Ulster to start off optimistic Heineken Cup weekend for Irish sides

By Ian Cusack

As tiresome debates about meritocracy and television rights rumble on, an indication of the type of European competition we can expect after the 2013-14 season remains elusive. While the future of the Heineken Cup doesn’t appear as doomed as Premiership Rugby CEO Mark McCafferty initially suggested, the days of its current guise certainly look numbered.

We cannot look ahead to the future of European rugby with any degree of certainty, but we can enjoy what remains of the Heineken Cup as we know it.

For the second consecutive season all four Irish provinces are gearing up to take on Europe’s elite, and with Munster and Leinster claiming five of the last seven titles between them, all eyes will be on the Irish sides to see if they can maintain their European dominance.

It has already been an unforgettable season for Ulster. The emotional turmoil caused by the tragedy which befell Nevin Spence along with his brother and father will take time to overcome, but one can only hope that the men in red and white will draw strength from the initials ‘NS’ woven into their jerseys.

The devastating events off the pitch are contrasted by a flawless season on it so far for Ulster. Mark Anscombe has yet to taste defeat since taking the reins at the Northern Province with his side winning all five of their PRO12 games to date to leave them top of the league.

Tonight they face Castres Olympique in their opening Pool 4 clash. The French outfit enter tonight’s game on the back of a victory over Clermont Auvergne last weekend, but their form has fluctuated so far this season and after eight games they sit in sixth place in the Top 14.

Encouragingly for Anscombe, Castres have yet to win an away match in the league and given their track record of favouring the domestic league over European Cup rugby the Ravenhill faithful will expect nothing less than a home victory tonight.

The inclusion of 20-year-old flanker Iain Henderson, in place of the injured Nick Williams, is the only change from the XV which overpowered Connacht last weekend. Williams’ absence is a blow as the former Munster number 8 has been at his rampaging best since signing for Ulster, picking up three tries and a couple of man-of-the-match awards in five games.

Castres will bring their customary physicality up front with South African scrum-half Rory Kockett the player likely to create some kind of spark. But Anscombe will be sending out a pack of internationals, with the exception of Henderson, and with Jared Payne at full fitness and Tommy Bowe back in Ulster colours this backline packs an even greater punch than that which took them all the way to the final last year. All signs point to a home win.

Rob Penney hasn’t quite enjoyed the same honeymoon period with Munster, but it’s only fair to point out he didn’t inherit the well-balanced squad Anscombe was served up. Penney’s early Munster career has seen him tinker with established partnerships and experiment with players’ positions and he appears some way off settling on a definite first choice XV.

Injury to Keith Earls has sorted the selection headache in midfield for tomorrow’s meeting with Racing Metro, with summer singings James Downey and Casey Laulala rekindling their partnership.

Paul O’Connell has made a timely return to the first team but he forms another rather unfamiliar partnership with Billy Holland with Donncha O’Callaghan ruled out through injury. It means Donnacha Ryan is deployed in his second-choice flanker role.

Given the star-studded squad Racing boast it may come as a surprise that they represent the Tier 4 side in Pool 1, but last year they lost all their home games and only managed a solitary win as they hobbled out after the pool stages.

Like Munster, Racing enter tomorrow’s game with some key players on the injury list. Recent signing Olly Barkley looks set to play at flyhalf with two frontline number 10s Jonathan Wiesnieski and Benjamin Dambielle ruled out, while the talismanic Juan-Martin Hernandez only returned to Paris on Wednesday after competing in the Rugby Championship with the Pumas.

Munster’s set-piece hasn’t been the platform they need it to be so far this season, and with wet and windy conditions expected in Paris tomorrow the pack will need to deliver. If they can achieve parity up front it could boil down to which flyhalf navigates the conditions better and if Munster’s opening game of last season’s Heineken Cup taught us anything it’s that O’Gara still thrives on the big European stage.

The arrival of Anscombe and Penney followed by Eric Elwood’s surprise announcement to step down at the end of the season means that Leinster are the only province who enter this season’s Heineken Cup without any backroom upheaval.

On the contrary Joe Schmidt has extended his contract to the end of the 2013/14 season. Leinster have however, had something of an erratic start to the season with heavy defeats to the Scarlets and Connacht contradicting the good form they showed in victories over the Dragons and Munster.

But they continue to boast frightening strength in depth and always seem capable of finding an extra gear when the Heineken Cup rolls around – much to the frustration of English and French clubs no doubt.

Tomorrow afternoon will see the back-to-back European champions play host to Heineken Cup newcomers Exeter Chiefs. The Aviva Premiership side enjoyed a confidence boosting 42-28 win over Harlequins last weekend but the Chiefs have relied on good home form to counterbalance the three straight defeats they have suffered away from home. If your form on the road isn’t the best, the last place you want to visit is the home of the European champions.

Even without Gordon D’Arcy and Rob Kearney - who are expected to be fit for Round 2 – Leinster boast one of the most potent backlines in Europe. With Exeter making their Heineken Cup debut against seasoned campaigners like O’Driscoll, Nacewa, Sexton, Cullen, Healy and Heaslip it’s hard to see the holders slipping up in Round 1.

Inclusion in last season’s ‘Group of Death’ ensured Connacht were treated to a merciless introduction to Heineken Cup rugby. Spirited performances yielded little in the way of points until their final game against Harlequins in the Sportsground which saw Elwood’s men end a 14-game losing streak with a 9-8 victory in appalling conditions.

If Connacht want to lose the tag of ‘plucky underdogs’ they must deliver more this season. Italian whipping boys Zebre, who have lost all their PRO12 games so far, join Connacht in Pool 3 along with the unpredictable Biarritz and Harlequins.

The Western Province may lie 10th in the PRO12 but one of their two victories this season came in Italy against Zebre, while the other was a memorable 34-6 hammering of Leinster. Tomorrow afternoon they return to the Stadio XXV Aprile.

They will be without Captain Gavin Duffy who was man-of-the-match when Connacht toppled the Italians in the PRO12. But there’s no shortage of leadership or experience in the ranks with John Muldoon retuning to fitness and Michael Swift joining Irish international Mike McCarthy in the engine room.

Elwood has made no changes to his backline where the likes Dave McSharry, Eoin Griffin and Tiernan O’Halloran have shown real progress, and with Dan Parks pulling the strings at pivot, Connacht should make it one from one this weekend.

Predictions:

An optimistic Irish clean sweep in Round 1. If any province is to falter Munster is the likely candidate. Ulster to win by 10/12, Munster to scrape past Racing by a single score, Leinster to get an opening weekend, bonus-point win over Exeter and Connacht to just about do the business in Italy.