1. Return of the king

Clearly there’s one thing dominating the post-weekend discussion – Martin Castrogiovanni’s extraordinary rant to the media after Toulon’s loss to Leicester. For anyone who’s had their head buried in the sand, here’s the worst of it: “I thought f****** Leicester were f****** amateur. I never want to speak with Cockers any more. I just don’t like ****s.” He aimed most of his vitriol at Richard Cockerill, who accused him of chasing the money in his move to Toulon. It was no doubt a venting of frustration after a game in which the Toulon scrum was marched backwards by the side he used to play for, but it does not sit particularly well for Leicester that a club legend – and Castro is a bona fide Leicester icon, adored by the fans – feels the need to come out and criticise the club set-up so aggressively. There is no way he would do that if he didn’t feel like he had a genuine reason to do so.

2. Plenty of rugby still to be played

One thing Castro did get right was his assertion that there is plenty of rugby still to be played in this tournament. Results across the weekend left several teams who looked to be down and out – Bath, Wasps, Ulster – with genuine hope that they might actually be able to qualify. Bath’s impressive performance in Montpellier means they’re still in the hunt (although they’ll be livid to miss out on a bonus point after three early tries), especially with two home games still to come and Toulouse sitting top of the pool – but crucially without any bonus points. Similarly in pool two, Wasps’ bonus point win in Castres puts them just two points behind Leinster and five behind Harlequins – and with Leinster at home and Quins away in the second half of pool games, they’ll still be confident. The point is – in most pools, qualifiers are far from decided just yet.

3. History makers

No French side had ever won at Thomond Park prior to the weekend – a record that Clermont broke. It was a brutally powerful performance from the men from the Auvergne, combined with one superb finish from Wesley Fofana, that won them the game. As was noted in commentary, they look hugely motivated in this year’s tournament, perhaps a reaction to a summer of turnover and the general feeling that they wouldn’t be as strong as in the past. Their heroics were summed up in the last play, when they had the stones to compete for a line-out on their own five metre line, rather than leave their jumpers on the floor and try to stop the drive (the safe option). They stole it, kicked the ball out and the game was over. There’s still only one point separating Clermont, Saracens and Munster in pool one, but with both other sides still to visit the fearsome Marcel Michelin, les Jaunards are certainly in the driving seat.

4. Disinterested

If the idea was to make the Challenge Cup more interesting and competitive, the opposite has been achieved. Taking away qualification for the Champions Cup was questioned at the time, and it now seems like madness. What motivation is there for any side, other than the minnows being given a shot on a bigger stage than usual, to put out their full side if all they get at the end of the season is a new, meaningless piece of silverware? The French sides are particularly apathetic, as was summed up by Grenoble coach Bernard Jackman before the weekend: “The Challenge Cup, from my point of view, is a bit of a pointless competition in terms of your first-grade players. There is no real benefit for us unless we go and win it. And, even if we do, we wouldn’t be guaranteed a place in the Champions Cup for next year. The best scenario for us if we want to get in the Champions Cup is to finish in the top six in the Top 14, and that’s obviously a huge ask. Certainly, the only way we could possibly look at that is by managing our resources smartly, and giving our first-grade players six weeks off during the Challenge Cup.” A damning indictment.

5. Contrasting weekends

The only English side to lose this weekend was Sale – and they were playing another English side, Saracens, so short of a draw, something had to give there. Conversely, there were just two French winners across the entire weekend – the aforementioned Clermont, who were admittedly excellent, and Toulouse, who ground out a solid win at home to Glasgow. Still, the dire home performances from Montpellier and Castres were almost the personification of a Gallic shrug of the shoulders. Both sides are now rock bottom of their pools with no chance of qualifying, so their interest in the tournament will likely be non-existent from now on – especially with both sides needing to be at full strength for the gruelling Top 14 regime, given that they are both struggling horribly domestically too. Kudos to the English sides, though, for a storming weekend in Europe.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images