5 Storylines to Watch in the 2014/15 European Rugby Champions Cup
The inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup campaign is almost upon us, and in the build-up to this brand new competition, questions are being asked as to what we can expect heading into a new era.
The elite clubs of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and France will duel for the chance to be named the continent's finest but even under a new banner, some of the old traditions promise to maintain.
We examine a host of those most enticing storylines looking toward the pool stage and further ahead, with some outfits promising to hold a particular intrigue in Europe's new format.
1. Munster Battling Against the Group Odds
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Munster have been a club in transition over recent years, coping with the gradual loss of their old guard, with new and potentially exciting stars hoping to fill the boots of those who brought about extreme success at Thomond Park.
However, Anthony Foley will receive a baptism through fire in his first season as coach of the club, handed a difficult pool to traverse with Saracens, Clermont Auvergne and Sale Sharks all promising to impede their progress.
The club have made it to the semi-finals of the last two European campaigns and last failed to make it out of the pools in the 2010-11 season, but this will arguably be their toughest group stage of any.
On paper, Saracens and Clermont promise to damage their hopes in particular, with trips to London and central France both looking like difficult fixtures to take points from.
Munster have a reputation for defying the odds of their money-spinning peers in European contest but a streamlined version of competition has made for a higher standard of opposition this year, and their chances look as hard as ever to overcome.
2. Will Bath Be Back with a Bang?
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After three years away from Europe's top-tier contest, Bath return to the peak of continental rugby this season with brighter hopes of excelling and new horizons ahead following a revival at The Rec.
Mike Ford's side have been bullish in their recruitment of late, and the improvements are beginning to tell as the side find themselves just five points off the Premiership summit, having scored the third-highest amount of points (194) after six games.
George Ford will orchestrate the side from fly-half as he did tremendously for much of last season, and with rugby league convert Sam Burgess still to join their cause, there's reason to be hopeful of what's to come.
All signs would suggest their momentum has the potential to in time create a new phase of prosperity in Somerset. However, many of their playing staff will be experiencing these responsibilities for the first time, and living up to that potential is a different matter entirely.
3. Can Toulon's Star Train Carry on Chugging?
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It hasn't quite been a perfect start to the season for the defending champions of Europe and France, with Toulon having already lost three domestic games this season and showing that they most certainly are human.
The cast is as star-studded as ever, though, and just when one might have thought Mourad Boudjellal couldn't add any more leading characters to his squad, the names kept flocking to the Stade Mayol in 2014.
James O'Connor, Leigh Halfpenny, Juan Martin Hernandez, Gerhard Vosloo, Mamuka Gorgodze and others each promise to add yet more quality to this squad, who are hoping to retain the stellar standards achieved in 2013-14.
However, a European and domestic double will be a tough act to follow, putting it mildly, and their title defence will inevitably make them one of the teams earning even more attention this time around.
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4. France and England to Benefit from the Numbers Game?
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One of the mitigating circumstances which led to the drawn-out affair of agreeing a new competition format and television rights was the prominence England and France's big spenders would enjoy in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Thirteen of the 20 sides competing in the pool stage originate from those two nations, with at least one club from each nation placed in each of the five pools, giving them logically stronger odds of advancing.
Cup competition has a way of throwing spanners in the works of logic, though, and one can expect the bastions of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in particular to do their bit in ensuring those lesser-represented countries thrive.
Just how influential will a bigger contingent of English and French teams be in the long run? This season promises to shape that question for the years to come, and a debate of money versus quality runs deeper as a side topic.
5. Can the Condensed Format Prove to Be a Success?
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Perhaps the most pertinent of any storyline heading into this new season is just what can we expect to see from the European Rugby Champions Cup, a contest which is effectively hoping to replicate the hype of the Heineken Cup but with its own brand.
Reducing the pool stage from 24 teams to 20 teams may not seem like a major deal in those terms, but it does promise to make for a better standard of entertainment, or at least that's what one would hope.
By this time in May, we'll have a more expansive idea of just how the tournament sizes up in comparison to its European predecessor, the Heineken Cup fizzling away but far from forgotten.
Although this fresh format came to prominence with fiery debate and broad controversy at its core, it has the promise for an even greater showcase in time.
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