When I was Chair of the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) tournaments, there were occasional references to controlling club expenditure to even up the disparity in player squads. Nothing ever resulted and in truth it is impractical. Toulouse represents an entire City and economy, their rugby team is part of the fabric of their society, as is Bordeaux and actually most of French rugby has this characteristic – which is why I have always loved it and in my earlier career nearly accepted an offer to play there. Talk to English players there now and they have no regrets – lifestyle on the Cote D’Azur or the Atlantic seaboard is almost to die for.

Well, we have had two more rounds in Europe and there was so much to admire I could go on forever but the quarterfinals of both tournaments provided enough thrills and spills.

As the Northampton Saints go marching on, they have shown their English peers how to adapt. Castres their quarterfinal opponents had promised to cry havoc and let slip some war dogs but no-one told them that they had to play at altitude. Or it must have felt like that as the Saints operated at a pace and skill level from another planet. They are right to call dysfunction in the system because they are the best side in the country relative to their spend, producing top draw players, and yet are punished for it. There was a time when my Bath squad of the late 80’s could have claimed a few in the national backline – Hill, Barnes, Guscott, Swift, Webb, Adebayo – and thus it is with Northampton. It is rubbing off on others as Hendy looks a genuine contender along with the five incumbents Mitchell, Smith, Dingwall, Freemand and Furbank. Only the European competition can extract this exceptional performance level.

Elsewhere, the difference between Challenge and Champions Cup was laid bare although with serious contests to savour. Don’t get me wrong I loved the ambition and skills on show at the Rec as Premiership table toppers Bath put 60 points, yes 60, on their highflying rivals Gloucester who have been developing their wide play but forgetting some defensive basics. A number of their cuter players went missing in action, and the form centre in England, Seb Atkinson, had a day away from the game. While Bath eye a triple dollop of silverware – yes please!- this wouldn’t have troubled Toulouse, Toulon, Leinster or Bordeaux.

In Connacht, Top 14 strugglers Racing 92 seem to have found their soul with an unlikely away win and following a red card, no doubt inspired by Owen Farrell’s franglais rallying cry – ‘Allez, C’mon’ ringing around Galway Bay.

The Stade Mayol, hosting Toulon v Toulouse for a place in the semi final, roared out a challenge alongside the guttural ‘Pilou Pilou’ call to arms from their tattooed mascot who back in the day would have been one of those Navy seadogs of Toulon. It was an incredible contest of intensity and pretty running lines were in no way sufficient. The sight of 22 stone Meafou storming into gaps and offloading was a sight in itself and the offensive defence was off the chart. There had to be a loser and the tears of relief, happiness and devastation flowed in equal measure at the end and Toulouse survived, just. It was true gladiatorial stuff and on a different level even to the Top 14. European KO matches between previous multiple champions are unique animals and tell you something of a tournament which has had to evolve with the relative strengths of the club rugby it represents. Not wishing to diminish the winners of the past but you really do need to be the best of the best now to win the Champions Cup in the modern era.

Leinster’s procession past Glasgow was tame by comparison, and they may well have too much for the Saints but I am not sure. The precocious Pollock will find out how good he really is against the top backrow in Europe – he could and possibly should be the uncapped Lions bolter, why not? I love his attitude and while my old club Captain the piratical Roger Spurrell may have woken him up a few times with some skulduggery, he looks the type who would shrug it off as he did when Castres tried some cheap shots. As a centre I would have  had no problem giving him the ball because he would likely do something useful with it!

As for the semi final between Toulouse and Bordeaux, it is effectively an International with an intense tribal rivalry of a different type between the two form teams in Europe. A contest for the ages and I simply cannot wait.

Hallers