Ospreys, the cream of Wales, with 12 members of the Grand Slam winning team in their starting XV – as well as a couple of former All Blacks – looked like championship vintage two weeks earlier as they annihilated Saracens 30-3. 

However, the lads from Watford were a different team at Vicarage Road in Sunday's Heineken Cup quarter-final as Ospreys' poor ball control and a gritty performance from the Sarries pack – led by warhorse Richard Hill - created history as they reached the last four for the first time.

Earlier, London Irish, on the back of superb tactical kicking from England veteran Mike Catt and discarded NSW Waratah Peter Hewet, shut down Perpignan exceptionally.  This was coupled with one of the most outstanding line-out exhibitions in top-level rugby, with the Exiles winning a colossal 19 of their own 21 throws, and stealing six of the Catalans' into the bargain. 

'As Napoleon so convincingly overturned the revolution, Elissalde directed his troops in a manner which has Toulouse again on the verge on conquering Europe'


Despite the French team exhibiting a fearsome red wall of defence, intelligent percentage play ensured the boys from Surrey will contest the semi-finals against Toulouse at Twickenham – certainly the Exiles' only advantage.

Stade Toulousain, the Heineken Cup's most successful team, sent the most unambiguous message to their rivals with a persuasive 41-17 hammering of the Cardiff Blues, therefore completing the double massacre of Welsh clubs on rugby's 'Bloody Sunday'.

Toulouse, the red-and-black masterpiece of coach Guy Novès and finest domestic team in the Northern Hemisphere – are now overwhelming title favourites.  Three-time winners of Europe’s premier rugby competition, 16 times French champions and the only team to feature in every edition of the Heineken Cup, half of the team are French internationals, and adding to the mix is former first-choice All Black scrum-half Byron Kelleher.

Their victory also came despite having customary No.9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde directing traffic from outside-half.  Experts and critics acclaimed this as the weakness that Cardiff’s imposing loose combination of forwards would intimidate.  But the French general was wonderful in his direction of in-form threequarters Cédric Heymans and Vincent Clerc.

As Napoleon so convincingly overturned the revolution, Elissalde directed his troops in a manner which has Toulouse again on the verge on conquering Europe.

Surely only one team can stop the French club's relentless march towards a fourth title – two time runners-up and 2006 European champions Munster. The Irish giants booked their place in the semi-finals with a 16-3 victory over Gloucester, currently England’s most powerful domestic team. Doubtless the closest match of the quarter-finals, the cherry and whites exerted all the early pressure on the men of the “red army”.

However, Chris Patterson, whom could not miss a kick for Scotland in the World Cup and Six Nations – crumbled under the pressure and Gloucester could not register a point to complement their dominance. 

Ronan O’Gara had no such anxiety for Munster – kicking his first goal after Carlos Nieto was sent to the bin by referee Nigel Owens, enthusiastic as always to assert his authority on the game.  From there the experience of grizzled campaigners such as Irish captain Paul O’Connell came to the fore. Despite prolonged attacks from Gloucester, the sweethearts of the Heineken Cup will now face the resurgence of the Saracens.

Meanwhile, London Irish will play host to the terror that is Toulouse.  Most threatening for the Exiles is that the three-time champs won all of their Heineken Cup titles in hostile territory. Also, the English club, while impressive with their strategic dominance of the Catalans in their quarter-final, exhibited precious little attacking mindset.

Meanwhile, the Rouge and Noir drip with offensive menace, and know all too well what is required to complete domination of this grand European stage.

Heineken Cup semi-finals: Saturday April 26 - London Irish v Toulouse (Twickenham); Sunday April 27 - Saracens v Munster (Ricoh Arena, Coventry).  Prediction: Toulouse to play Munster at Cardiff in the Final.