I think Clermont are too inconsistent Wonderful one week but dont carry it from game to game.

Agree Toulouse look very good and are going to be very difficult to stop. While Leinster have not peaked yet and like you say without BOD are struggeling to fill that spot. Fitgerald today had moment of Brilliance and Ineptitude. And equally Kearney was Fantastic and then Rubbish.

I believe Leinster are at their best with Necewa at FB but pressure in on the manager from the IRFU to play Kearney at FB. Still they have not peaked yet and should have scored 3 tries today but for some school boy mistakes. Prediction for next week is Leinster to win scoring 4 or more tries in dublin.

Excellent analysis there DingBatMan.

I can't help but agree with you over Clermont, they are too inconsistent and don't have that killer edge. Classic example being against Leinster last year where they missed a DG in front of the posts.

I think that's a good point on Nacewa. I feel he's one of the most dangerous backs in Europe but he's wasted a bit on the wing. Is there any scope for him playing 13? I think Kearney needs to start reproducing his form from the lions tour, he looked to be a great player then but hasn't backed it up since. Same can be said for Fitzgerald.

Again i think Blues, Toulouse and Leinster will get home QF. Munster look quite decent, however I don't think they have enough in the tank to win the competition.

One thing is for sure, it looks like the winner will once again come from the RaboDirect Pro12 league or the Top 14. Will be interesting to see how Clermont get on next week.

Looking forward to another one of your legendary accurate responses DingBatMan.

Agreed

Its been quite interesting to see how the tournament has developed so far, for me the surprises have been a rejuvenenated Munster - who seem to be consistently doing just enough to win and a disastrous season for English clubs - especially old heads like Leicester and Northampton, with only Saracens carrying the torch.

If anything Munster's resurrection is harder to understand with an ageing side in key positions, perhaps there maybe a touch of a last hurrah for some great names - O'Connell, O'Gara and Callaghan - though people have been saying that for a while.

For English clubs I think there are symptoms and causes, some of which are short term, some of which run much much deeper. First, I think for some players there is the hang over from the Six Nations and World Cup - as well as the disappointment, these guys have played a lot of rugby without much of a break, part of which connects to the second point.

This is, what, fundametntally, should rugby in England be about - is it a) A group of elite teams aiming to win everything but with the risk that small teams would have no hope of competing a la Ireland and Wales or B) a wage-capped world where small clubs (e.g Exeter) can succeed and even excel a la the current set up.

This is a fundamental question, if the big clubs are let loose Northampton, Leicester, Saracens etc will become huge and impossible to compete with offering vast salaries and having huge squads and will sweep the boards at all levels. Meanwhile the likes of Exeter, Bristol, Worcester, even maybe Sale and Gloucester will have no hope of competing making the Aviva Premiesrhip much like its football equivalent, and also increasing the chances of the England national side as more money pours into the training set up of the big clubs and increased squad sizes rest the best players.

The flip side is the current set up where English clubs will struggle at the top level with players being overworked and underpaid compared to French or Irish sides, the battle about selecting players who go overseas will continue but the Aviva Premiership will remain a valid competition and the opportunity for small clubs to compete will continue.

Basically, do we want a Corinthian-ethic amateur league or a winner takes all professional league. It's a very very hard question and not one I have an answer for in that the attractions of both sides were equal. If the same principle were applied throughout the rugby world the Corinthian ethic would be far preferable, but it isn't so where does that leave us?

SARS

Ye mate, i totally get ur point but i think Ireland and Wales are bad examples to prove the point of "elite teams" Firstly Ireland and Wales only have 4 teams each so it conflicts a bit with your scenario and secondly Wales have not produced a HC winning team yet but of course thats not to say they wont.

I think the RFU need to model their system on the Irish and or the NZ system where players a centrally contracted to the RFU and not to the club.

Fundamentally there is a conflict there. Contract obligations to ones club conflict directly to the contracts offered by the RFU promoting subversive behaviour such as we have seen in the leaked reports. Where in Ireland all players are contracted to the IRFU only. The IRFU's mode of operation is to produce the best possible National team and the clubs must work within that framework releasing players to the national team without question.
It promotes a real team spirit for the country and indeed spurs on the youngsters to fight harder for their place. When half of leinster are away on national duty you have a whole breed of youngsters coming in, getting their chance and going for it.

For the Pros in England it seems to be Club v Country and like football you now have a situation where club managers don't want their players out of the squad with the International team. If the players buy into that mentality then its very bad. But if the players are centrally contracted then you have a situation where the managers of the clubs know they are going to lose players on international duty and you have players who see a call up to the England squad as a bonus and recognition of their skill. Something to aspire to and fight for.

Peppy