Heineken Cup: France Under Par?

by Brendan Cole

By rights, Ireland should probably have three provinces in the last eight of the best club rugby competition in the world. Leinster and Munster are both pretty much through the door, though there is plenty left to scrap for in the final round given the importance of a good seeding and a home draw.

Ulster, were it not for a four-point defeat in a very winnable match away to Edinburgh in Round Two, would be knocking on the door and better than 50-50 to progress.

Instead, Irish rugby will probably have to settle for two representatives in the last eight of the Heineken Cup and, possibly, two - Connacht and Ulster - in the latter stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Even that would represent an astonishing achievement for a nation that just over 10 years ago was the whipping boy of the Five Nations Championship but has become the model European rugby nation at national and international level.

Staggering, really.

The flip side of this story is, of course, the failures of teams from France, England and Wales to challenge at the level expected. Granted, Leinster's run to the final was a surprise last year and Irish rugby cannot expect to dominate every season.

French weakness - anomaly or trend?

But, for the French in particular, there appears to be a major issue with competing to Heineken Cup level. Granted, they do well enough, and will most likely have four quarter-finalists and two in the semis this season. But we have long expected the French to dominate.

It simply hasn't happened and on the evidence of this season, it will be a while yet.

Particularly notable was the complete immolation of Perpignan, the reigning French champions, at Stade Aime Giral by Munster and the repeated failure of a star-studded Stade Francais Paris side to dominate opposition operating in a different financial division. That it follows a season in which no French side made the last eight makes it even more striking. Is this an anomaly, or a trend?

Arguably, despite the money available in the French league, the playing resources there are spread too thinly. With just three teams to focus on, the Irish provinces can field teams packed to the brim with experienced international players.

French clubs - use journeymen in key positions

The French, who field seven in the Heineken Cup, are forced to fill key positions with imports: often South Africans and Australians who are solid journeymen rather than players of genuine international class. In many cases, they are players who have simply not quite made the grade at home.

The French are also struggling to produce indigenous out-halves capable of getting the balance between laying back and controlling the game and standing up to its physical demands.

Toulouse are something of an exception, though even they are prone to occasional lapses away from home. Head coach Guy Noves at least seems aware of the nature of the competition he is playing in, and is also wary the tendency towards complacency in the French rugby psyche.

Noves loved Trevor Brennan for the pride and spirit he brought to his rugby and it is no surprise that the Barnhall man is involved in coaching the youngsters there. Patricio Albacete and Thierry Dusautoir are men who have been signed with the same idea in mind: they have a genuine hardness rather than mere bully boy tendencies.

Clermont - hampered by bad luck

Clermont-Auvergne have also performed reasonably well from time to time and have been hit more than their share of bad luck over the last few years. This could yet be a big season for them. But at Perpignan and Stade Francais, the story is one of poor motivation and occasionally baffling incompetence. Biarritz, certain to qualify from their weak pool, also look like a disappointment in the making.

The demands of the Top 14 are often mentioned but, if anything, it is the character of the competition rather than the squad demands that inhibit French rugby at Heineken Cup level.

Under par performances away from home seem to be, if not wholly acceptable, at least considered understandable while the drop goal is overused across the board. Win the home games, batter the lower end of the table away from time to time and Top 14 end of season action is within reach. As Stade Francais showed against Ulster, it's also a league where bullying and intimidation are often substituted for effort.

Heineken Cup: different demands to the Top 14

That is the opposite of the Heineken Cup, a competition in which television cameras and media coverage abound, refereeing standards are as close to international as makes no difference, and the big away win and the try-scoring bonus point are often vitally important.

The French clubs have a lot clout, but the money is spread too thinly within something of a false marketplace. You cannot, after all, pay a player to be better than he is, and volume of playing talent or money does not guarantee success (just take a look at Dublin football). The market is not always right, as each one of Irish rugby's trio of provinces demonstrate, and being buffered fro the constant demands of the short-term undoubtedly helps.

The worm will surely turn at some stage but at the moment, the perception that French rugby is stuck in the mud - failing to make the most of its ample resources - is hard to shake.

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Of course a French club could still lift this year's trophy and they may end up with four teams in the quarters. Toulouse, Clermont, Stade and Biarritz are all well placed. Clermont are due particular credit for toughing it out in a very difficult pool. Stade, meanwhile, have done their best to make a mess of their progression. Biarritz have simply not been tested enough to say they are real contenders.

Only two of those will make the semis if - as seems likely - the seedings result in an all-French middle quartet in the last eight.

Clermont (6th) and Toulouse (3rd) are likely opponents in that scenario and the winner of that match will obviously be a force at the semi-final stage. Stade Francais (5th) look a stronger proposition than Biarritz (4th) and would also prove difficult opposition once the final came into view.

Interestingly, Leinster (like Ulster in 1999) did not have to beat a significant French team to win last season's competition. They are unlikely to have that luxury this year. Let it be pointed out that the boys in blue did have to beat two of the three greatest Heineken Cup teams at the semi-final and final stages (Munster and Leicester), and that the French teams weren't up to much anyway.

For likely top seeds Munster and Leinster, the Premiership duo of Leicester and Northampton are the probable last eight opposition. Chances are that we would once again get two Irish semi-finalists.

Two Irish clubs in the draw for the semis: a re-match!?

The probability of another all-Irish semi would then be a 'not bad' 33%.........