With five Heineken Cup successes over a magical seven-year period between 2006 and 2012, European rugby had become a happy hunting ground for the Irish, writes Donal Lenihan.

Anthony Foley and his new management team face a host of challenges this season, not least drawing high-flying English Premiership and French Top 14 sides Saracens and Clermont Auvergne in the pool stage of the new European Champions Cup.

Fasten the seat-belt and take a firm grip of something solid, suggests Donal Lenihan.

The domestic season may be over but rugby fans across Europe will be challenged to keep up with the volume of test matches over the next three weeks as end-of-term tours come sharply into focus.

On Saturday, Leinster not only bring the curtain down on the domestic rugby season but also on the longest goodbye the game in this country has ever seen when Brian O’Driscoll lines out as a professional rugby player for the last time.

It feels strange for the Millennium Stadium to host a Heineken Cup decider this weekend without an Irish province in sight. Of the 18 finals to date, Cardiff has staged six, including the first two in 1996 and 1997 won by Toulouse and Brive respectively.

With just 14 Tests left to play before Ireland open their World Cup campaign against Canada at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on September 19, 2015, Joe Schmidt will take great care in selecting his squad for the forthcoming series against Argentina.

The ineptitude of the Edinburgh challenge in front of their home support on Saturday evening highlights one of the biggest challenges facing the Irish provinces in the future.

It says everything about the way rugby is going that the first person to occupy a seat on the top table at the Toulon post-match press conference after Sunday’s semi-final was club owner Mourad Boudjellal. Even Roman Abramovich wouldn’t chance that after a Chelsea victory.

For three seasons this Munster squad have lived in the shadow of past glories. A win tomorrow would cement their place in the storied history of the province. They need to buy into that possibility, says Donal Lenihan, as he identifies three areas where Rob Penney’s men must excel