Leinster may pay price in Europe for poor PRO 12 campaign

Lost amid the disappointment of Leinster’s PRO12 defeat to Newport Gwent Dragons and their upcoming European semi-final in Marseille has been the fact that the province’s Champions Cup ambitions for next season have already been seriously compromised.

Rankings for the annual pool draws had been decided by a rolling four-year accumulation of results in Europe. That was when the competition was still known as the Heineken Cup, but placings in the three domestic leagues are now used as the sole arbiters.

Leinster, who were ranked among the top seeds in Europe this campaign based on their PRO12 table-topping success last season, will now drop to the third rung of seeds if they remain in their current position one slot outside the league play-offs.