Toulon made rugby union history at Twickenham as they clinched a hat-trick of European titles by defeating fellow French heavyweights Clermont Auvergne 24-18 in the Champions Cup final.

The difference in the perceived challenges facing Munster and Leinster over the weekend is reflected in the fact that Leinster find themselves roundly criticised despite their win over Harlequins, while Munster have received a very positive response for their achievement in rescuing a bonus point in defeat from a game that could have run away from them at one stage, writes Donal Lenihan.

Pat Lam is keeping faith with the Connacht side that overcame Scarlets last weekend when European action resumes this evening at the Galway Sportsground (5pm).

Never let it be said that the French don’t do hyperbole. Above the match analysis and the regulation quotes, the rugby newspaper Midi-Olympique has chosen to headline Clermont’s trip to Thomond Park: "Aux Portes de l’Enfer", At the Gates of Hell.

I’m not sure how long it’s been since Munster sat on top of the Pro 12, but there must be a feeling of quiet satisfaction within the squad as they head back into European action, writes Donal Lenihan.

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.

Four quarter-finals, each with fascinating sub-plots. Our rugby analyst looks for the tell-tales indicators.

If the French president Francois Hollande has been sweating under the pressure of public scrutiny over the last couple of weeks, it is nothing to that felt by Phillipe Saint-Andre.

Munster are a team who have often faced — and overcome — huge hurdles in the Heineken Cup. Tomorrow, in the south of France, they face another of those seemingly impossible challenges.

When the Clermont front row of internationals gets tired they troop off...to be replaced by another three internationals. Damien Varley engaged with Michael Moynihan yesterday to outline the task facing Munster in the scrum this weekend

Paul O’Connell last night described Saturday’s Heineken Cup semi-final against raging hot favourites Clermont Auvergne as the biggest challenge he has faced in a Munster jersey.

Are Clermont the best team to never win a Heineken Cup?

The game of cat and mouse in how best to prepare for their mouthwatering Heineken Cup semi-final began in earnest this weekend for Munster and Clermont.

SO, the only two sides in the Six Nations showing a degree of consistency are at opposite ends of the table.

No one will blame Munster and their red army of supporters for thinking tomorrow’s match against Racing Metro is already won, the points safely stowed away.

It’s amazing how much you can learn from just one round of Heineken Cup action in respect of the aspirations and approaches of the various teams. Leinster and Munster between them may have accounted for five of the last seven tournament victories but it is already abundantly clear that a serious challenge to that Irish superiority is about to manifest itself over the weeks and months to come.

It says much about the continuing allure of the Munster vs Leinster rivalry that 46,280 people turned up at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night to assess how Rob Penney’s more expansive game plan would match up to the more established wide threat posed by the European champions.

IT doesn’t feel all that long ago that we began a Heineken Cup with the prospect of the sword of Damocles dangling ominously over the world’s greatest club rugby competition. That’s because it wasn’t long ago at all — in 2007, to be precise — that the French and English clubs last decided that they were picking up the ball and walking off the pitch.

THEIRS is a name synonymous with French rugby. Formed as a sporting club of many different disciplines for the Parisian elite in 1882, Racing Club de France, alongside Stade Francais, dominated the early years of the French Championship before disappearing — like Stade — for the bones of a century until the emergence of the bow-tie wearing and champagne guzzling side of Franck Mesnel, Eric Blanc and Jean-Baptiste Lafond in the late ’80s.

First, a word for Clermont.

If Leinster dominate these key areas in France, they will deserve the plaudits

Bridesmaid. It’s a word that seems to provoke equal amounts of fear and loathing from members of the opposite sex, much to the incomprehension of men everywhere.

Three Irish provinces have achieved one of their early season goals of reaching the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club competition.

MUNSTER rugby chiefs will today accept defeat in their bid to retain the services of head coach Tony McGahan beyond the end of the season.

It says everything about the fractured nature of this season’s Six Nations championship that Wales could well be celebrating a Triple Crown success before France take to the field in Murrayfield for their second game of the tournament.

THERE are those of us who remember the very first Munster clash with Castres in the inaugural Heineken Cup way back in 1995 under lights in the nearby town of Mazamet because the host club didn’t have the required facilities at Stade Pierre Antoine.

CASTRES coach Laurent Labit warns his side will be no pushovers when they come to Thomond Park for Saturday’s Pool 1 Heineken Cup showdown with Munster.

PERCEPTIONS can really mess with the head sometimes.

TO borrow from the brewery giant’s oft-quoted advertising slogan, if the Heineken Cup refreshes places that others can’t reach, then the French could do with a couple of brews at the moment.

CONNACHT director of rugby Eric Elwood says his players are under no illusions about the size of the task ahead of them as they make their Heineken Cup debuts this weekend in London.

PEAMOUNT UNITED versus Paris Saint-Germain.

IF the objective of Saturday’s game against France was to dampen Irish expectations on the eve of the World Cup then it had the desired effect. This performance was not on the agenda.

SUPPORTERS of Leinster and Munster who think their teams will have a comfortable draw in next year’s Heineken Cup just because they are among the top seeds should think again.

CAN anyone stop the French Top 14 financial juggernaut? It’s a loaded question.

Donal Lenihan on where the three Irish teams can prosper

AS ALWAYS with the Heineken Cup, the cream tends to rise to the top when the knockout stages come calling in April.

BRIVE coach Ugo Mola believes his side can ambush Munster’s Amlin Challenge Cup hopes at Stade Amédée on Saturday following their pressure-relieving victory over Top 14 minnows La Rochelle last weekend.

FOUR defeats in 17 competitive outings across the Magners League and Heineken Cup hardly constitutes a crisis, but such is the competitive edge and expectation set by those within and on the periphery of Munster rugby that in times like this it feels like one.

NO Brian O’Driscoll, no Rob Kearney, no Luke Fitzgerald and — thanks to the weather — not a proper training session in two weeks.

BROCK JAMES is living proof that rugby players are made of sterner stuff mentally, as well as physically.