European Rugby Champions Cup: talking points from the weekend

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/apr/06/european-rugby-champions-cup-talking-points

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1) Leinster not finished product but Bath not quite there either

Seán O’Brien is not yet back to his wrecking-ball best after his long lay-off through injury and the workload on Jamie Heaslip, Sean Cronin and Cian Healy as ball carriers is heavy. The moves behind the scrum drift a little across the field, although Luke Fitzgerald does look back to his best on the wing. Leinster may be one runner and a few degrees of angle away from being a potent force, but tweaking is easier said than done at this stage of the season.

Bath, meanwhile, seem to be poor starters. They are refusing to contemplate any dilution of their all-or-bust style, but it is clearly difficult to be accurate and adventurous – and disciplined – when opponents are still strong of limb and have air in their chests. Should Bath wait for the game to break up, or do they continue to try to dictate the speed of its disintegration into the less structured patterns that suit them? Answer: no compromise; keep the tempo high and the eyes open. It’s magnificent but it’s quite there yet. Eddie Butler

2) Clermont show France what they are missing

Oh Philippe. It doesn’t look any better for him. Now the very club where the France coach made his name as an embodiment of French flair in the 80s and 90s continues the damage to that reputation by dissociation from his sterile national team. Philippe Saint-André regularly complains about the foreign players in the French league, but Clermont are a side teeming with Frenchmen. Benjamin Kayser, for example, is so clearly the best hooker in France – indeed, on current form in Europe – yet he is held back at international level time and again for bench duty. Vincent Debaty, too, Sébastien Vahaamahina. Morgan Parra didn’t play for Clermont on Saturday, but he had to wait for everyone else to be injured to resume his exemplary international career. And then the final insult – Wesley Fofana’s spectacular blossoming against Northampton, when given the licence to play. On the back of all that, no wonder Nick Abendanon loves it in France, even if he can’t understand some of the thinking. “Watching the French in the Six Nations,” he said after the Northampton game, “there are a lot of players who play who if I was coach of France I wouldn’t pick. I wish international teams could play like they did on the final day of the Six Nations more often without thinking there is so much pressure that they need to kick and play field position. It’s just my opinion, but the coaching here [at Clermont] is of a very high standard, while the French team is looking a little bit lost. They need guidance and better coaching.” Ouch. An Englishman lecturing Saint-André about flair and the Gallic way, while wearing the colours of his former club – could it get any worse? Michael Aylwin

3) Dead-eyed Sarries keep Premiership clubs alive in Europe

With 10 seconds to go the Premiership clubs’ Euro inquest was looking potentially long and painful. Had Racing Métro taken even half the chances their forward platform had offered them, we would have been reflecting on three Top 14 sides in the last four of Europe and wondering how English club rugby can possibly bridge the gap with the French elite. There is still a difference in terms of sheer power and salary muscle but when it comes to closing out tight games the Premiership is a useful breeding ground. With a wind at their backs Racing would have been better advised to whack the ball long and trust in their defence, rather than attempting to run the clock down via a series of recycled rucks within range of their own sticks. It was the mistake of a team who have not featured in a European knockout game before and Sarries’ dead-eyed Marcelo Bosch took ruthless advantage. Robert Kitson

4) French club fans put stuffy Stade de France supporters to shame

It’s not just that the French clubs play better rugby than the national team. They have far better fans too. Sometimes it feels that the only time the Stade de France crowd comes to life is when they have a chance to boo the malfunctioning proceedings on the field. In Toulon, as in Clermont, the noise is perpetual and vibrant – and on this occasion enlivened by the support of a vociferous travelling support from, er, Coventry. Presumably. At one point, a renegade section of fans tried to get a Mexican Wave going as Toulon’s engine stalled a little in the second half, but it was admirably quelled by the majority of proper fans there to see and cheer the rugby, whatever its quality. The locals will point out that it is the southern half of France where rugby is taken seriously. It’s almost as if the national side is seen as the preserve of those northern Parisian types. Michael Aylwin