French stealing limelight

What we'll learn from the Heineken Cup.

1. Just how good are the new young props on the block?

In the aftermath of the Irish Six Nations scrum debacle at Twickenham in 2012, the cry from all quarters was, where have all the emerging young Irish prop forwards gone? The presence of overseas front rows was seen as a blight on our game and the future looked bleak. Over the last 12 months, however, a number of shining lights have begun to emerge but the ultimate testing ground awaits. Whatever we think of the relative merits of the French and English clubs, the one thing you can take with certainty is that all will carry a potent scrum.