Power Ranking Europe's Top 15 Club Teams After Weekend of September 5-7

The domestic season across Europe got into full swing last weekend as the Aviva Premiership and Guinness PRO12 joined the month-old Top 14 in action.

So, while the French top flight is taking shape after four rounds, its counterparts are still in their embryonic stages.

This ranking will therefore give a little more weight to the form of the best French teams that have a few more weeks of hard graft already under their belts.

That’s not to say there were not some eye-catching performances in England and the PRO12 that have earned some teams on this list the right to spoil the French party.

The true Irish powerhouses of the PRO12 may also have had poor starts to the season, but as this is a power ranking, we must admit them on the grounds that traditionally they are the sides who will inevitably fight it out both for domestic honours and European gongs.

15. Munster (PRO12)

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It has been an uneasy start to the campaign for Munster.

They were embroiled in a story surrounding an errant email sent to all squad players detailing some critical feedback and a demarcation of who was first choice and who was not, per the Limerick Leader.

And they did not secure the result that would have pushed that story off the sports pages, instead recording their third consecutive home defeat with a loss to Edinburgh.

Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent believes the problems at Thomond Park stem from a lack of interest in league games:

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The run-of-the-mill Guinness Pro12 game just can't engender the same response, particularly when Munster are struggling to attract crowds to the venue.

Against Edinburgh, there were mitigating factors. Friday nights don't suit the non-local crowd who could stay at home and tune in on TG4, while the parading of a 25ft granny through the city streets caused traffic problems for those trying to get to the game.

Still, it was the opening night of the season but even after a long summer there was far less than the official figure of 13,428 tickets sold in attendance.

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14. Leinster (PRO12)

Claude Paris/Associated Press

A narrow reverse against Glasgow for Leinster would not have been in the script for their start of the defence of their trophy.

But they will not be too perturbed by the result given the names they were missing from their line–up. As the Irish Independent’s Cian Tracey reported, the men in blue will be bringing back some heavy artillery in the coming weeks:

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Leinster will welcome back several of their Irish internationals for this weekend's Pro12 clash against the Scarlets as they look to bounce back from their opening defeat to Glasgow Warriors.

Jamie Heaslip and Devin Toner are both expected to be involved for the first time this season but Rob Kearney (foot), Gordon D'Arcy (shoulder) and Luke Fitzgerald (groin) are still a few weeks away from a return.

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13. Connacht (PRO12)

The men from Ireland’s West Coast took full advantage of an ill-disciplined Dragons display for a 16-11 win that gets their campaign off and running.

Anyone who paid their entry fee to the Galway Sports Ground can at least say they were there the day the great Mils Muliaina performed the role of water carrier for Ireland’s fourth-best rugby province, per the Connacht Tribune.

Whatever he had in his bottles, it helped Pat Lam’s team keep their nerve for the win

12. Exeter (Premiership)

Exeter could have seen an opening day visit to newly promoted London Welsh as a banana skin waiting to happen.

It turned out to be nothing of the sort for the West Country outfit, who buried the Exiles 52-0.

New recruit at No. 8 Thomas Waldrom wasted little time endearing himself to the Chiefs faithful with two tries as Rob Baxter’s men cut loose in the second half with an avalanche of points.

It’s a worrying sign for Welsh.

11. Cardiff Blues (PRO12)

Cardiff thumped Zebre 41-26 with the help of 21 points from Rhys Patchell, per BBC.co.uk.

The men from the Welsh capital had Adam Jones making his Blues bow as well as a fit-again Sam Warburton in the pack.

WalesOnline’s Simon Thomas was impressed with what he saw from a Blues side enjoying their first outing under new Kiwi coach Mark Hammett and had praise for Warburton in particular:

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The Wales and Lions skipper is back in Cardiff colours with a bang.

With the peace deal between the WRU and the regions enabling him to line up for the Arms Park outfit, he is now 'off the leash', to use his own phrase.

Any frustration that might have built up over the last few months was quickly flushed out of the system as he came out of the blocks firing.

Capitalising on an early lineout steal at the tail, he set off, breaking a tackle and bursting away to pave the way for the opening try from Patchell.

That was the first of a number of surges from the openside, who also put in a couple of big hits and competed ferociously at the breakdown.

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10. Stade Francais (Top 14)

Stade recovered from a harrowing trip to Oyonnax where they were hammered 33-6 to down Bayonne 34-29 in an entertaining spectacle at Stade Jean Bouin.

Five tries earned a bonus point that sees them nestled in fourth place with three wins from four. The Stade performance was notable for two tries coming from their forward pack, one a rolling maul and the other a set lineout move.

Their grunt up front has been bolstered this season with the arrival of Australian lock Hugh Pyle, who was considered a contender for Wallaby selection before coming to Europe, per ESPNScrum’s piece on the former Melbourne Rebel. When asked about Pyle’s departure, his former colleague Scott Higginbotham said:

"I think it's a big loss for Australian rugby and it's a big loss for us at the Rebels. I think he's quite young, but having the talent that he has he could play over there for a couple of years and come back."

11. Edinburgh (PRO12)

It was a dream start for Edinburgh who inflicted a rare opening day defeat on Munster at Thomond Park.

Their 14-13 win came thanks to a solitary try from Jack Cuthbert and, according to ESPNScrum, some wholehearted defence.

They almost let the result slip at the death when Ian Keatley was awarded a penalty to snatch the win, but the Munster No. 10 pushed it wide to hand the men from the Scottish capital a rare first day success.

8. Glasgow (PRO12)

Stuart Hogg’s late penalty snatched victory over Leinster for Gregor Townsend’s charges as Glasgow stunned the reigning champions.

Three tries from Peter Horne, Jonny Gray and Josh Strauss had seen the Scots race into a 19-0 lead before Leinster wiped out the deficit with three of their own, but it was Lion Hogg's assured aim from the tee that sealed the win.

Planet Rugby reported on Townsend’s delight at the victory:

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It was a great win, we were playing against the champions and to get any win against them is obviously a massive boost for us.

There was a drop-off in the second half but I was really pleased with our intent to start the game.

We looked sharp, played real high tempo rugby and came close to scoring more than 20 points in that first half.

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7. Ospreys (PRO12)

The Ospreys kicked their PRO12 season off with a handsome 44-13 win over Benetton Treviso to lead the early standings.

A side once heavily populated with Welsh internationals is now home to far fewer household names, which may just play into their hands this season.

Richard Hibbard, Adam Jones, Ryan Jones and Ian Evans have all left the region, and skipper Alun-Wyn Jones was rested for this opening day clash, per BBC.co.uk.

With that many high–profile departures, expectations will be lower for the Swansea–based side, and it could see them play without that pressure to win every game.

6. Saracens (Premiership)

Sarries stole it at the death against Wasps thanks to David Strettle, a hat-trick hero on opening weekend.

They say the sign of a great side is when they can play poorly and win.

Mark McCall will know his players can reach greater heights than they did against a plucky but profligate Wasps outfit, but they are off and running.

The 34-28 win was achieved with only seven of the starting 15 in last season's Premiership final, and it was noted by The Guardian's Paul Rees that there was plenty to play for by Strettle and the other wide men on show.

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Past, present and future met at the home of English rugby in the form of David Strettle, who scored three tries; Chris Ashton, who claimed the first of seven in an open encounter; and Christian Wade, who on his first Premiership appearance since he suffered a toe injury at the end of November helped Wasps recover from an 11-point deficit at half-time to lead by eight in the final quarter with two tries.

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5. Leicester (Premiership)

It took Richard Cockerill’s side a while to shake off the ring rust at home to Newcastle, but once into their stride they ran away with their opening fixture and notched a 36-17 win.

There are fewer squads with better depth than the Tigers, and this was underlined by the fact that they are currently missing through injury or international duty no fewer than 14 players. You can see the full list at the bottom of this piece from the Leicester Mercury.

And still, there will be a lot of teams who struggle to cope with their physicality this season when you look at a back line that included on Saturday Seremaia Bai, Manu Tuilagi and Niki Goneva, who got three tries.

It’s the club chef you have to feel for.

The Tigers have now lost skipper Ed Slater for the season following a knee operation, per the Leicester Mercury, which deepens their injury woes further still.

4. Toulon (Top 14)

Bernard Laporte’s double-winners saw off Bordeaux last weekend with a muted 18-13 win during which they failed to cross the whitewash.

It has been an erratic start for the Galacticos from the south coast of France. They predictably flayed La Rochelle with 60 points, but sandwiched that result with defeat to Racing Metro and an away win at Bayonne.

On a positive note, the retirement of Jonny Wilkinson has at least not dented their goal-kicking ability.

Frederic Michalak, wearing the No. 10 jersey, kicked all 18 points.

3. Clermont Auvergne (Top 14)

Clermont are one of four French sides with three wins from four this season, which is not a bad return for a side in something of a rebuilding phase.

Their proud home record has been obliterated with two defeats in their last three home games after four years unbeaten at Stade Marcel Michelin.

But their latest 32-6 win over Racing Metro has capped a promising first month of the season. The result was secured with the help of two tries from old stager Aurelien Rougerie, per Planet Rugby.

But the win was soured by an attack that night in a kebab shop on their New Zealand wing Zac Guildford, per ESPNScrum.com.

2. Northampton Saints (Premiership)

No hangover for the Saints following their 2014 title win.

Jim Mallinder’s men exploded into life with a 53-6 romp at home to Gloucester, per BBC.co.uk, to make clear their intent to retain their champion status this term.

George North shook off a disappointing summer with Wales to plunder a hat–trick, and the home side were out of sight at half-time.

The Saints have a high number of internationals but have also got solid backup for the periods when North, Tom Wood and Co. will be away. Kahn Fotuali’i at No.9, Samu Manoa in the second row and the Pisi brothers will keep the home fires burning come autumn time.

1. Montpellier (Top 14)

Montpellier sit atop of the league in France after humbling last season’s beaten finalists Castres 43-10.

Castres’ performance bordered on the incompetent at times, but six tries against last year’s runners-up is not to be sniffed at, however poorly they played and despite the fact they had Johnnie Beattie red-carded in the first half.

The men from the Languedoc have been mixing it with the top dogs in France for a while now, and have begun their campaign impressively with three wins from four.

They lost narrowly to Racing Metro on opening day and have since gone to Clermont and won as well as beating Grenoble and now Castres.

Promising stuff.