2012 Heineken Cup Final

Heinken Cup Quarter Finalists Squad Composition

The ERC’s Heineken Cup is the true pinnacle of international rugby professionalism we are told constantly. Where our very best players have been lured by (previously) favourable exchange rates and the new experience of ‘real knockout rugby’ ... yes, this was constantly held up before last year as an Achilles Heel-type problem the Southern Hemisphere teams faced.

Not so much lately: the Pound is no longer King, the Euro is basically knackered .. and oh,  look, the Rugby World Cup is safe in New Zealand for FOUR MORE YEARS!

But I digress. I did a graphical representation a while back of where the players in our NZ Super 15 teams came from, and I also wondered how this sort of thing might look when applied to the top teams in England, France, Ireland and Wales. There’s no real surprises that each team takes the bulk of its players from their own domestic pool, but what is interesting is how rainbow-like some teams are (Sarries and Clermont) and how others blend only players from 2, 3 or 4 countries (Munster & Leinster).

Don't know if anyone has any thoughts on whether this means owners have deep pockets or good shopping talents ... its clear the ‘home grown’ players in these squads are also heavily represented in their respective nations’ Test Squads.

So, waddaya reckon? Please note there is some rough accounting and rounding here, and I left poor Gavin Henson in.

The North Will Rise Again

Sure, you’re pretty so y’are.

The Northern Hemisphere's glamourpuss event rolled out over the weekend - the Heineken Cup final between Leinster and Northampton in Cardiff - and it really was a fantastic 80 minutes of rugby, deserved of all the column inches and blogshite its generated in the days since it was played.

If ever the old cliché of rugby being 'a game of two halves' could be embossed in gold, under a framed image of a single match, this was it.

The opening whistle saw ploddy huge Saints steam into the Irish, and chuck it wide ... Ben Foden returning kicks with big runs especially.  The end result was that it ended up 22-6 to Northampton at halftime. Game over.

Surely the Leinster dressing room was the setting for one of sport's most rousing half-time talks? Their riposte was to take the field for the second 40 minutes and score an unchallenged 33 points, led by fly half Charlie Sexton's personal haul of 28 points. He really did steal the mantle of the best No. 10 up there in t'North ... this was his game, like Carter stole the second Test against the 2005 Lions. Magic.

Poor old Saints just did not have any gas in the tank, and their replacement cupboard was bare. They reverted to good old fashioned English 'killing it' and cynicism I thought, with Dylan Hartley as the poster boy.

As Eddie Butler pointed out in the Guardian: Leinster have now won the HC twice in three years, Irish teams have now won four of the last six, and Ireland spanked England last time out in the Six Nations. If this Irish momentum can last through summer, and get off the plane intact, they pose a threat to Australia at RWC. They will certainly target the Wallabies with confidence now, and who could blame them? With a 10 like Sexton, BOD recovering his form, and a battery of second rowers prepared to smash away all day, they could cause an upset.

Awesome atmosphere (again) for the Heineken Cup. Constant screaming and flag waving from both sets of fans, except for almost silence when kickers are lining up shots - you could hear a pin drop over that respectful hush. Nice.

I only hope we get to see even half that sort of atmosphere recreated here for World Cup games, though with the Fun Police out already, who knows.