Brewing new life into Irish rugby

As they embarked on their homeward journey from Leicester last Saturday night, some Leinster players reflected on their 22-point win at Welford Road and compared it to the 25-point defeat there two years earlier. It was funny to think that then they were a hotch-potch-mix of professionals and semi-professionals. Jeeze, given that the Tigers had some serious teeth then, what chance did they have?

It was even funnier to think that prominent IRFU officials were bridling at the notion that the provinces should be made completely full-time. They even denied that was what the provincial directors of rugby were pleading for even though the coaches - Warren Gatland, Mike Ruddock, Harry Williams and Declan Kidney - were publicly saying as much at the time.

It might be overstating things to say that when you pay peanuts you get monkeys, but despite some foot-dragging and prevarication, after the provinces finally went professional, the results predictably spoke for themselves.

In the last two years especially, no country has benefited more from the European Cup than Ireland, and no one has been more upwardly mobile in the European Cup than the Irish.

Two seasons ago, when the English previously deigned to grace Europe with their presence, the three Irish provinces had a winning ratio of 28 per cent, joint fourth alongside the Scots, barely ahead of the Italians, and some way distant of the rest and the English especially.

The English led the way, with a 79 per cent ratio in the pools, topping three of the five groups. Their quartet of entrants obtained four quarter-final places and one of them, Bath, went on to win it. The French, after a winning ratio of 65 per cent in the pool stages, garnered three semi-final places before relinquishing their two-year hold on the trophy, while the Welsh were a clear third with a 52 per cent winning ratio from the pool stages.

The English clubs have suffered for their "Little Englander" mentality and their absence last year, and have come back to the pack even more spectacularly than the French. Only two of their six clubs reached the last eight, though Saracens, who took both Munster defeats with striking good grace through the forever impressive Francois Pienaar and Nigel Wray, were decidedly unlucky.

Even so, their rugby teams have looked supremely fit, physically imposing, well-organised, but utterly straight-running, dependent on recycling ad nauseum and the numbers game or called moves, and relatively devoid of spontaneity.

The experience even prompted one of their two survivors, Wasps' coach Nigel Melville, to concede: "There are some people in English club rugby who expected we'd all walk into the semi-finals but they underestimated the fact there are some bloody good teams out there."

Ulster coach Harry Williams forewarned as much and, it has to be said, Ken "I told you so" Ging was equally prescient when maintaining through the midst of Leinster's travails: "This Leinster team will come good. Mark my words, this Leinster team will come good."

Hence, despite Ulster's alarming decline, the Irish provinces have stayed up there and significantly, in advance of Twickenham, recorded breakthrough wins on English soil. The result has been a marked levelling out in standards, with the English (57%), French (55.5%), Welsh (52%) and Irish (50%) all in much closer proximity to each other. Alas, the Scots (42%) and the Italians (17%) have made little strides, despite the Scots concentrating their resources in two super districts, which should be a warning against proponents of a similarly curtailed system here.

Indeed, what justification there is for the English, French and Welsh having the lion's share of the European places is a moot point - save for the might-is-right principle. In any event, the presence of three national derbies in the quarter-finals clarifies the make-up of next year's reduced 20-runner field.

With one club each from France, England and Wales assured of places in the semi-finals, this means that the French and English are assured of five places instead of the guaranteed four, and Wales three instead of their guaranteed two - though still down on their five of this season.

The remaining question is whether Ireland get a third place or France a sixth depending on the outcome of the ERC ruling on the vexed Brian Lima affair, or the outcome of the Munster-Stade Francais game.

All of this of course, pre-supposes that the European Cup will have its agreed format next season, always a dangerous presumption. Not surprisingly, both the English and French clubs are now hinting that they'd quite like an expanded tournament, and this will surely happen sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe one day Ireland will be entitled to four participants in the European Cup, provided the would-be Connacht-slayers in the IRFU don't get their way.

Like everywhere else, but even more so than the French, English and Welsh, the more Irish players who are exposed to European rugby the better. (And that includes Connacht or whoever the fourth Irish qualifier is in the Shield).

The gulf between club and Test rugby was already wider here than France, England or even Wales. Take the case of Ronan O'Gara for example. The risk of throwing the form out-half in at the deep end in Twickenham three Saturdays hence would have been far greater four or five years ago, on the back of a mere AIL campaign.

Instead, he's now had 13 games as a professional with Munster this season, including several high-pressure European Cup games on bigger stages, culminating in a couple of high-pressure match-winning conversions against Saracens. The same can be said of Bob Casey, Peter Stringer, Shane Horgan, Peter McKenna and so forth.

It's interesting how many of the form players weren't involved in the World Cup. But aside from the crop of uncapped or inexperienced players who have jumped into international contention, the European Cup has also helped to revitalise others such as Keith Wood, Malcolm O'Kelly, Brian O'Driscoll and Dennis Hickie.

The World Cup hangover still lingers, but the Heineken Cup brew has been refreshing.