Peter Jackson: Exeter Chiefs, the Leicester City of rugby, revitalised Champions Cup
Exeter Chiefs celebrate with the trophy after the European Champions Cup Final at Ashton Gate, Bristol.
Over the last 10 years pre-Covid, three clubs monopolised the Heineken Champions’ Cup: Leinster, Saracens, Toulon. From 2009 until the pandemic stopped the world in its tracks last winter, the Holy Trinity won all 10 finals, Leinster’s quartet putting them one up on their Anglo-French challengers.
Just when neutrals the world over began to wonder whether the game in Europe had become too narrow and too predictable for its own good, an outsider from a self-styled reservation in the far West of England dared to bust the cartel asunder.
Exeter Chiefs, whose more astute signings included the unsung Ulstermen Gareth Steenson and Ian Whitten, have done for the Champions’ Cup what Leicester City did for the Premier League and Connacht for the PRO14. They have shaken up the established order and inspired every unfashionable club to aim for the stars, not least Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle.
Archimedes might have had second thoughts about a career in mathematics had he been set an exam paper as follows: Take the top eight from each of Europe’s three major Leagues (two incomplete because of Covid). Divide them into two equal pools of 12, split each dozen into three descending tiers of four while ensuring that teams from the same country be kept apart until the knock-out stages.
The mechanics of the tournament having long been in need of overhaul, better late than never. Four pool rounds instead of the usual six with the top four from each 12-strong section making up the last eight.
And if you’ve still not being stumped, then consider tonight’s biggie in Belfast. Ulster, from Tier One, against opponents from Tier Three who happened to be the mightiest club in France, Toulouse. How come? Because when Covid struck last March, the Emperors were marooned so far down the Top 14 that they only just managed to claim the last of the eight French places.
Irish rugby’s love affair with Europe is something to behold, a romance which can be most strikingly gauged by the number of headline acts who have proved every bit as enduring as the liaison itself. A Heineken Cup Team of the Decade, strictly unofficial, of course, proves the point.
Unlike the World Rugby version, this one is composed entirely of those who have been playing throughout the decade or for the vast majority of it, as in the cases of both centres, the tighthead prop and No 8.
With the notable exceptions of the Leinster full-back and Ulster’s retired hooker, every single one of them will spend the day revving up on the grid when the chequered flag goes up for tonight's opening matches, Northampton-Bordeaux at The Gardens, Ulster-Toulouse in Belfast.
Rob Kearney (Leinster); Keith Earls (Munster), Chris Farrell (Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Simon Zebo (Munster-Racing); Johnny Sexton (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster); Cian Healy (Leinster), Rory Best (Ulster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster); Devin Toner (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster-Racing); Rhys Ruddock (Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), CJ Stander (Munster).
Alex Goode (Saracens); Maxime Medard (Toulouse), Ian Whitten (Exeter), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Juan Imhoff (Racing); Owen Farrell (Saracens), Morgan Parra (Clermont); Xavier Choicci (Lyon), Jamie George (Saracens), Dan Cole (Leicester); Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys); Taulupe Faletau (Bath), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Louis Picamoles (Montpellier).
Their national team has won more Grand Slams in the last 12 years than anyone else and yet their regional quartet has failed to make a single appearance in the final between them over the last 20.
It’s as if Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets were ahead of the times, beating an annual retreat from Europe with indecent haste long before someone coined a word for it, Brexit. With the best will in the world, there is nothing to suppose it will be any different for the Welsh this time around.
Scarlets, one of their only two teams to qualify for the starting grid, are feeling the pain suffered by Wales over the course of a dismal Nations’ Cup campaign. Four of their Test contingent — Liam Williams, Rhys Patchell, James Davies, and Johnny Williams — returned to club duty in no fit state for tomorrow’s opening tie at Bath.
Bristol for one, as run by Pat Lam in tandem with his sidekick from Connacht, John Muldoon. Their tactical direction backed by a billionaire owner, Stephen Lansdown, make the all-dancing Bears a team to watch in every sense, starting against Clermont at Ashton Gate tomorrow.
La Rochelle, two points clear of the field in the Top 14, fall into the same category. Trying to win on two fronts over 30-plus matches stretching into next summer will test Ronan O’Gara’s ability to keep all the balls in the air. The juggling starts on familiar territory for Munster’s monstrous matchwinner, at Murrayfield against Edinburgh tomorrow night.
As well as Bristol and La Rochelle, seven more qualifiers will be busting the proverbial gut to reach the last eight for the first time — Bordeaux, Montpellier, Dragons, Sale Sharks, Lyon, Glasgow, and Connacht.
