Where Cardiff clash will be won and lost

Will cautious Philippe Saint-Andre let multi-talented backline express themselves?

1. Owen Farrell (England)

Not a great week for Leinster fans.

It was inevitable this day would arrive; the only question being who would be the one brave enough to see it through to its conclusion.

Don’t for a minute underestimate the value of Munster’s Heineken Cup win over Racing Metro on Sunday.

Courtesy of that decisive win for Montpellier over Toulon on Saturday, qualification for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals via the one remaining best runners-up slot turned into the straight Leinster-Munster shoot-out Irish fans feared in advance of the weekend.

1 Just how much is the Thomond factor worth these days?

WITH just four teams qualified at this stage and all the second-placed sides still mathematically fighting for the knockout stages, the Heineken Cup has delivered once again.

At least we know with certainty there will be some Irish presence in the quarter-finals of this season’s Heineken Cup.