There was an air of inevitability about Munster’s five-try qualifying haul on Sunday. Not even Munster’s most ardent supporters – heck, not even Frankie Sheahan – would claim there was anything miraculous about it, or hold it up against famous last-round wins against Sale or Gloucester.
Why? Because we’ve become accustomed to the middle tier French rugby clubs capitulating in the latter rounds of the Cup. When Racing gave up a generous lead at home to Saracens the week before, Leinster’s goose was more or less cooked. For some – Leinster fans anyway – it resulted in a slightly unsatisfactory finale to the pool stages. How much more exciting would it have been if Munster really had it put up to them, as Leinster did in Exeter? That’s not to discredit Munster. As discussed in Monday’s post, they had their destiny in their own hands and did what they had to do; they deserve their place in the last eight.
The question is, can anything be done to ensure sides remain competitive to the last? Not really. Sure, you could try to impose fines on teams for putting out weakened sides, but in the days of heavy squad rotation, how do you define first and second choice players? On the face of it, it looks unworkable.
And besides, it’s more a question of attitude than names on a team sheet. Rugby is a game where bodies are put on the line; if one side’s need is greater, they will generally prevail, even if they possess less quality. As an example, Toulon put out a strong line-up for Saturday’s do-or-go-through-anyway game against Montpellier, but it was clear from the moment Freddie Michalak gave a Gallic shrug and allowed the Montpellier centre to canter over the line for their first try, that their hearts weren’t in it. The best that could be achieved would be that if the French are to be given concessions as part of the much-discussed tournament restructure, that they are reminded of their responsibilities to uphold the credibility of the competition.
In defence of the French sides, that they were more consistently competitive this year than in any in recent memory. Clermont and Toulouse will always treat the tournament with respect and Biarritz – although rubbish these days – have a tradition of giving it a go. Toulon, with their mega-squad, have no excuse for not being competitive, and took advantage of an easy pool to amble through to a home quarter-final. It was only Montpellier’s second season in the competition, and while their pool was straightforward, they showed terrific commitment throughout and clearly wanted to make a statement, and qualified deservedly.
The performances of Castres and Racing were also committed for the most part. Castes are notorious for throwing matches on the road, but they won in Glasgow and kept Northampton tryless in Franklin’s Gardens, a result which effectively took the Saints out of the competition. Racing also won in Scotland, beat Munster at home and looked suitably gutted at the end of their hard-fought defeat to Saracens. It was only once they were ruled out that they couldn’t be bothered.
If one thing could be done to improve the tournament, it’s a change to the lopsided seeding system, which counts the previous four years of tournament points to determine each side’s place in the rankings. Four years is too many, and allows the deadwood to hang around for too long. Cardiff were a top seed this year, which seems farcical. They were losing semi-finalists four years ago, when Martyn Williams missed a penalty in a shoot-out against Leicester, but not many of the names that played that day are still on their books. While there is no points system that can account for a loss of players to other clubs, two years’ ranking points appears more appropriate, and if the ranking coefficient included an element of domestic league performance, then all the better.
