Show me your defence and I’ll tell you what’s possible

It will take just over an hour by air for the Racing 92 players to fly to Toulouse for Sunday’s important Top 14 game at the Stade Ernest Wallon, writes Ronan O’Gara.

However, it is fraught with turbulence and may prove more onerous than Munster’s ten-hour trek and two weeks in South Africa for a pair of PRO14 games.

When the depth and breadth of Top 14 squads is tut-tutted by those outside France, they overlook the demanding roster of fixtures and the complexity of balancing that with European ambition.