Updated: Thursday, 16 Oct 2014 15:30 | Comments
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By Bernard Jackman
This weekend sees the start of the new European club competition and certainly in France the build-up and expectation has been very low key.
Named the European Rugby Champions Cup but with Heineken still on board as the main sponsor, the new format is the end product of lots of bickering and boardroom debate.
The French and UK clubs largely got what they were looking for in terms of wresting control from the Unions.
Among other things, they also obliged the Guinness PRO12 teams to qualify for the competition based on final league position and trimmed the numbers.
We now have a 20-team elite competition instead of 24 with five pool winners and three runners-up spots qualifying, as opposed to six and two in the old format, which will mean teams are more likely to have an interest going into the last round.
The streamlining will certainly make things more difficult and it is going to be crucial to get out of the blocks quickly over the first two rounds.
There are other changes. In terms of TV coverage, all the games will now be available to watch live but showing them across different networks is not ideal for your average fan.
For supporters who want to go and watch their team live, the Sunday fixtures at 5.15pm are not ideal and do not suit anyone except the TV audience.
The date of the final has also changed. The Top 14 clubs were apparently the drivers behind the decision to move the final to early May to prioritise their own finals. Personally, I think that a European final should be the crescendo of the club season.
On to the competition itself.
Ulster, Leinster and Munster will represent Irish rugby with Connacht, unfortunately, in the Challenge Cup this year.
Ulster: The in-form Irish team
Ulster look like the Irish side in the best form at the moment, although they have a hard group with Leicester Tigers, Llanelli Scarlets and the Top 14 and double Heineken Cup champions Toulon to contend with.
They start with an away match at the Tigers and will travel with confidence on the back of a very good win over Glasgow at the weekend.
Leicester have been decimated by injuries and have struggled so far in the Aviva Premiership, although they won last weekend against Harlequins at Welford Road.
Toulon and Clermont are the only two French teams that I see being title contenders this season and although they will miss Jonny Wilkinson, Leigh Halfpenny, the player that they brought in to replace him as a goal kicker, has just returned from injury.
It is a sign of their power and ambition that they have been able to recruit two world class players in Argentinian pair Nicholas Sanchez and Juan Martin Hernandez as 'medical jokers'.
The Scarlets look to have regressed this season following Simon Easterby's decision to join up with the Irish management and I can see Ulster beating them home and away.
With Ravenhill being such a fortress for Ulster, I think that they will qualify from this group as one of the three runners-up.
Munster: Need to win collisions to make direct style work
Munster have had a slow start to the season despite their great win over Leinster. They are certainly playing a style of rugby that is a lot more direct but apart from that match in the Aviva Stadium, they have struggled to win enough collisions to make it consistently effective.
They are very reliant on Conor Murray staying fit and with Keith Earls and Donnacha Ryan out with long-term injuries, and the fact that their new Kiwi back Tyler Bleyendall suffered a neck injury before he even arrived, their strength in depth is an issue.
They have an unbelievable tradition in this competition and always lift their game but they are in the hardest group on paper, with ASM Clermont, last year's beaten finalists Saracens and the free-scoring Sale Sharks. Munster are up against it.
Clermont are a better side this season, not least because Jono Gibbes has given their pack a quality set piece that they did not have before.
They place much more emphasis on defence now (a result of their loss to Saracens in the semi-final last season, a match in which Saracens' line speed shocked them) and with the signing of French international out-half Camile Lopez from USAP, they have an alternative to the talented but mentally-fragile Brock James.
Saracens have invested a huge amount of money on and off the field and believe that they are ready to go one step further in Europe this year.
I can only see one side getting out of this group and although I expect Munster to win all three matches at Thomond Park, I think their inability to pick up bonus points might cost them in the end.
Leinster: Injury problems but an easier group
Leinster are another side who have been hit with injuries with Cian Healy and Sean O'Brien, the best ball carrying prop and back-row in Europe, out for all of the group stages. Martin Moore's shoulder injury against Zebre last weekend means that he needs an operation and will be out for three months.
Leinster would probably like to sign a prop on a short-term deal but unfortunately for them there are not a lot of quality front-rowers off contract at this time of year. It looks like Michael Bent and Edward Byrne will have to step up and deputise.
With three losses so far in the Pro12, Leinster certainly look fragile, though they have the easiest group of the Irish teams.
Castres are involved in a relegation battle in the Top 14 and there is reportedly conflict between the coaches and the players.
Harlequins have also started slowly though they are well coached and a high quality side who will be Leinster's biggest danger.
Wasps qualified through the play-off system by beating Stade Paris over two legs and despite a good win over Bath at the weekend it is hard to see them having the quality to beat a team with Leinster's pedigree in this competition.
The big selection conundrum for Matt O'Connor is whether he goes with Jimmy Gopperth or Ian Madigan at out-half. Jimmy has always got the nod for the big games so far but has not started the season in the best form.
With Leinster using their nine to kick so much I would prefer to have Madigan in the team because he is such a threat on the line.
Against Zebre last weekend he varied his game nicely and scored a wonderful individual try from 40 metres out. I think he would add that little bit of spark to the Leinster attack that has being missing so far.
A really big performance at home to Wasps on Saturday could bring their confidence and momentum back.
Northampton: Genuine contenders this year
Toulon are the competition favourites but one team that I do see as a possible winner is Northampton. They currently lead the Aviva Premiership and finished last season as domestic league and Challenge Cup winners and have a settled squad and coaching staff.
They have been building up their European Cup experience, which is vital in this competition because it is a higher standard and a different challenge to the domestic fare.
Toulouse, despite a good win over Toulon on Sunday night, are a side in transition and will look to become champions of France again before they think too much about trying to conquer Europe while Racing Metro are too inconsistent to be considered contenders in my opinion.
Bernard Jackman is a former Irish international hooker and was a Heineken Cup winner with Leinster. He is head coach at Grenoble in the French Top 14.
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