Jubilant: Wasps hooker Trevor Leota celebrates victory over Munster in the epic 2004 Heineken Cup semi-final

THE Heineken Cup truly came alive in the first half of the noughties with English clubs setting the pace while the Irish and French provided much of the drama and helped forge the competition’s unique ambience.
The narrative of the 2000 tournament was the rise and rise of Munster with newcomers like Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara and David Wallace making names for themselves, but ultimately a rock-solid Northampton team proved to be party poopers in the final at Twickenh...