Gerry Thornley On Rugby:Yet again, Munster supporters especially, Irish rugby as a whole and even the Heineken European Cup itself are indebted to a few blokes in red and some lad universally known as "Rog".

Coming after that World Cup, the extinguishing of Irish interest in this competition from the third weekend in January would have cast an unbearable pall over the rest of the season.

Saturday's evening rainfest in Thomond Park ensured the pool stages had their customary climax in these shores anyway. As Munster got down and dirty, feeding off their umbilical link with their supporters, it was like a step back in time, both recent and ancient.

"Unlike anything I've ever played in before," ventured a slightly taken-aback Doug Howlett, their recently arrived Kiwi.

In truth though, it was not the climactic weekend the European Cup normally throws up. Primarily this was because the lopsided draw ensured the contest for the final two runners-up slots were fairly cut and dried. Sure enough, Perpignan and the Ospreys duly qualified with relative ease.

Perpignan, the fifth-ranked French qualifier, benefited from being in a pool with the leading Italians (Treviso), the lowest-ranked Magners League qualifiers (the Dragons) and, for good measure, the sixth English qualifier, London Irish.

The Ospreys advanced from a group containing the lowest-ranked French qualifiers, Bourgoin, the second-ranked Irish side (Ulster) and the third-ranked English side, Gloucester.

The inevitable effect is to give the quarter-final line-up a diluted or refreshing feel - depending on your viewpoint - with London Irish, the Ospreys and Saracens all qualifying for the first time.

If the truth be told, London Irish's qualification means little on this side of the channel given there is only one Irishman, Bob Casey, in their ranks.

Just as predictably therefore, there were some big-name casualties, but if Leicester, Wasps, Clermont and to a degree Leinster were victims of the draw, an uninspired Biarritz and a moody Stade Français have no excuses. In any event, those big-name casualties have four winners and five runners-up medals between them, and it means the last eight will be without last season's European champions, English champions, French champions and French runners-up.

To seed or not to seed therefore? At one level, an open draw save for the top seeds from each of the six participating countries has if nothing else produced a couple of compelling groups, with hardly a dud match in Munster's Pool of Sharks.

Compare and contrast that with, say, this season's Champions League in football, where virtually every group went boringly true to form.

Despite a relatively open draw, in the last seven seasons there have only been seven different finalists (and only four different winners) in the European Cup, which is a credit to the likes of Leicester, Wasps, Munster and Toulouse.

A seeded draw, which an ERC working party is looking into, does carry the risk of making the European Cup even more elitist.

Even so, on balance, it would seem a fairer way of rewarding past achievements in the competition and/or domestic qualification. That in turn might benefit the Magners League, which, unlike the English and French leagues, carries less significance as a means of qualifying for Europe. It might also facilitate moves to make the Magners League a straight means of qualifying for the top eight, something for which the Welsh are pushing hard. Coupled with a top-four play-off system, as in France, England and the Super 14, it would not only ensure a better end-of-season climax in front of bigger crowds but also give the Magners League more relevance from top through middle to bottom.

Three of the four quarter-finals are in England, as are all four quarter-finals in the European Challenge Cup. Helped by its wealth and salary cap - however much it is adhered to - the Premiership is undoubtedly the most competitive of the three leagues. Nonetheless, the absence of their European standard-bearers will dampen their optimism.

Collectively, winning ratios probably do not reflect national strengths. England (62 per cent) have had a far better tournament than France (61 per cent), the World Cup fallout lingering in both countries.

Ireland's 44 per cent cannot disguise under-par showings by Leinster and Ulster.

There was no shame in beating Toulouse, Leicester and Edinburgh at home, or for that matter losing to them all, including a fired-up Tigers at a packed Welford Road, away. But the latter game was part of a pattern where Leinster just did not show sufficient desire, belief, decision-making under pressure and ruthlessness away from home. Why become so narrow in a tight match when attacking 13 men?

Comparisons are odious, particularly so for Leinster, but they could do worse than examine closely Munster's physicality and aggression in defence. Rather than stand off and wait on the gain line, Munster met fire with fire, closing the space like Wasps and enveloping ball carriers to prevent offloads.

Leinster's drift defensive accommodated the offloading game of Seru Rabeni and co. Ultimately, Leinster lost their three away games by a combined margin of 57 points, scoring one try (a penalty try) to nine.

The Welsh ratio (42 per cent) does not reflect qualification for Cardiff and the Ospreys, albeit in tandem with Llanelli's alarming decline and another non-show from the Dragons.

Scotland's percentage was noticeably up at 42, and who would have thought Glasgow would be attracting a crowd of over 5,000 when staying in contention till the last game? Andy Robinson's achievement at Edinburgh given their summer exodus probably makes him the coach of the tournament.

Alas, one win from 12 games reflects the domestic inadequacies of the Italian game.

So Munster keep the Irish flag flying. They've conducted themselves with intelligence, skill and bravery, not least away to Clermont, and seemingly have an in-built compass to navigate just such a choppy pool of sharks.

One ventures that no player has given them that over the years more than Anthony Foley, as astute a footballing brain and leader as Irish rugby has thrown up in the professional era. If any man deserved to be the first to lay his hands on their cherished European Cup, it was him.

Following on from another class act in John Kelly, confirmation of Foley's retirement at the end of the season shows time waits for no man, but once again his savvy and leadership have been vital.

A legend alright, and he ain't finished yet.