There are many frightening reasons to love Clermont

We’ve been spoilt over the years with the frequency of Munster and Leinster being paired with Toulouse and Clermont Auvergne in either the pool or knockout stages of the Heineken Cup. At its best, French club rugby is irresistible and in those two outstanding sides, we have been exposed to the very best it has to offer.

In the beginning — and specifically after Munster were thrashed 60-19 by Toulouse back in 1997 — we feared that the Irish sides were a little out of their depth. Ulster changed all that when the won the European Cup in 1999 accounting for three French sides (Toulouse, Stade Francais and Colomiers) in knockout stages. However, all of those wins were secured at Ravenhill or Lansdowne Road. Winning in France was proving more problematic until Munster’s European journey began in earnest with that incredible win over Toulouse in that captivating semi-final in Bordeaux back in 2000.

That win was special because of what happened back in Toulouse three years earlier. It was memorable because the French aristocrats played a brand of running rugby that we in this country could only dream about at the time and with so much talent on board, Guy Noves’ men were not only the standard bearers but also the most attractive team to watch.