Reaching the last eight of Europe may yet prove the easy bit for those involved in this season’s quarter-finals. With the United Kingdom currently due to leave the European Union on that same March weekend, there is potential for travel disruption although tournament organisers say that, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, they have been assured that free movement of fans or players will not be immediately affected.
With at least half of the quarter-finals in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup set to involve cross-border flights either to or from Europe, however, officials from European Professional Club Rugby are keeping a close watch on Brexit developments. EPCR’s chairman, Simon Halliday, says he hopes no one will be left “sitting on the tarmac” and remains optimistic neither competition will be undermined.
Saracens into Champions Cup last eight as top seeds after beating Glasgow
Alongside an intriguing list of Champions Cup quarter-finals due to be staged in London, Paris, Dublin and Edinburgh, nevertheless, there could be an issue in the Challenge Cup where Northampton and Bristol are both scheduled to play games in France. “The Challenge Cup might be the bigger challenge,” said Halliday. “Northampton travelling to Clermont and Bristol going to La Rochelle could be an issue.”
Few other Englishmen, however, will need to worry unduly about being stranded abroad. For the second successive season there is just one English club – Saracens – in the last eight of the Champions Cup, in stark contrast to the Pro14 which boasts no fewer than five representatives including both Scotland’s participants, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
It is the first time two Scottish teams have made the knockout stages and the first time since 2011-12 France and England have collectively contributed only three quarter-finalists. Even before Wasps and Bath succumbed to round-six defeats, it was already a campaign for most to forget.
Four sides – Wasps, Gloucester, Leicester and Newcastle – ended up at the bottom of their pools, with Wales’s teams also with nothing to shout about. The Welsh regions lost 17 of their 24 matches across both competitions and now have no representatives in the knockout stages.
All four Irish provinces, in contrast, have something to look forward to; in this season’s Champions Cup their record against English sides reads P10 W9 D 1 L0, with none of England’s sides winning in Ireland in last season’s tournament either. The argument that the Irish system works better than its English equivalent grows harder to dispute by the day.
How exactly to reverse the tide is something to be debated between now and England’s trip to face Ireland next week in the opening round of the Six Nations. It is certainly indicative of Irish strength in depth that Munster’s Tadhg Beirne, who won another man of the match award against Exeter, is highly unlikely to start against England despite being among the most effective breakdown operators in Europe.
It is premature, nevertheless, to say the Premiership is totally snookered. Saracens may be lone English wolves in the last eight but their top seeding will earn them a home semi-final should they beat Glasgow at Allianz Park in the quarter-finals.
Before a ball was kicked it was not hard to visualise them facing either Leinster or Racing 92 in the final in Newcastle on 11 May and that prospect remains very much alive.
Danny Cipriani waiting on England call after Owen Farrell hand surgery
Saracens, with Maro Itoje and the Vunipola brothers back fit again, also have the comfort of knowing they beat the Warriors at the same stage two years ago and defeated them twice in this season’s pool stages. To rewrite that script Glasgow will have to find a way of matching their opponents’ pack strength for the full 80 minutes, having proved unable to sustain their first-quarter blitz in north London on Saturday.
The prospects of Leinster defending their title on 11 May, have also been significantly enhanced by the confirmation of their home draw against Ulster, with Toulouse opting not to push on for a try bonus point against Bath and settling for a more convenient trip to Paris to face Racing 92.
Edinburgh’s reward for winning five of their six pool games is a home tie against Munster, narrow 9-7 victors over Exeter in a titanic struggle in Limerick. The Chiefs, however, believe their latest near-miss will stand them in good stead in the years ahead.
“I know people are going to say that Exeter have failed again but we haven’t had that many attempts at this,” said Rob Baxter, the director of rugby. “The players are of the right age and they are going to get better.”
Not everything in Europe should be viewed along nationalistic lines: two of the stand-out players in Europe so far this season have been Fijian, with Bill Mata of Edinburgh and Racing’s Leone Nakarawa good enough to grace any pack in the world. Some perspective is also required in the Challenge Cup where five English clubs are still in the hunt for silverware. Reaching the final would clearly be a praiseworthy achievement but Clermont Auvergne remain the strongest of favourites to ensure a French winner for the third time in four years.