This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with France’s European dominance, Beno Obano’s dreadful luck and the Six Nations portents…

Too easy

At least these games used to be competitive. There was once a time not all that long ago when you would need to win away from home to make sure of even having a sniff of qualification from the pool stages of the European Cup.

Not now. Of the 16 Investec Champions Cup pool matches French teams played at home, 14 of them were wins. That number was 11 out of 16 for the English, 5 from 6 for the Irish contingent, 3 from 6 from the South Africans and a full complement for both Glasgow and Benetton. Only 11 of the 48 games on the pool stages resulted in an away win. The away winners? France notched eight of them, Leinster did what Leinster do and won on the road twice. Saracens and Northampton each claimed a scalp – as well for them both as they both crashed at home too.

Seven of those away wins came in the first two rounds, with teams such as Toulouse, Bordeaux and Leinster flexing muscles. Toulon did a job in Cape Town. La Rochelle picked up a crucial W in Bath. The French teams in particular seem to have worked out that one away win is almost a guarantee of getting through the pool stages.

But by the time we got to the final weekend, games such as Leicester’s visit to Toulouse, Toulon’s trip to Sale, Glasgow’s foray into West London at Quins and La Rochelle’s game at Benetton carried plenty of prestige value but very little in the way of jeopardy or competitive background whatsoever.

Toulouse were brilliant, but would Leicester really have been so shredded had qualification been fully on the line for them? Would a La Rochelle team needing to win to qualify really have been beaten in Italy? Once the South African teams had all lost a game at home, did they ever have an impact on the tournament, given the clear physical impact the long trips have on them? There was lots of brilliant rugby on display, but lots of it also had the whiff of exhibition stuff at times, like Barbarians matches without the headless bits, the intensity not always as gasp-worthy as it should have been.

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Teams can largely cruise through the pool stages, making them all feel a little valueless. Ulster got through by virtue of winning one game against the hapless Exeter Chiefs. It won’t last long as they are up against Bordeaux in the next round, but is winning one game out of four with a points difference of -61 and a defence leaking more than 40 points a game really a standard worthy of qualification to the second round of Europe’s elite tournament?

It’s rethink time. As has been commented on here in the past, we’ve plenty of sympathy for the creative efforts to wedge the tournament into an already-stuffed calendar, but this one feels too forgiving on the competitors. Plenty of suggestions have featured a return to home-and-away knockout ties for the duration of the competition, but here’s another alternative: 24 teams also fit into eight pools of three, who could also play home and away over six weekends (two blocks of three) and with only the pool winners going through to the quarter-finals. Familiarity and instant rivalry: check. Competitive integrity: check. All-or-nothing in most games: check.

Right now the opening stages of the European Cup are too easy.

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Yellow streak

Beno Obano would be forgiven for simply packing up and heading off to a sport where accidents do happen.

After the ignominy of last season’s Premiership Final red card for which he didn’t do a lot wrong, he was once again scape-goated for an accidental collision (for which his technique was faultless), and subsequently sent from the field for what seemed little more than fatigue. The indignance of his seated response – including the frustrated ejection of his mouthguard in disgust – as he was shown his second yellow said everything you needed to know.

Is there scope for keeping a second yellow – certainly ones for technical offences – as only a yellow? It would appear to be something worth looking at. Foul play is one thing, but seeing red for a technical offence compounded by a singularly skewed review process of tackle technique is not a good look for the game.

France’s generation prepares to dominate

Five of the eight top seeds in Europe are French. Two of the three best teams in Europe feature a significant portion of the French side. There’s been little change in the squad since the last World Cup, with many of the players in both their prime and with scores of caps of experience. The generation emerging behind is every bit as good.

The Six Nations starts in under ten days with that French side afforded a nice easy starter match against a Wales side as unfamiliar as any since the last World Cup. It’s their tournament to lose. Scotland have just lost a crucial player and still lack depth. English teams may look good against each other but against the European benchmarks they look off the pace. And while Leinster continue to meet all challenges, Ireland’s rugby scene feels a little fractured at the moment.

All eyes on Dublin on March 8 for a Grand Slam decider, unless Scotland or England, or perhaps Italy in Rome, can spring an early surprise. But the gap between Ireland and France and the rest has never looked bigger.

READ MORE: ‘Reckless’ England forward reveals Steve Borthwick’s ‘clear’ selection requirement as he targets ‘something special’ this Six Nations

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/loose-pass-french-six-nations-domination-awaits-champions-cup-rethink-needed-after-exhibition-pool-stage-and-obanos-dreadful-luck