English clubs upsetting European rugby calculations

Remind Leo Cullen he played in the last European final won by an English team, when the then London Wasps saw off Leicester Tigers in 2007, and he will be quick to point out he wasn’t part of the squad that won it.

That’s true, but it is a titbit that paints perfectly how the Premiership has lost its grip on the continental championship. That Wasps success eight years ago followed on from the five wins claimed for Albion in the seven seasons between 1998 and 2004.

Since then, they have come close, losing four finals, but not close enough with the Irish provinces assuming their mantle for half a decade or so until the emergence of the French superpower era spearheaded by Toulon’s capture of three successive titles.

But is the Premiership amassing a new armada?

With both BT and Sky angling for access, and thus driving up the worth of rugby on TV, and a wider economy that is clearing its head after the effects of a global meltdown, the clubs in England are in the process of ratcheting up their salary caps.

Wasps aren’t the richest of them, but their move to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena and the breath of fresh air injected into the club by Irish owner Derek Richardson makes them symbolic of the gathering momentum that will make them dangerous opponents.

Leinster will get to test that theory more than most this next three months with Wasps and a Bath club backed by millionaire owner and fanboy Bruce Craig contending their pool – even if Mourad Boudjellal’s Toulon stand out as the glitziest of the quartet.

“Look at the pure economics if it,” said Leinster coach Leo Cullen. “English rugby authorities wanted the game to be on very solid financial footing and they probably achieved their goal. It’s easy to go into a pro environment... it’s a bit chaotic with some going bankrupt.

“So, it’s important to probably have quite strict criteria, whereas now you definitely see there is a shift in mentality. All the clubs are run in slightly different models, but there definitely is more resources in the game particularly with some of the TV deals we’ve had as well.

“With that in mind they have broken out of the tight restrictions that they had.”

A strong sterling hasn’t hurt their purchasing power with Jean De Villiers, Ben Franks, Victor Matfield, Charles Piutau, Jamie Roberts and George Smith attracted to the home of rugby since last season, but neither has the PRO12 been immune.

Nikola Matawalu and Rhys Priestland joined Bath – Taulupe Faletau’s move to The Rec had to be vetoed by Warren Gatland – with Tim Visser, Sean Maitland, JJ Hanrahan, Jimmy Gopperth and Donncha O’Callaghan among the others to check in from the Celtic countries.

It is little wonder there has been some doom and gloom concerning the chances of the Irish provinces with Leinster’s frantic attempts at reintegrating 20 World Cup participants in the space of a fortnight another reason to doubt their chances.

Yet, there is an undeniable air of regeneration around the three-time champions what with Jonathan Sexton and Isa Nacewa back and Leo Cullen injecting some flair back into a game that had grown stale under Matt O’Connor.

Sean O’Brien spoke this week about a discernible increase in the attention to detail in training, something which should re-energise those like him who suffered disappointment at the World Cup, though Cullen professes not to have contrasted the cases of then and now.

“It is hard to say really. I haven’t really compared huge amounts. The guys are pushing hard. They know what’s at stake. They know that they didn’t do themselves justice at times last year. Everyone is focused on that realisation.

“The way the league was run last year was slightly different. It’s just trying to get rid of that mentality: ‘we’ll be able to catch up points.’ It is more competitive because there’s a lot at stake for all the teams now Teams are targeting all the games whereas before you hadn’t the issue about worrying for qualification into Europe for the following season. It is just a slight change of mindset from all the teams and we came unstuck on a few occasions, particularly in the PRO12.”

And yet they came within inches of claiming Toulon’s scalp in the Champions Cup semi-final with Jimmy Gopperth’s late drop goal.

“We weren’t a million miles away in Europe,” said Cullen with a smile. Might be worth sticking a euro on them. Or a pound.