Many rugby pundits have already written off English club’s chances in the Champions Cup before a ball has been kicked due to the differences in salary caps between the Prem and Top 14. So, I can only presume they’ve all forgotten Northampton Saints’ performances in the last two seasons.
Three semi-finalists and a final appearance in previous two seasons
Phil Dowson’s men went toe to toe with Leinster in the semi-finals at Croke Park in 2023/24 - a season in which Harlequins also reached the last four. The Saints rued a poor opening which left the visitors just out of time despite enjoying the better of the second half. It was a match they knew they could have won despite the differences in resources between the two sides and when they returned to Dublin a year later, internally they knew Leinster were there for the taking.
Considering Leinster’s barnstorming run to the semis: beating Harlequins 62-0 and Glasgow Warriors 52-0, very few gave the Premiership champions a hope in hell at the Aviva, especially given Northampton’s dismal domestic title defence.
However, Saints’ England trio of Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman - the latter scoring a hat-trick - guided them to a shock 37-34 victory to break Leinster’s hearts and secure one of the biggest European upsets in recent memory.
Northampton lost the final to Bordeaux-Begles 28-20, a match where Freeman and Ed Prowse were both shown yellow cards. It was an enthralling contest and the underdogs were firmly in it until the closing stages.
Bath will be a force to be reckoned with
Considering Prem pacesetters Bath’s remarkable squad depth in both their forward pack and backline, it bemuses me as to why people are saying the French clubs’ embarrassment of riches make it too tall of a task for English clubs to compete.
If Bath, Northampton or Saracens - the three sides I believe with the squads to push into the latter stages - put their first choice 23s out, they will be a match for anyone.
England secured their 11th victory in a row last month and to many are the world’s second best side at the minute. Considering all of those players play in the Prem, surely that gives English teams a fighting chance?
A Bath team with back row options of Sam Underhill, Alfie Barbeary, Ted Hill, Guy Pepper, Arthur Green and Miles Reid is right up there across the competition. While, trying to squeeze Santiago Carreras, Ollie Lawrence, Chris Harris, Max Ojomoh, Will Muir, Henry Arundell, Cameron Redpath, Joe Cokanisaga and Tom de Glanville into your midfield and back three is a great problem to have, particularly with the brilliant Ben Spencer as your scrum-half and arguably the world’s best 10 right now in Finn Russell as their talisman.