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Stuart Barnes: Irish provinces are in pole position to challenge Clermont Auvergne

Image: Ruan Pienaar: magnificent for Ulster

Round six of the Heineken Cup started with a 36-3 win for Leinster on Friday night. It ended with a 28-3 triumph for Clermont Auvergne on Sunday evening.

Scoring just the one try against Zebre, Toulouse wasted much of the good work from the previous week when they devastated Saracens. So often so good at home, so often so awful on the road, they gave Munster a chance to pinch that fourth home tie which Munster were always going to do. They don't do a complacent attitude, they do what they have to and against Edinburgh they played with conviction and a determination to score the four tries. They did it with something in hand and will now play Toulouse in Limerick. I would not have written them off in France but suddenly, instead of a puncher's chance, the semi-final is in their hands. Toulouse won the game but they may have blown their chance. At the end of our coverage on Sunday afternoon, Alex jovially apologised for sending them on the road in the semi-final. I wouldn't be so sure about that. They face the winners of Toulon versus Leinster. Whilst home advantage favours the French, Leinster has the game and the self-belief to beat the reigning champions. Leinster are the likeliest team to be the one in four away winners. If that happens the semi-final will be at new Lansdowne Road - where it would have been had Munster been drawn at home! With the winners of Ulster or Saracens facing Clermont or Leicester in either Ireland or England, I would make a tentative guess that we could be in store for an all-Ireland set of semi-finals, with Clermont the only non Irish semi-finalist.
Amlin Cup
In the Amlin, Harlequins and the Scarlets produced a fine game in difficult conditions. Harlequins' reward is no sort of reward at all, a trip to second placed Top 14 team, Stade Francais. Still, Quins have history beating Stade and they have realistic hopes although the French, with a good Amlin record has to be the favourites. Bath, playing some sweet rugby on Thursday against an outclassed Bordeaux Begles team, should beat Brive while Wasps against a slowly resurging Gloucester and Sale against Northampton are compelling English clashes. With the dust settled it seems that England's clubs still look short of the highest level. With five of their six strong contingent filling the best runners up spots and the three Amlin qualifiers there is nothing wrong with strength in depth in the top to middle ranks of the English game, but three French and three Irish teams standing tall as the top six seeds tells its own tale of the current state of affairs on the field.

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