There was a period during the Noughties when the old Heineken Cup was beginning to match Test rugby in quality and intensity and then, for a good while, the reality didn’t quite match the hype and Europe’s premier competition began to look a little stale and predictable. There would be outbreaks of excellence but you had to go looking for it.
This season however – and I will come up with an explanation in due course – the excitement and buzz is back and it’s difficult to recall a better series of back-to-back games in rounds three and four over the competition&...