CHRIS HEWETT

AS a rule of thumb, English teams good enough to fight their way into a Champions Cup final eventually go on to win one. Across the water in France, the opposite is true. The best sides never to be crowned champions all hail from the Top 14.
Stade Francais were the most potent club side in the northern hemisphere around the turn of the century – the Parisians won their domestic title in 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004 – but they messed up horribly in Europe in ’99, even though the English clubs boycotted the tournament, taking Cardiff and Swansea with them.
Biarritz, who prized ...