Life to get tougher for Irish raiders

In a market that is set to become even more competitive given increased revenues from their domestic and European broadcast deals, the English and French clubs are set to make life a lot more difficult for the Irish provinces.

Getting three Irish sides to the last eight of this season’s Heineken Cup is an achievement that will get increasingly difficult to replicate in the new landscape of European rugby.

In a repeat of last season Munster, Clermont Auvergne, Saracens and Toulon contest the weekend semi-finals, but in truth the gap between our provinces and the rest is growing.