French power will be so tough to overcome

ENGLISH clubs are up against it in the European Cup because they are competing against French clubs which have much bigger budgets. In fact, in the last decade, the only Premiership club that’s managed to compete successfully against the French, and Leinster, has been Saracens.

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They found out in their first final against Jonny Wilkinson’s Toulon in 2014 what they had to do to become European champions, and first and foremost it was to develop a Saracens pack which was capable of competing against French clubs which are never weak up front.

Going into this season’s tournament it seems to me that Johann van Graan has managed to improve Bath through an effective rotation system that has sharpened their competitive edge, and it should help them to qualify from Pool 2. However, some English clubs might hold back to focus on the Premiership, while others might take the view of really going for it by fielding their strongest teams.

It will be interesting to see which path Harlequins take in Paris in today’s Pool 2 encounter when they face a Racing 92 side under Stuart Lancaster who start this European campaign as Top 14 leaders.

Lancaster has joined a club which has lost three European Cup finals, and Racing will hope that the former England and Leinster coach fits into place as the last piece in the jigsaw that finally sees them win it.

When Lancaster was at Leinster they had an international-strength team, which they rotated so that their strongest 23 was always available for the big games in Europe. It is a different challenge at Racing, and a more difficult one, because for French clubs the Top 14 has always been crucial.

However, with star imports like Springbok World Cup-winning skipper Siya Kolisi and prop Trevor Nyakane, as well as Fijian blockbuster Josua Tuisova, plus French internationals of the calibre of Cameron Woki and Gael Fickou, Lancaster has no shortage of firepower to fight on two fronts.