Seeds of doubt

Last year’s Heineken Cup winners Wasps will face a difficult title defence. The lopsided seedings system has done the Irish provinces few favours, writes Donal Lenihan.

IMAGINE for one minute the row which threatened the fabric of this year’s Heineken Cup had not been resolved. A Heineken Cup without French and English sides would be the equivalent of hosting a World Cup without New Zealand and South Africa. Thankfully, common sense prevailed with the participation of all six nations guaranteed for a least another four years.

From a parochial point of view, this year’s European competition is the perfect opportunity for the participating Irish teams to erase the lingering depression over Ireland’s performances in the World Cup. Had the disaffected parties not come back into the European fold, the Magners League, along with a watered-down version of the Heineken Cup, was all that lay on the horizon.