Ieuan's Heineken Cup call

Jun 22 2007 by Simon Thomas, Western Mail

IEUAN EVANS insists Wales should be aiming to have two Heineken Cup quarter-finalists for the first time in seven years.

Not since the 2000-01 campaign have there been two Welsh representatives in the last eight of Europe’s elite competition.

That was in the pre-regional days of club rugby, with Cardiff and Swansea both reaching the quarters, only to bow out to Gloucester and Leicester respectively on the same weekend in January 2001.

Since then, only one Welsh team – the Scarlets – have reached the knockout stages, doing so on four occasions.

Last season, they made the semi-finals, ending a barren run which had seen Wales go two years without one of their teams progressing from the group stage.

Now Llanelli legend Evans says it’s time for Welsh rugby to build on that progress and launch an assault on more than one front.

“Our challenge is to surpass what we did last season when we got one team into the knockout stages,” he said. “We are at the stage now where we should be looking at having more than one side through to the quarters.

“Once you get to that stage, getting a couple of semi-finalists isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

“But, first things first. The initial goal has to be to qualify from your pool.”

For Evans’ beloved Scarlets, that will easier said than done, given they have been grouped with the last two cup winners, Wasps and Munster, plus French championship runners-up Clermont Auvergne.

But, for the other three Welsh regions, the draw has been far kinder.

The Ospreys are pooled with Gloucester, Ulster and Bourgoin, while the Blues face Stade Francais, Bristol and Harlequins, with the Dragons alongside Perpignan, London Irish and Treviso.

Former Wales skipper Evans compered Wednesday’s draw at the Millennium Stadium and sensed a positive mood among the home contingent.

“For three of the Welsh teams, there was a sense of relief more than anything else, in all honesty,” he said.

“That sense of relief was palpable because you know each season you get one, if not two, exceptionally difficult groups to contend with.

“This year you’ve got that with pools five and six and the Ospreys, Blues and Dragons will have been pleased to avoid those groups.

“Obviously, the Scarlets haven’t been that fortunate.

“They are in one of the toughest pools I’ve ever seen in the Heineken Cup.

“But they showed last season that they can get out of a group of that quality.

“So it’s not beyond them, I am sure of that.”

Ieuan on the Ospreys
The Ospreys look to have the best chance of all the Welsh regions of making a real impact in the competition next season.

They have got the most talented squad in Wales. In fact, I would say they have got one of the top three or four squads in Europe.

You look at the Tigers, Stade Francais and Toulouse and the Ospreys are a match for those in terms of strength in depth. Their squad compares favourably with all of those.

They have also got to be pleased with their draw. They’ve got Bourgoin, who very rarely perform in Europe, and Ulster, whom the Scarlets beat home and away last season. Gloucester will be a tough challenge and those are the key games.

But the Ospreys have got a great chance. On paper, they should be able to mount a real challenge.

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But you have to ask can they deliver on the European stage?

They have done so domestically, but Europe is the challenge. That’s the benchmark.

Ieuan on the Scarlets
The Scarlets fought through a quality group last season, but the challenge this year is even tougher. That’s probably one of the toughest groups I’ve ever seen in the Heineken Cup.

Obviously, they beat Munster in last season’s quarter-finals and they have played Wasps a number of times in the past, with the games tending to go with home advantage. As for Clermont Auvergne, that’s a return for Stephen Jones and he’ll clearly know all about them.

It’s certainly a good group to get out of, but it’s not beyond them. They showed it can be done last season. They proved then they can get out of that quality of group.

Nobody expected the sort of results they recorded, particularly the performance out in Toulouse. To win all six group matches in the style they did, they lit up the tournament last year and they’ll have to do exactly the same thing again this year to progress.

Ieuan on the Blues
With the Blues the question mark is temperament rather than talent. Can they deliver on the day?

You think of their home games against Leicester and Munster in Europe last season and it was discipline that cost them rather than ability. So that’s the big issue for the Blues. Can they match teams in terms of temperament as well as in terms of the rugby they play?

Hopefully some of their signings over the summer will contribute towards that.

They have got two English teams in their group in Bristol and Harlequins, which adds to the interest.

The Bristol games will be tremendous derbies.There’s a lot of history between the sides, they should be great occasions.

Stade Francais look the favourites in the group, as they do most years.  But Stade don’t start off that great. They tend to come good towards the tail end of the season. So if the Blues play them early on in the competition, they need to capitalise on that.

Ieuan on the Dragons
On paper, the Dragons are our weakest region, but they’ve got a decent group, so it balances out.

Perpignan probably look the favourites and they are a difficult test, especially at the Stade Aime Giral. Very rarely does anyone win out there. So that is going to be a difficult challenge.

But Perpignan blow hot and cold, especially in terms of the contrast between their form home and away.

You’ve also got Treviso and London Irish in there, so the Dragons have got a decent chance. Hopefully you can see them winning a few games there.

They punched above their weight last season and the question is whether they can do the same again now they are back in the Heineken Cup, especially after losing a number of key players.

The Brew brothers, Gareth Cooper and Ian Gough have all gone. I think Gough is the big blow for them. He’s been the heart and soul of the team.  So they are going to have to fill his boots. Will the players they bring in be up to it?