Power Ranking Europe's Top 15 Club Teams After Weekend of December 12-14

There are just two rounds to go for the European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage, so just two more chances for teams to affect their ranking in this ladder before it all comes down to knockout rugby.

As domestic warfare resumes over the festive period, we will have to wait until the end of January to find out the qualifiers for the last 16.

But several pools are now down to a two-way fight for automatic progress to the second round, while in others, a number of sides are chasing bonus-point wins to position themselves as one of three best runners-up who will get through.

It was a thoroughly pleasing weekend for the French big guns, as Toulon, Toulouse, Clermont and Racing Metro all won.

But it doesn’t look too bad for the English contingent either, with a side from the Premiership either first or second in all but one pool.

Worryingly for the Celtic countries, it already looks as though they will have just a solitary representative in the next phase.

Here’s how we stand, with weight given to some sides who, while laboring a bit in Europe, maintain a healthy record on the home front.

15. Ulster (Pro12)

Ulster waved goodbye to hopes of progress from their pool with defeat in Llanelli.

They are rock bottom of Pool 3 with six points after a 22-13 loss to the Scarlets, and have only the Pro12 to fight for now.

The Belfast Telegraph’s Jonathan Bradley insisted after their Euro exit that even that competition must be viewed through the prism of aiming solely at a return to the continent’s top table next season:

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While the competition should be respected in its own right, the remainder of this Pro12 season must also be looked at in terms of its potential to improve Ulster's continental prospects.

Currently fourth in the table after nine games, a huge push will be required to ensure that their league performance sees them move into Europe's supposed second band of teams and, with the visit of Connacht sandwiched between trips to the Ospreys and Leinster to come over the next three weekends, there is no time for the province to lick their wounds.

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The Scarlets may sit second in the pool, but they have little hope of qualifying with only eight points in the bag so far, and their inferior placing in the Pro12 means, despite this win over Ulster, it is Neil Doak's side who cling on to the bottom rung of this ranking ladder.

14. Glasgow (Pro12)

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Two consecutive defeats to Toulouse have put the skids under Glasgow's European campaign.

A dull encounter on their home patch was edged by Toulouse 12-9, and it leaves Gregor Townsend’s side with a tough task to seal one of the three best runners-up spots available in the knockout stages, as The Scotsman’s Robert Mitchell explained:

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Glasgow now have a home game next month against a Montpellier side who are no longer interested in the tournament, before facing a dramatic denouement with Bath at The Rec, from which only two bonus point wins are likely to be enough to clinch qualification via one of the three runners-up slots available.

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13. Wasps (Premiership)

Wasps bade farewell to Adams Park with a thumping win over Castres. Doubles were claimed by both centre Ben Jacobs and wing Tom Varndell as the 2004 and 2007 European champions kept themselves in the hunt.

They are just a point behind Leinster and Quins.

Vardnell’s brace was a reminder that the queue for the England wing shirts is starting to stretch round the Twickenham stadium.

Indeed, the former Leicester man told the Telegraph’s Steve James prior to this pair of tries that he is still yearning for another crack at a Red Rose berth:

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Only Sale’s Mark Cueto, who is 35 on Boxing Day, has scored more tries in the Premiership and the last of Varndell’s four England caps was way back in 2008.

But, having missed most of last season after twice rupturing a biceps muscle, Varndell is still fresh and ambitious.

You ask him about England and he says: ‘I wouldn’t say I have given up. If you are playing well enough then you should get selected. I’ve still got a lot of rugby to play.’

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12. Ospreys (Pro12)

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A late rally by the Ospreys was not enough to avoid defeat to Racing Metro.

Steve Tandy’s men are more or less out of the picture for the knockout stages, trailing in third place on eight points behind Racing on 18 and Northampton 14.

The Saints head to Swansea in the next round of matches, and they will need a bonus point stuffing for the Welshmen to make some sort of attempt at reviving hopes.

11. Bath (Premiership)

All the buzz in Bath surrounded Sam Burgess’ first start as the West Countrymen beat Montpellier, but Matt Banahan stole the headlines with a hat-trick as hopes were kept on the boil of qualification.

Bath are second in Pool 4, six points off Toulouse, who they will need to upset in grand fashion in France to close that gap, as well as beat Glasgow at home.

Burgess will need more game time for his attributes to become a key weapon in Mike Ford’s strategy, but as a first full game of 15-a-side rugby, it was a thoroughly decent showing.

10. Harlequins (Premiership)

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Quins have gone toe to toe with Leinster two weeks running, winning one and coming painfully close in the second clash in Dublin.

A dominant scrum and a relative novice as a stand-in fly-half have shown they can hold their own with the big boys.

If they can find some consistency in the league, their season should take an upward curve in 2015. But it won’t be helped by the injury lay-off for Chris Robshaw, per BBC.co.uk.

Quins still top their pool and have a trip to Castres and home tie with Wasps to negotiate a path to the last 16.

Despite better form in Europe, their league woes keep them beneath Munster, who top the Pro12 but are heading for an early exit from Europe.

9. Munster (Pro12)

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Munster never looked like threatening Clermont Auvergne, going down 26-19 in France and seeing their qualification hopes fading with that second straight defeat to last year’s beaten semi-finalists.

Ian Keatley’s late penalty scrambled a bonus point for Anthony Foley’s men, but they are third in their section, three adrift of Saracens.

They need the English to lose in France and must beat them at Allianz Park to stand a chance of going through, ensuring they also beat Sale at home.

The Irish Independent’s David Kelly wrote: "Astonishingly, they retain a scintilla of breath; like the vampire in the old horror movies, even when there's a stake through their heart, you'd better check the pulse."

8. Leinster (Pro12)

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They have been rubbish in the Pro12 and sit fifth, but Leinster stand a better chance at qualifying from their Champions Cup pool than anyone else in the top five of their domestic league, so they get a boost up this ranking this week.

A narrow 14-13 win over Harlequins left little to excite the fans, but it atoned for the defeat a week earlier in West London and means they are level with Conor O’Shea’s men on 13 points going into Christmas.

The Irish Independent’s Tony Ward took the opportunity after the game to have a pop at the disgruntled Leinster fans training their sights on coach Matt O’Connor in what he sees as a style of supporter behaviour common in soccer:

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True fans support their teams - in whatever sport - in good times and bad. Leinster are not going through 'bad' times, yet the feeling is of a disconnect. It appears that many fans feel that if O'Connor is shown the door, there will be some kind of magic fix.

Now what slippery slope on the coat-tails of what other sport are we following there?

I love soccer - I played it long enough - but how I hate its ethos. Is that the bang for their buck new-age rugby supporters now demand? We are heading increasingly in that direction, and the game will be the loser, nothing surer.

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7. Leicester (Premiership)

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The Tigers suffered defeat at the home of Toulon, which is no disgrace.

But it did highlight the chasm between the champions and a side who once ruled the continent and won its biggest prize two years running in the early part of the century.

They have a tricky period coming up in the league as they look to improve on their current fifth place, as the Leicester Mercury’s Martin Crowson outlined:

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After playing the reigning champions of Europe twice in seven days, things are not about to get any easier for Leicester. They play Northampton, Sale and Bath in their next three Premiership games, starting at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday. Tigers have players back from injury but they are still really struggling for options in the centres and second row. Because of the start they have had, Tigers really need to win two of those three games. This is a crucial spell for the club.

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6. Saracens (Premiership)

Saracens completed a double over Sale with Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola both showing signs that they are grasping some decent form back after autumnal slumps.

Control of this pool is likely to hinge on their trip to Clermont at the end of January—as long as Munster don’t upset the apple cart in the next round. Sarries have work to do on the home front in the meantime.

They are fourth in the Premiership, 10 points behind leaders Northampton, but should cash in on a festive programme featuring London Welsh, Newcastle and London Irish.

5. Toulouse (Top 14)

No pyrotechnics from Toulouse this week, but a functional 12-9, penalty-only win over Glasgow that made it four from four in Europe.

They can win ugly and dazzle with their offloading game at times, and as they rumble toward the knockout stages, you would not pick many sides who fancy a trip to the Stade Ernest-Wallon for an arm wrestle.

4. Racing Metro (Top 14)

Racing were given the jitters by a second-half fight-back from the Ospreys but clung on for a 18-14 win that frames their final day showdown in the Midlands quite nicely.

The club's fans will certainly head into Christmas in good spirits after the news, per ESPNScrum.com, that Dan Carter is on his way after next year’s World Cup.

3. Northampton (Premiership)

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The Saints gave Treviso a hefty shellacking, most notable for two hat-tricks: one to Ken Pisi and the other an impressive 11-minute effort from second-half replacement Samu Manoa.

Predictably and tantalizingly, the spoils in this pool should come down to the clash at the end of January at the Gardens between Jim Mallinder’s Premiership pace-setters and Racing Metro.

Of the two, Northampton have the tougher assignment to pass first with a trip to the Ospreys. If there are any flies in the Saints’ ointment right now, the Guardian’s Paul Rees has identified a fly-half-shaped one:

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James Wilson moved to 10 from full-back via the wing when Stephen Myler was taken off early but, should anything happen to Myler, who has started every Premiership and Champions Cup match, Northampton would not be able to cover his absence as seamlessly as they do with others.

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2. Toulon (Top 14)

Bernard Laporte’s men beat Leicester comfortably to reassert their muscle in Pool 3.

Their home ground was paid tribute by the Guardian’s Eddie Butler as a central plank of their rise to the top of club rugby:

"It holds only just over 15,000. But it has a role to play in the development of Rugby Club Toulonnais into one of the major dynasties of the European game – the generation of sound and fury. The (Stade Felix) Mayol bounces on match day."

And Butler is certain they look as though they stand a great chance of an unprecedented hat-trick of European crowns: "Anyone that wants to knock them out of the Champions Cup may have to wait until they are well away from their beloved Mayol to have a chance. And even then, play out of their skin."

1. Clermont Auvergne (Top 14)

Franck Azema’s men were a cut above Munster as they beat the red men 26-19 in the Massif Central.

Some brute force from their forwards was impressively knitted with the artistry from Wesley Fofana and Fijian flyer Seru Nakaitaci.

Once again, they look capable of great things in the championship, with only their form on the road to stop them.

They lost narrowly to Saracens away in this section and round out their pool by welcoming last year’s European runners-up to France at the end of January.

A win and a good performance against those big hitters will put Europe on notice, as long as they don't stumble on their travels to already-eliminated Sale.