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.

TO borrow a phrase from one of Heineken’s rivals, last weekend’s opening round of the European Cup was probably the best we have seen for some time. Intense action, high-quality performances, buckets of tries, contentious refereeing interpretation and games that went to the wire. An outstanding medley of issues to launch the 15th year of the Heineken Cup.

DESPITE my absence of just over two months from the journalistic front-line, so much has happened since the conclusion of the Lions test series in July that has brought nothing but shame, ridicule and much negative comment to a sport loved by many all over the world.