PAUL REES TALKS TO BRIAN O'DRISCOLL ABOUT THE HEINEKEN CUP WEEKEND
The group stage of the Heineken Champions Cup is sandwiched between the Autumn Internationals and the Six Nations. It is a showcase for players, a significant step up from club rugby, and attention this evening will be lavished on the England outside-half Marcus Smith when Harlequins conclude the opening round at Castres.
A year ago, Smith was uncapped and not being mentioned in dispatches. Quins made an early exit from the Champions Cup, losing at Munster before being mangled at home by Racing 92, but 2021 has been Smith's year as Quins came from well back to win the Premiership title and he made his England debut in the summer.
He was preferred to George Ford in the autumn but such has been the form of the Leicester outside-half, who is departing for Sale in the summer, that Smith cannot rest on the late penalty that sank South Africa or the impish way he has taken to international rugby, backing himself but not to the point of recklessness.
“He is living up to the hype,” said the former Ireland and Lions captain, Brian O'Driscoll. “Playing Test rugby is different to the Premiership in terms of the space you are afforded. You have to modify and hone your approach and make sure your kicking game and percentage game are more refined.
“He looks as if he is learning and he is working with one of the best in the business in Jonny Wilkinson, and I am sure it is not just on his goal-kicking and kicking out of hand but his game maintenance. He is pretty new to the international stage having won his first cap in the summer and then going on the Lions tour.
“He has a few more Tests under his belt now and he is not looking over the shoulder of George Ford, but behind him. If he can do that the way Ford is playing, he is doing something right. He is ticking a lot of boxes as he builds his reputation and his repertoire. He is going in the right direction.”
“Marcus is ticking a lot of boxes as he builds his reputation and repertoire”
Quins travel to Castres fully loaded knowing that victory would set them up for next week's encounter with Cardiff, who had to field a weakened team yesterday against Toulouse because of quarantine regulations on their return from South Africa.
“Castres may not have the look of European semi-finalists, but they are a handful at home and it will be a big Test for Harlequins,” said O'Driscoll. “Ford has answered his critics since being left out of the England squad and Smith has to continue what he has been doing.
“I think the Six Nations will be an exciting time for him. It is different rugby again and we will see if he can find a way to navigate his team through the tournament. Ford may have been left out of the England squad to allow Smith the room to develop: when you look at Joey Carbery with Ireland, he has the national captain Johnny Sexton in front of him and it is difficult to play with true freedom of expression in that position. Smith reached where he is on the back of his club performances and he has to continue that form.” O'Driscoll was one of Leinster's centres when they won the Champions Cup for the first time, defeating Leicester 19-16 at Murrayfield. A few months earlier he had captained Ireland to their first Grand Slam for 61 years, but success on the international front is not a reliable barometer when it comes to Europe.
The same country has provided the winners of the Six Nations and the Champions Cup in four of the last six seasons, three of them down to England and Saracens, but no one managed it in the previous five years. Wales have won the Championship six times in the last 16 years, but the record of their regions in Europe is dismal.
“In Ireland, whichever of the provincial sides is going well get the lion's share of players in the Test side,” said O'Driscoll. “That was the case with Munster in the 2000s and Leinster, who provided 12 of the starters against the All Blacks last month, more recently. It is hard for the other teams to argue with that.
“I find it amazing that Wales have not produced a finalist since they introduced the regional system in 2003. The Scarlets reached the semifinals a few seasons ago when they were playing really well and the Ospreys were strong in the 2000s.
Cardiff Blues could have played us in the 2009 final but lost a place-kicking competition to Leicester, but it is a long time since you had a conversation about one of the Welsh regions being a potential finalist.
“It is hard to see that changing this season. Their league form is middle of the table stuff at best and they struggle for consistency, one good performance followed by a disappointing one. You want to see them develop a side over three seasons and build towards getting to the last four in Europe, but they tend to fall before reaching the summit.
“Leinster and Toulouse are still the teams to beat”
“Players seem to produce their best when they are with Wales whereas in Ireland form for the provincial sides translates into the Test team. In Wales, they do not produce the same calibre of performance for the regions and it is a reason why their record in Europe is nothing like the country's in the Six Nations.”
Exeter's head coach Rob Baxter believes that the reduction in the salary cap in the Premiership for the next two seasons, together with the impending reduction in the number of marquee players from two to one, will reduce the impact of English clubs in Europe.
“Leinster and Toulouse are still the teams to beat,” O'Driscoll said. “You can throw Racing 92 into the mix, but they have been struggling in the last few weeks. Their front five is not what it was previously and they are not getting the platform their exciting backs need to deliver. If you beat Leinster or Toulouse in the knock-out rounds, you will not be far away from winning it.
“I am not sure about Bordeaux- Begles. They beat Toulouse last week to go to the top of the Top 14 and they can mix up their game, using their big pack to maul and pull teams apart before launching the X-factor they have behind, but I still need to be convinced by them in Europe. They made the semi-final last season and perhaps felt fortunate to be there, but they still need to be assessed to see whether they are in it for the long haul.”
Last season's group stage was blighted by the pandemic and Covid- 19 had an impact on the opening weekend when the Scarlets were forced to call off their game at Bristol while Cardiff and Munster, who are at Wasps today, had to field weakened teams.
“I just hope we get four rounds away,” said O'Driscoll. “There were only two qualifying rounds last year and it was a bit farcical when one side (Sale) got into the last 16 despite losing both their matches. You want to be able to see what this different format properly looks like.
“There is a real excitement about the Champions Cup because of the quality we saw in the November internationals. Some players did really well for their national teams and it is about whether they can take that form into Europe and then into the Six Nations.
“There is a real excitement about the Champions Cup”
“It will be tough for Munster who are without some front rowers at Wasps although as Wasps have 18 players unavailable through injury it is not the worst time to be going there. But if ever there is one team to use something like this to galvanise them and pull everyone together, it is Munster.”
BT Sport is the home of European Rugby Champions Cup. The 2021/22 season kicks off with a weekend full of games, including Wasps v Munster live on BT Sport 2 at 3.15pm today. Find out more information on how to watch at btcom/sport
Ospreys v Sale Sharks
OSPREYS are the highest placed Welsh region in the United Rugby Championship, but they have not won any of their last eight matches in the Champions Cup in a run stretching back to 2018.
Sale's recent record is not much better with one victory in their last eight , although it was at the Scarlets last season when, after losing their two group matches, they made the last 1 6 on points difference. They lost in the quarter-finals at La Rochelle having reached the last eight for only the second time.
“I know Premiership teams pretty well from my time at London Irish and Bath and Alex Sanderson is doing a great job at Sale,” said Toby Booth, the Ospreys head coach. “They did very well last season and have probably not had the results they deserve this campaign.
“You always want to challenge yourself against the best and the Champions Cup gives you the opportunity to do that.”
Sale have the Curry brothers in the back row and Raffi Quirke, left, at scrum-half while Ospreys, whohave not escaped fromthe group stage since 20 10, have Gareth Anscombe and Rhys Webb at half-back with TomasFrancis and Adam Beard bolstering the front five.
La Rochellev Glasgow Warriors
RONAN O'Gara has taken over as the head coach of La Rochelle, who reached the finals of the Top 14 and the Champions Cup last season, losing to Toulouse on both occasions.
They are fifth in the Top 14, but they have only a 50 per cent record and lost to lowly Stade Francais last weekend.
“It can take time for players to adapt when there is change at the top,” said O'Driscoll, a longterm playing colleague of O'Gara's with Ireland. “Each season is different: you can have a run of injuries and players can lose form.
“It is Ronan's first head coaching gig and he will be the better for the experience of this season. There is more responsibility and expectation on him and they hit some lofty heights last year. To get to two finals again will be a big ask, but they remain very difficult to beat at home and they could use Europe as a springboard.
“Scotland, like Wales, tend not to be mentioned when it comes to discussions about potential finalists.
“Glasgow have made a couple of quarter-finals in the last five years, losing at Saracens each time, but a number of their big name players have moved on, Adam Hastings (left) being the latest.”
Connacht v Stade Francais
STADE reached the knock-out stages of the Champions Cup in each of the first six seasons they played in the competition, but this is only their second appearance in the Cup since 2010 and they have survival in the Top 14 as their priority after a poor start to the season.
“Stade's players will be in for a shock when they get to the Sportsground, especially on the back of Storm Barra,” said O'Driscoll. “It is not going to be what they are used to playing in Paris.
“You are not sure with Stade, like Bath, what their level of focus will be on Europe. I would not imagine they would think they could win the tournament.
They do not have the big superstar names they used to and you question whether they can compete on two fronts.
“I am sure the Top 14 will be their priority, but after their victory over La Rochelle they can start thinking less about survival and more about building on it and trying to get into the top six.”
Connacht, who have won 14 of their 17 home matches in the Champions Cup, have Ireland's Jack Carty, left, at outside-half leading the side while the former Leicester fullback Telusa Veainu, who left the Tigers after refusing to take a pay cut, starts for Stade.
Wasps v Munster
FIVE players will make their debuts for Munster who have been forced to raid their reserves following their abandoned tour of South Africa and players having to quarantine on their return to Ireland.
They are well stocked behind the scrum with Conor Murray, Joey Carbery, Damian de Allende, Keith Earls and Andrew Conway all starting. Scott Buckley and James French are given their first appearances in the front row while seven of the eight replacements have not played for the province.
Alfie Barbeary, right, returns to the back row for Wasps, partnering Brad Shields and Tom Willis, who has been recommended to the England head coach Eddie Jones by John Mitchell, who joined the club in the summer after three years with the national side.
The two sides have not met since 2008 but Wasps have lost at home only once to Irish opposition in the Champions Cup, to Leinster two years ago. Mitchell was in charge of defence with England and Wasps had the worst tackle success rate in the Champions Cup last season.
“It almost has the hallmark of two A sides,” said O'Driscoll. “It will be tricky for both teams. As the home team Wasps have to win, but if Munster get something from the game I would back them to qualify with two matches to come at Thomond Park.”
Castres v Harlequins
HARLEQUINS go into the match after suffering two successive Premiership defeats for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
They have Marcus Smith and Danny Care at half-back with Alex Dombrandt at No.8 and Joe Marler, right, in the front row. Huw Jones continues in the midfield alongside Andre Esterhuizen in the absence of Joe Marchant and Tom Lawday starts on the open side ahead of Jack Kenningham.
Harlequins scored 47 points on their last visit to Cas- tres in 2015, but that was at the end of the pool stage when the Top 14 club fielded a weakened side after losing their previous five games in the group.
“They will be a different proposition first up,” said O'Driscoll.
“It will be a good test for Harlequins in gauging where they are at in Europe. As Premiership champions, they will believe they can do well in the Champions Cup but Castres in the depth of December will not provide the hard track you associate with the brand of rugby Quins play and they will have to adapt.”
Castres have not lost at home in the Top 14 for more than a year while their team-sheet is not full of asterisks, they have wily, experienced halfbacks in Rory Kockott and Benjamin Urdapilleta.
