Naturally I would wish all the other English teams well and certainly feel that Leicester should be placed amongst the favourites. They will want to get back on track this weekend after a loss and a draw in the league and there is no better place for them to do that than Welford road. I expect Toulouse and Biarritz, who are in good form at the moment, to be there or thereabouts come the knock out stages. However there are sure to be at least one or two teams who spring a few surprises. Once a team builds up some momentum, as Munster did last year, it's very difficult to stop - and I'm sure that at least once of the supposed lesser team will knock over r one of the big guns at some stage.
European competition poses a challenge for sides in terms of playing style.
Playing in the Premiership you become accustomed to certain players and patterns of play, but facing opposition who you are not as familiar with calls for some flexibility - both in planning for games and, if necessary, changing the emphasis during the match. Having to name a 30-man squad also makes tremendous demands the versatility of a team, meaning that those clubs with a depth of experience and flexibility are more likely to do well. Although in an ideal world the different tournaments would be played in blocks the way the schedule is set out this season will be beneficial to the Northern Hemisphere test players. The intensity of the competition gives an ideal preparation for the tests that follow in November and early December and hopefully should help us as we prepare for the Australians and the South Africans. We are travelling down to Wales on Friday, and will get a chance to rest up for Saturday and watch the Llanelli v Gloucester match on TV on Friday night.