Can the Irish provinces finally get back to the European summit?

Away wins anywhere in this pool will be extremely hard to come by and will ultimately prove decisive, writes Donal Lenihan

Hard to believe, but it will be six years since an Irish team reached a Heineken/Champions Cup final, by the time the tournament breaks new ground at the San Mames Stadium, in Bilbao, next May.

That all-Irish affair, back in 2012, between the then reigning champions, Leinster, and Ulster, at Twickenham, signalled the end of an amazing period of Irish dominance.