WITH SO much negativity surrounding rugby at the moment, with the plethora of law changes that favour the team without the ball (and the kickfest that has ensued), how refreshing to see so much positive rugby produced by a whole host of teams in last weekend’s Heineken Cup.

IT was not the type of preparation any of the Irish sides would have wished for last weekend before resuming their respective European journeys, with all four provinces losing in the Magners League.

NINETEEN internationals in a calendar month involving 12 different countries provides a surfeit of information not only on the state of the game but also on the form lines of the main pretenders for honours with the 2011 World Cup now coming into sharp focus.

ONE can only speculate as to the response of the Fijian players when they drew the curtains in their hotel rooms every morning last week to be greeted by rain, rain and more rain.

WHEN big Rocky Elsom touched down last Sunday in the same corner of Croke Park where he had denied Munster’s Ian Dowling an early try in that epic Heineken Cup semi-final earlier this year, you feared the game was up for Ireland.

I have learned through harsh experience that every Australian side will fight to the death.

I LOVE this phase of the season when the big boys from down under come to town and we are treated to a host of quality international rugby.

I HAVE no doubt when Declan Kidney finalised his squad for the autumn internationals last Sunday he was aware the World Cup final in Eden Park, Auckland was exactly two years away to the weekend.

EVEN at this early juncture there is a clarity of purpose about the French in Europe this season that suggests they mean business. Biarritz, Toulouse and Stade Francais are unbeaten at the summit of their respective pools while Clermont Auvergne and Perpignan are well positioned to make up ground when the tournament resumes in December. Brive, with two losses, are the only Gallic side out of the mix.

IT WAS good news on all fronts for Munster and Leinster at the weekend, with convincing wins over Benetton Treviso and Brive respectively further sweetened by outcomes in other pools.