It was a pretty perfect weekend for the Irish provinces in the opening round of the Champions Cup, with Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster all notching up wins in their first games.
Munster’s victory over Wasps was particularly eye-catching, as they defied the build-up from hell to earn a bonus point away from home with a team made up of academy prospects and senior pros.
Ulster meanwhile enjoyed one of their great days as they beat Clermont Auvergne away from home. Connacht also felled a French giant, thrashing Stade Francais in Galway.
As for Leinster, it says a lot about their lofty standards that they could record a 45-20, seven-try, bonus-point win over Bath and still come away disappointed in their performance. However, Leo Cullen's side's hopes of making it back-to-back wins this weekend were dashed by the announcement on Thursday that their clash with Montpellier has been cancelled due to a change in French Covid-19 travel regulations.
For Munster, Ulster and Connacht there’s no time for them to rest on their laurels. The second round of fixtures comes quickly this weekend, before a series of interprovincial derbies during a packed festive calendar.
And while things have gone smoothly on the pitch, concern mounts off it as Leinster know all too well. Rising coronavirus cases will likely lead to more positive tests within playing squads and it is unlikely that Leinster and Munster will be the only ones to suffer this season.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the second round of the Champions Cup.
What is it?
The second round of the 2021-22 Champions Cup.
When is it?
The second round of fixtures will be played from Friday December 17th through to Sunday December 19th.
How can I watch it?
BT Sport have rights to the European action, and will be showing every game of the tournament live. There is one fixture shown free to air every week in the earlier 1pm slot - this week you can watch Cardiff against Harlequins on Channel 4 and Virgin Media.
How does it work?
Seeing as the tournament’s format is still relatively new, here’s a refresher:
There are 24 teams - eight each from the Pro14, English Premiership and Top 14 - which have been divided into two pools of 12.
Each side will play four pool matches each, two at home and two away. The eight highest-ranked sides in each pool will progress to a two-legged last-16, followed by quarter-finals, semis and the final.
What are the fixtures and results so far?
All kick-off times Irish. All games live on BT Sport.
Round One
Tuesday December 7th
Bristol Bears 28 Scarlets 0, Ashton Gate, (Scarlets forfeit)
Friday December 10th
Northampton Saints 14 Racing 45, Franklin’s Gardens, 8pm
Saturday December 11th
Cardiff Blues 7 Toulouse 39, Cardiff Arms Park, 1pm (Virgin Media/Channel 4)
Bordeaux-Begles 13 Leicester Tigers 16, Stade Chaban-Delmas, 3.15pm
Leinster 45 Bath 10, Aviva Stadium, 3.15pm
Clermont 23 Ulster 29, Stade Marcel-Michelin, 5.30pm
Exeter Chiefs 42 Montpellier 6, Sandy Park, 8pm
Sunday December 12th
Ospreys 13 Sale Sharks 21, Liberty Stadium, 1pm
Connacht 36 Stade Francais 9, The Sportsground, 1pm
Wasps 14 Munster 35, Ricoh Arena, 3.15pm
La Rochelle 20 Glasgow Warriors 13, Stade Marcel Deflandre, 3.15pm
Castres 18 Harlequins 20, Stade Pierre Fabre, 5.30pm
Round Two
Friday December 17th
Montpellier 28-0 Leinster, GGL Stadium, 8pm (match awarded to Montpellier)
Ulster v Northampton Saints, Kingspan Stadium, 8pm
Saturday December 18th
Harlequins v Cardiff, Twickenham Stoop, 1pm (Virgin Media/Channel 4)
Bath v La Rochelle, The Rec, 1pm
Sale Sharks v Clermont, AJ Bell Stadium, 3.15pm
Racing 92 v Ospreys, La Defense Arena, 5.30pm
Glasgow Warriors v Exeter Chiefs, Scotstoun, 5.30pm
Munster v Castres, Thomond Park, 8pm
Sunday December 19th
Leicester Tigers v Connacht, Welford Road, 1pm
Scarlets v Bordeaux-Begles, Parc Y Scarlets, 1pm
Toulouse v Wasps, Stade Ernest Wallon, 3.15pm
Stade Francais v Bristol Bears, Stade Jean Bouin, 5.30pm
Round Three
Friday January 14th
Cardiff v Harlequins, Cardiff Arms Park, 8pm
Castres v Munster, Stade Pierre Fabre, 8pm
Saturday January 15th
Wasps v Toulouse, Ricoh Arena, 1pm (Virgin Media/Channel 4)
Ospreys v Racing 92, Liberty Stadium, 3.15pm
Connacht v Leicester, The Sportsground, 3.15pm
Exeter Chiefs v Glasgow Warriors, 5.30pm
La Rochelle v Bath, Stade Marcel Deflandre, 5.30pm
Bristol Bears v Stade Francais, Ashton Gate, 8pm
Sunday January 16th
Leinster v Montpellier, RDS Arena, 1pm
Northampton Saints, Franklin's Gardens, 3.15pm
Bordeaux v Scarlets, Stade Chaban-Delmas, 3.15pm
Clermont v Sale Sharks, Stade Marcel-Michelin, 5.30pm
Round Four
Friday January 21st
Harlequins v Castres, Twickenham Stoop, 8pm
Saturday January 22nd
Bath v Leinster, The Rec, 1pm (Virgin Media/Channel 4)
Toulouse v Cardiff Blues, Stade Ernest Wallon, 1pm
Leicester v Bordeaux-Begles, Welford Road, 3.15pm
Ulster v Clermont, Kingspan Stadium, 5.30pm
Scarlets v Bristol Bears, Parc y Scarlets, 5.30pm
Glasgow Warriors v La Rochelle, Scotstoun, 8pm
Sunday January 23rd
Sale Sharks v Ospreys, AJ Bell Stadium, 1pm
Stade Francais v Connacht, Stade Jean Bouin, 1pm
Racing 92 v Northampton Saints, La Defense Arena, 3.15pm
Munster v Wasps, Thomond Park, 3.15pm
Montpellier v Exeter Chiefs, GGL Stadium, 5.30pm
Knockout dates
April 8th-10th - Last-16 first leg
April 15th-17th - Last-16 second leg
May 6th-8th - Quarter-finals
May 13th-15th - Semi-finals
Friday May 27th - Final
What are the latest pool tables?
Pool A
Pool B
More Covid chaos?
While Munster were able to defy a host of Covid-enforced absentees, the Scarlets were not as fortunate and they had to forfeit their opening game against Bristol, who were awarded a 28-0 walkover. Cardiff also had to put out a makeshift side, who performed admirably as they were beaten 39-7 at home by Toulouse.
And now it’s Leinster who been affected by Covid. The province didn’t train on Monday before continuing as normal on Tuesday - however an undisclosed number of their playing squad had tested positive.
Montpellier also returned five positive cases, leaving Friday evening's clash between the two sides in the balance. On Thursday it was announced that the match was to be cancelled with Montpellier awarded a 28-0 win, a decision which left Leinster fuming.
A frustrating format
The current Champions Cup format, introduced during the Covid-affected 2020-21 season, doesn’t have many admirers. And Gordon D’Arcy is another who believes the tournament will need to switch back to the old 24-team, six pool format eventually.
In his column this week, he writes: "The tournament organisers have battled manfully to produce a workable format despite the changing landscape governed by subjective interests, applied to both the qualification process and in the tournament proper. Getting the competition finished has been a real challenge during the pandemic.
“Toulouse were worthy European champions last season but the issues that dogged the pool stages then under the new format are once again apparent in this season’s competition. The English and French clubs have been indulging in a bit of a rugby ‘hokey cokey’: one foot in, one foot out when it comes to team selections at the pool stage.
“Covid-19 has obviously had a massive impact but there are still clubs picking and choosing when it comes to playing with a full deck, personnel-wise.
“Playing a scratch side one week and then a much stronger team the following weekend compromises the integrity of the pool stage. It’s a process to whittle 24 teams down to 16 against a backdrop of varying levels of interest. It has produced some one-sided affairs.”
Can I go?
Ulster, fresh from their heroics at Clermont last week, welcome Northampton to Belfast on Friday night and will fancy their chances of making it two wins from two. There are a sprinkling of tickets still available for that, which you can buy HERE.
The other game on home soil this weekend comes in Limerick, with Munster taking on familiar foes Castres at Thomond Park. More than 20,000 have been sold so far, and there are still tickets available for that HERE.
What’s the weekend’s betting?
Ulster 1-10 Northampton 11-2 Draw 20-1 (Ulster -14 10-11)
Munster 1-1000 Castres 50-1 Draw 20-1 (Munster -30 10-11)
Leicester 1-14 Connacht 13-2 Draw 20-1 (Leicester -15 10-11)
