NOTHING has changed in the land of the long white cloud.

IT’S THE same question every year. As sure as Cork and Kerry will produce a draw in the Munster football championship, we speculate as to who from the home nations is capable of producing any kind of a win on the annual summer sojourns to the southern hemisphere.

NOW that the silverware has been distributed for a variety of tournaments all over Europe a period of quiet reflection and planning will commence for next season.

SATURDAY sees the culmination of the domestic competitions in this part of the world with the Magners League, Guinness Premiership and the French Top 14 championship all up for grabs.

AS with all disappointments, time is a great healer. Travelling home empty handed from the two Heineken Cup semi-finals 10 days ago, even the potential of a Magners league play-off meeting between Leinster and Munster appeared somewhat hollow.

SUCCESS breeds success. Last season Ireland finally delivered an overdue Grand Slam, the foundation of which can be traced back to the prosperity of the provinces in Europe.

IN the not-too-distant past, there was a time when a Heineken Cup fixture on French soil was approached with quivering trepidation.

FIGHTING on two fronts up to last weekend, unbeaten in Europe this season – the only one of the 44 sides that started out in either the Heineken Cup or Amlin Challenge Cup to achieve that feat.

THE BRIEF from the top at ERC was straightforward: “your mission, should you choose to accept, is to select the best European side of the last 15 years comprised of players who played in either the Heineken or Challenge Cup competitions”.

FOUR days on and the sense of excitement and anticipation that filled the masses at Thomond Park is every bit as palpable.