THE group stages of the Heineken Cup were wrapped up at the weekend and it provided all the usual excitement and drama.
It was a brilliant weekend for Irish rugby with Munster, Leinster and Ulster all qualifying and Michael Bradley and Mark McCall two Irish head coaches at Edinburgh and Saracens respectively also making the quarter-finals.
Virtually the entire quarter-final line-up was in the mix until the dramatic last few seconds of injury time in Cardiff where the Cardiff Blues were pushing for the fourth try bonus point, which would have earned them a lucrative home quarter-fi nal against Toulouse.
That would also have meant Leinster playing Edinburgh in Dublin but in doing so, the Blues very nearly conceded a breakaway try which would have knocked them out and let Biarritz slip into the last eight (which would have seen them facing Munster and Leinster playing a talented Ulster side).
Ultimately, Cardiff had to settle for a 36-30 win which sends them to a quarter-final in the Aviva.
This is a great draw for Leinster who finished second seeds but who probably got an easier draw than Munster who were first seeds and who now play Ulster in Thomond Park.
Instead, a 78th-minute bonus point try for Edinburgh in their win over London Irish earned them top place in Pool Two and the first ever quarter-final in Scotland.
They will host Toulouse, themselves only still in the tournament courtesy of Connacht’s win over Harlequins on Friday night.
It would have been great for the Irish provinces to have Toulouse knocked out at this stage as the four-time champions are still a huge threat due to the size and quality of their squad.
There are only two French teams remaining with Clermont also making it through and the semi final draw means that if Leinster beat Cardiff then they will play the winner of Saracens or Clermont in either London or France.
Last year, Leinster had a home quarter-final and semi-final which was defi nitely an advantage.
Their task has been made harder by the away draw for the semi but I still believe that they are the team to beat.
In fact, you would have to fancy an Irish side to win the competition given how well Munster and Ulster have played recently.
Ulster went down fighting in Clermont and could easily have snuck a win, which would have given them a home draw.
Thomond Park is one of the toughest places to get a result in Europe but Ulster have won there in the Magners League before and whenever Irish provinces match up it’s always very competitive.
Munster won six from six in the group stages, which is the first time they ever achieved this.
They saved the best till last with a spectacular performance away from home at the MK Dons Stadium in England.
To win a match when your scrum is getting destroyed is highly unusual but to do it on a score line of 51-36 is exceptional.
The Northampton scrum is the best in Europe and is a huge part of their gameplan.
Saturday was the day that Simon Zebo burst onto the European stage with a hat-trick.
He ran great support lines and showed huge pace in the match.
He has really capitalised on the unfortunate injury to Doug Howlett.
With Zebo, Peter O’Mahoney and Conor Murray having come through recently it shows that the much maligned Munster academy isn’t as bad as reported.
With all the drama in the other games, the Leinster match was very straightforward.
Leinster had scored 17 points by the 17th minute and tries from Seán O’ Brien, Robert Kearney and Cian Healy took the wind out of the French men. Montpelier brought a strong team and a good attitude so while Leinster’s performance might not have been as flashy as some others it was still very competent.
Cian Healy and Seán O’Brien shipped knocks, which will be of concern to Declan Kidney, but you would have to expect that the morale and confidence levels within the Irish squad would be high following such great results from the Irish teams.
Connacht finally got the much-needed win when they beat a Harlequins side that is top of the Aviva Premiership.
Connacht have been no pushover in the Heineken Cup and hopefully this win will lead to better results in the Rabo Pro 12 for the men from west of the Shannon.
On the local scene, Tullow had a very disappointing loss away to Clondakin on Sunday but showed great heart and quality when staging a massive second-half comeback.
They are very close to being a really good side and hopefully the visit of Clane to the Black Gates on Sunday for the first round of the Towns Cup will be the day when everything clicks and we show our true potential.
The players’ attitude has been superb and they aren’t getting the results at the moment that their hard work deserves.