Who will win the Heineken Cup? Munster look good
In the wake of another intriguing weekend of European competition, Planet Rugby shared some of the brew in the green bottle with Will Greenwood to chat about all things Heineken.
In an exclusive interview, the former British and Irish Lions, England and Harlequins centre gave us his thoughts on who's hot, who's not, the resurgence of the French and a certain team called Munster.
Planet Rugby:Hi Will, thanks for joining us. We've had another weekend of cracking Heineken Cup rugby, who impressed you most over the recent home and way legs?
Will Greenwood: Well it has to be Munster for this weekend, but in the back to back games it has to be a combination of Leinster and Clermont.
Leinster's demolition of Scarlets the week before in the first half was a joy of wit, variation, tempo, aggression and power. Clermont's first sixty minutes against Leicester was stunning. And then they way they squeezed out [a bonus point] was impressive.
Then Munster, only two teams have won down there (at Stade Aimé Giral) - Wasps and Leicester, and both have gone on to win the tournament.
PR: They really did dominate the French champions didn't they?
WG: Yes! Guirado's try is the second half was a good one, but it was blip. They physically dominated Perpignan and I thought O'Connell was quite outstanding.
PR: You've mentioned Munster, Leinster and Clermont, but Biarritz and Ospreys are the only unbeaten sides - have they just been lucky?
WG: If you put Biarritz in Pool One or Six, they wouldn't be unbeaten. But they've played what's in front of them and they now have the opportunity to make sure of a home quarter-final. There's no doubt that in another group they'd be third or fourth.
PR: By the looks of it though, Biarritz are on track to be top seeds for the play-offs...
WG: It looks like it, but they had a home quarter against Northampton a couple of years ago (2007 - ed) and we ended up having to go to Coventry instead of San Sebastian for the semis....so we stopped supporting them for while! But they've just about won our faith back now. Yachvili is one of my favourite players in the Northern Hemisphere. He's still magic.
PR: It seems Biarritz just aren't the same team without him...
WG: No, they're not the same team, he coordinates and conducts his pack very well. He generally looks like he never cares, but he's clearly got just an unbelievably competitive spirit.
He just knows where to go looking for the ball, rarely goes into contact, and when he does, he more often than not comes out of it, even though he's half the size of most people.
PR: Beyond Biarritz, the French teams in general are doing better this year.
WG: It's not inconceivable that you'll have four French group winners!
PR: Is that all down to the draw, or have they stepped it up from last season?
WG: Well that's a very good question, Toulouse haven't played better. Toulouse have been rubbish!
PR: Yet they're top their pool...
WG: Quins gifted them their win, Toulouse should be staring at going out of this group at this stage. They haven't lived up to their reputation, yet their opposition haven't had the belief [that they can win.] Stade Français should have been put away by Bath - but that's what top teams do, they find a way to win games they shouldn't.
Before I thought there was no relevance whatsoever to where the final is, but suddenly these guys get to the quarter-final and say 'the Finals in Paris in May'...so that becomes more and more important as the tournament goes on.
PR: Speaking of Toulouse, it looks like a team close to your heart, Harlequins, are pretty much out if it. They might gift Toulouse a few more points in Round five, meaning Guy Novès and his team will head to Sale on the last day in pole position.
WG: Well I've just been speaking to the boys in Manchester about it and there's sort of a dream scenario where Sale can get the win in Cardiff and Toulouse have to go to Sale in the middle of January in need of points because their form on the road hasn't been great.
I'm not sure Quins will go to Toulouse and gift them anything. Off the back of all their trouble of the antics last year, I'm sure they'll do everything in their power to be as competitive as they can be in every round of the competition this year. Never underestimate the impact it can have on your domestic season if you can put in a strong performance in Europe.
PR: Another team that's doing well that we haven't mentioned is London Irish, who host Leinster on the last day in a very close Pool Six.
WG:London Irish have done well to get ten points out of Brive and I'm sure Leinster will do the same, so it's up to Irish to go to Parc y Scarlets and turn around the result from Madejski .
The pressure is on London Irish and on Sale to get the away result in Round five to make Round Six competitive.
PR: Round Five looks set to be a cracker because Clermont have to host Ospreys in Pool Three, which is still wide open!
WG: Exactly, it means that on the last day, Leicester and Ospreys could be playing for top of the group or for second or for a place in the Amlin Cup - I've thrown the abacus away and I'm just trying to enjoy the Christmas without giving myself a headache!
PR: Of course Pool One is another dog fight and Treviso could still throw a cat amongst the pigeons when they host Munster...
WG: They could yes! Northampton almost got undone there in the snow. Perpignan did get undone, but I'm not sure Munster will. But it's good to see the Italians grafting and making a game of it. Like all Italian sides they're totally committed to the cause which is great to watch.
PR: In one word, your favourites for the title.
WG: Munster.
PR: Cheers. Have good one.
WG: Bye bye.
Will Greenwood is a Heineken ambassador. Heineken are proud to be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Heineken Cup, the best club rugby competition in the world. www.heinekenrugby.co.uk
Will Greenwood was talking to Ross Hastie
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