Leinster odds slashed after weekend

ADVENT isn’t the only count-down as far as rugby fans across Europe are concerned.

Twenty-four days stand between them and Friday, January 14, the date when round five of the Heineken Cup gets underway. And there are still over a dozen teams for whom victory in those penultimate games in the qualifying pools will keep alive their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of the world’s most compelling club rugby tournament.

In terms of Irish interest, a look at the revised odds in the bookmakers yesterday following the round four matches will tell you everything you need to know about provincial prospects on the European trail.