Champions Cup: Is It Too Early To Start Dreaming Of An All-Ireland Final?

After two rounds of European Champions Cup action each of the five pools are in varying states of disarray. James Harrington analyses the table to try and find some meaning in it all.

Two rounds into the Champions Cup, and looking at the tables you could almost convince yourself that it’s all over for several sides backed to make it out of their pools.

Northampton are bottom of Pool 4; Toulon five points behind pace-setters Saracens in Pool 3; Toulouse finally ended a five-match European losing streak on Sunday but still can’t buy a win in Pool 2; Racing 92 are rooted to the bottom of Pool 1.

Meanwhile, it seems to be looking good for the Irish sides. Connacht, of all teams, are at the top of Pool 2; Munster’s emotional win over Glasgow has put them top of Pool 1; Leinster are in pole position in Pool 4.

Tempting though it may be, it is too early to write off pre-tournament favourites. And it’s far too soon for the Irish to dream of an all-Ireland final. About the only certainty is Italian makeweights Zebre finishing way off the pace at the bottom of Pool 2. It will be a surprise if they even get a point.

Northampton were humiliated by Castres at the weekend, but they edged a tense affair against Montpellier the week before. Their next two games, home and away against Leinster, are vital. A big win at home in early December, and their tournament is back on track. The key match in Pool 4 now looks to be the Irish side’s trip to Stade Pierre Antoine to play Castres in January.

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Wasps, who are stalking Connacht in the table and who held their nerve and their shape to pick up a deserved draw in a brutal encounter at Toulouse, will decide the Pro12 side’s fate in both sides’ next two games. Meanwhile, Toulouse’s next two are against Zebre, who have shipped 20 tries and 134 points in their opening two games. There’s more chance of Cyprus ending the All Blacks winning run than of the four-time European champions losing either of those matches.

Clermont, with two bonus-point wins from two look certain to make it out of Pool 5, even ahead of a difficult double-header against Ulster. The Top 14 leaders took their revenge against the side that dumped them out of last year’s continental competition – domestic rivals Bordeaux – in an 11-try thriller at Stade Marcel Michelin. With that ghost finally buried, they have, if not an entire foot, at least one toe in the quarter finals.

Racing 92, meanwhile, lost at Leicester on Saturday, but like current Pool 1 leaders Munster have only played one game following the untimely death of the Irish side’s coach Anthony Foley hours before the two sides were due to meet in Paris. The two sides’ problem now lies in finding a slot to play that postponed game.

Of all the French sides, Toulon are in the deepest trouble. One win from two leaves them second in Pool 3, but they were far from convincing in limping to a 15-5 win at Sale last weekend. They need a big win over Scarlets at Stade Mayol in early December, then to pick up at least a point from their trip to Wales the following week.

With Saracens continuing to set the European rugby standard, the best Toulon can hope for is to sneak into the last eight in a best losers’ slot. That would mean a tough quarter-final draw for the three-time champions of Europe.