Who the Irish provinces face
Pool One(Munster)
PERPIGNAN:Serial under-achievers in the Heineken Cup, the Catalans have managed just two quarter-finals in six appearances since reaching the 2003 final at Lansdowne Road. Exceptional at their Stade Aime Giral fortress, where they have won 23 of 25 Cup ties, by contrast they have lost 20 of their 34 games away from home – and eight of those wins were in Italy. They will come into Europe as reigning French champions, but will do so without Dan Carter.
NORTHAMPTON:Returned to the top flight in England last season after a routine promotion the year before, and have lost only once at Franklins Gardens in the last two seasons. Although the lowest ranked English qualifier, they did so by dint of winning the Challenge Cup, the Saints do appear upwardly mobile. Aussie lock Dan Vickerman, Springbok prop Brian Mujati and Shane Geraghty are among their new recruits.
TREVISO:The Venetian standard-bearers duly won another Italian Super 10 by dint of beating Viadano 29-20 in the final, after finishing below them in the regular season, but long gone are the days when they took scalps at home. They have managed one Euro win from 25 games and last season conceded 291 points in six games. Fraser Waters, Michael Horak and Hottie Louw provide a limited degree of experience.
Pool Four(Ulster)
BATH:Played some of the brightest rugby in England last season under Steve Meehan before their campaign imploded in knock-out Euro and domestic defeats to Leicester and then ended under clouds. Following Matt Stevens' ban for testing positive for cocaine, Michael Lipman, Alex Crockett and Andrew Higgins failed to take drugs tests and then resigned from the club before an internal club hearing into an off-field late-night rumble in Fulham on May 10th. Justin Harrison has also left.
STADE FRANCAIS:The Parisian globe-trotters remain the perennial, nay, serial under-achievers of European rugby. A French semi-final defeat to Perpignan compounded their failure to emerge from their Euro pool, having lost only their second of 34 home ties as against 15 wins from 37 away ties. James Haskell, Hugo Southwell and Ollie Phillips add to a stellar cast list that includes Juan Martin Hernandez, Sergio Parisse, Lionel Beauxis, the Bergamascos et al.
EDINBURGH:A tough fourth-tier seed completes another brute of a draw for Ulster. Their familiar Scottish opponents had a typical strong finish when others had lost interest to earn a slightly flattering second place in the Magners League and while Jim Hamilton's arrival from Leicester compensates for Hugo Southwell's departure they must now find a replacement for their inspiring coach Andy Robinson, who has taken over the Scottish job.
Pool Six(Leinster)
LONDON IRISH:Semi-finalists in the Heineken Cup a year ago, when giving Toulouse the frighteners, and finalists in the English Premiership, Bob Casey's team are clearly on the up. Admittedly, Shane Geraghty is leaving and at 38 Mike Catt's considerable influence must be on the wane but Ryan Lamb is on the way from Gloucester and Toby Booth's continuing presence at the helm of a largely unchanged squad suggests they could be Leinster's biggest threat.
SCARLETS:Nothing like the Welsh standard-bearers of old, the Scarlets have seemingly passed on the baton to Cardiff and the Ospreys. They won just one match in their last two Euro campaigns since reaching a third semi-final two years ago. Regan King's long-term knee injury hit them hard last season, compounding the departure of Dwayne Peel, and though they've made a number of signings – including Sean Lamont and the Dragons prop Rhys Thomas – they seem to have lost something with their move from Stradey.
BRIVE:The 1997 winners have continued their curiously Anglicised recruitment policy in a bid to revive former glories, with Riki Flutey, Jamie Noon and Shaun Perry all bound for the industrialised town which is already home to Andy Goode, Alix Popham, Damien Browne and Christian Short. Goode's late penalty to earn a draw at Bourgoin, coupled with Mauro Bergamasco's late try to deny Brive a bonus-point win, saw Brive squeeze into Europe on the last day.
