The holders start again this Saturday night six points down at a venue which many of their finest players have found too tough even when starting on level terms. By doubling his career tally from one to two, the man they call ‘Waz’ has left Toulouse in some danger of losing their most treasured possession. The loosehead from Ballymena has been so reluctant to break from the supporting cast for so long that his tries for Ulster come once every seven years. Toulouse's Thibaud Flament is tackled by Iain Henderson and Andrew Warwick of UlsterĪndrew Warwick would be the first to agree that there is nothing flashy about his work - an old-school prop who keeps his head down and the scrum up as per the grunt ’n’ groan coaching manual. Munster heroics needed now more than ever.īelfast holds few fond memories for Toulouse Making it count by six points or more will put Earls into his ninth quarter-final on the strength of a 16th home win in 17 matches against English opponents since he began 14 years ago. What had been a no-contest turned into a thriller, with home advantage to come. Judging by what ensued, his rollicking had the desired effect, thanks in no small way to Jack O’Donoghue’s towering leadership. By half-time, they looked in no shape at all, hence coach Graham Rowntree laying the law down in an understandably agitated state. Stripped of seven internationals because of injury and sickness, Munster were not in the best of shape to repair the damage done to the game by the all-English tie.
There seems no limit to the lengths the organisers will go to copy the Champions’ League the title itself, the two-leg Round of 16 home and away, referees pausing on the touchline like their soccer counterparts to take the ball off its pedestal. No wonder union in England remains such a hard sell north of Leicester, except that this was supposed to be the Champions’ Cup, the crème de la crème. It amounted to nothing more than a convincing advertisement for rugby league. Sale versus Bristol was so dire that any boy or girl who had never been to a game of rugby union before would have been driven by sheer boredom into a damning request: ‘Please dad, don’t take me to another rugby game.’ Neutrals remembering the event as it used to be before the organisers began tinkering with its format will appreciate that when it comes to theatrics, there is nothing to touch Thomond Park.Įxeter will relish the experience but those concerned that the Heineken Cup no longer reaches the parts it used to, would have been demoralised by the first offering at lunchtime on Saturday. Not for the first time, the tournament itself is in urgent need of something special to start recovering some of the mystique and lustre lost in recent seasons. Five points down when it would have been at least twice as many had Earls not gone above and beyond duty in denying Exeter at the end leaves his native province in a position to do more than reach another quarter-final.
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