eight were bolted down and, unless you are from Ulster or Munster, things are coming to the boil quite nicely.

Bath and Wasps, seemingly dead in late October having each lost both of their opening pool rounds, have genuine prospects, while Northampton, despite their injuries, are probably better than the side who got to the final four seasons ago and, suddenly, Saracens are starting to look the part.

And there are spin-offs. If Stuart Lancaster still has issues to resolve about his starting lineup for Cardiff, primarily the pecking order of the front row, then he can watch Alex Corbisiero and Mako Vunipola state their cases as back-up to Joe Marler when Northampton play Racing and Saracens go to Clermont Auvergne.

Corbisiero, you feel, has to start that pool five decider rather than run on for another 20-minute cameo off the bench. Ditto Dan Cole if he is to be understudy to Davey Wilson rather than leave the job to Kieran Brookes, currently down to play in that all-star Saxons side on Friday week.

Similarly in the backs. After being forced to re-evaluate his midfield following Bath’s pounding of Toulouse last Sunday, England’s head coach will be looking with fresh interest when Jonathan Joseph faces Glasgow at the Rec and Brad Barritt has to contend with the delights of Wesley Fofana and either Benson Stanley or Jonathan Davies in the Clermont Auvergne midfield.

All pluses then. Better the blood and thunder of Europe than the trials – Probables versus Possibles – that have fallen so far out of favour everywhere bar an odd Welsh reinvention. But there can be a downside, in as much as club rugby, even at such an exulted level as the Champions Cup, can only tell a Test selector so much.

Take, for example, last Sunday in Toulouse. Great to watch and a remarkable result. Mighty Toulouse, unbeaten in Europe, go down to a bonus-point thumping by a Bath side seemingly capable of shredding the defence at will. If it forced England to look again at what Joseph might offer above Barritt at the Millennium, so well and good, but Lancaster was right this week to reject the simplistic notion of adding Kyle Eastmond to a mix that already includes George Ford and settle his midfield conundrum by buying one off the shelf from Bath.

The Bath formula might have been too much for Toulouse, who were well below par, but that kind of adventure can be pretty toxic in a Test arena – particularly a passionate, packed Millennium Stadium at night and with the roof closed (if Wales have their way).

Come to think of it, Glasgow will have watched that performance with a mix of apprehension and encouragement. They are a side who are great in contact and good over the ball. They feed on mistakes and in Gregor Townsend have a coach who can fine-tune a side for specific occasions.

Faced with the prospect of a run-from-anywhere Bath, my guess is that Townsend and Scotland’s defence coach, Matt Taylor, will be licking their lips. Of greater fear would be a Bath side who know they have more than an edge up front and use a more physical approach as plan A before the backs are let off the leash in the final quarter.

That probably flies in the face of the style espoused by the head coach, Mike Ford, who has been almost Keeganesque in some of his post-match reflections, but it is, after all, what his Bath had to do recently to put Exeter away when all‑out attack left the sides level, two tries apiece, after 55 minutes. It may also be the way to win the Champions Cup, as Northampton have learned, albeit in reverse direction.

Back in 2011, when they lost the final to Leinster, Northampton were forward orientated. Now, with George North, the Pisi brothers and Alex King continuing to improve the ambition of Stephen Myler, they are better balanced.

The most instructive point about the beating of Ospreys last Sunday was the way they played when George Pisi was in the sin-bin. Down to 14, Northampton dispensed with the frills and went back to basics in the way that wins big matches, especially Test matches, and that maturity would probably have impressed Lancaster more and also given a decent mind-set for Saturday when Northampton should qualify for a home draw.

I also fancy (a disciplined) Bath to go through, along with possibly the form side, Wasps, although Saracens, so vastly improved against Munster after looking so below par against Gloucester, have their hands full even if Clermont were shabby in the defeat of Sale.

All in all, a good weekend for the Champions Cup and not a bad one for England.