Contenders lining up for their crown, but don’t rule out Sarries too soon

I must admit to feeling a bit ambivalent about the opening round of Champions Cup action last weekend. Maybe I was reading so much about potential World Cup hangovers for the Irish players returning from Japan that I was duped into a journalistic or commentator’s hangover of my own.

Perhaps it was down to the fact that Munster’s game against the Ospreys in Swansea and Leinster’s opener against Benetton at the RDS didn’t quite capture the imagination or spark the enthusiasm to set the competitive juices flowing.