Here we go then, one more round in the Heineken Champions Cup before we break for the Six Nations.
Who will blast through to the quarter-finals? Who will fizzle out?
And will they all stay fit to take their place on the grand stage in two weeks' time?
There will be some nervy coaches around this week – at club and Test sides – but here to bring you the calm before the storm is Scrum's the Word!
Owen Farrell and Co may be safe but for the rest it's crunch time in Europe this weekend
POOL 1
LEINSTER know a bonus-point win over Wasps guarantees them a home quarter-final. TOULOUSE must better the Irish result to usurp them, but will surely make it as a best-second placer by beating BATH – who like WASPS are out.
POOL 2
EXETER need either to beat MUNSTER and deny them a bonus point, or beat them by scoring four tries or more – nothing else will suffice for them to go through. A draw or better, or even a close defeat will put Munster through top of the pool. CASTRES and GLOUCESTER are out.
POOL 3
SARACENS will cement top seeding with a win, but if they suffer a big (unlikely) home defeat to GLASGOW, could relinquish top spot – but would qualify as a fastest loser. Even just a losing bonus point for Glasgow might see them qualify. CARDIFF BLUES and LYON are out.
POOL 4
RACING 92 will guarantee a home quarter-final by beating sunk SCARLETS. ULSTER can nick in if the French lose – but it is more likely they will fight across groups with Toulouse, Glasgow, and possibly Montpellier, for a runner-up place. LEICESTER are out.
POOL 5
Tight with EDINBURGH and MONTPELLIER playing each other, three points apart. Winner takes all, but if the loser is Scottish then the capital club might sneak in too, depending on other results. NEWCASTLE and TOULON are out.
Once we know who the top eight seeds are on Sunday evening the quarter-final draw will be 1 v 8; 2 v 7; 3 v 6; 4 v 5.
COCKERS OF THE WALK
Richard Cockerill loves this stuff. His Edinburgh side, against all the odds, could qualify on Friday night with a win over Montpellier.
A team already sculpted in his image (abrasive, unabashed, clever) they have ripped the old – or at least large and French – order apart.
But they need one last result – and Cockerill is fired up. So here he came firing himself and his players up this week.
'You would expect the motivation to be equal because they have to win the game to qualify,' he said on Montpellier.
Richard Cockerill fired up his Edinburgh side, who could qualify with a win over Montpellier
'But they live in a nice part of the world where the weather is pretty good most of the time. Most of them are South African anyway and come from a warmer country than France. We want it cold, windy, rainy.
'They are the A-listers and they need to beat us to qualify. They are the side that has spent a lot of money.
'On the face of it, they should be better than us but, as ever, the sum of our parts has always got to be stronger than the individuals and we have got to make that really count. I'm going to back us.
'I am not sure we are meant to win, but Christ we are going to go out there gumshields in, sleeves rolled up, we are going to get into the middle of it and see where we get to.'
Wouldn't you want to play for him this Friday?
A team already sculpted in his image (abrasive, clever) they have ripped the old order apart
It was all going so normally, then this question was asked to Eddie Jones at Twickenham on Thursday after he had announced his squad for the Ireland match: 'How do you see Jack Nowell in terms of position? He played full-back on Sunday. Is he an option at full-back?'
A fairly simple question. Then chaos ensued following the answer.
'Seven,' replied Jones.
'Jack Nowell at seven? Why would that be?'
'Cos he's a great player. He is going to be the new breed of player. The game has changed. The game used to be 80 minutes, now it is 100 minutes. The next change is you will have players who can play backs and forwards. He has great ball carrying, great tackling skill; he puts his head over the ball, he's a tough little bloke. He's a great option. he can play wing, 13, 15, seven for us.'
Eddie Jones believes Jack Nowell is such a good player he can play in numerous positions
After then assured the gathered journalists he was not joking, and the laughter had died down, it was time to genuinely consider this.
Ok, Sir Clive Woodward rightly pointed out that this is not a new idea and slammed it as a 'distraction' an 'own-goal' and a 'gimmick' in his Sportsmail column – but if Jones were to be seriously considering it, could it work?
To our mind it is a bit bonkers, but is not actually as far-fetched as it may seem. The truth is Nowell plays like this already.
If England tries it, what is likely is that Nowell would wear No 14, and play as a 'blindside winger' (positioning himself in areas of the field closest to rucks, scrums and lineouts) and would be used as an auxiliary forward in the loose.
In attack Nowell is already adept at finding gaps around the breakdown, exploiting space by running in the heavy traffic close to rucks – as shown by his sensational comeback try against Castres last Sunday.
This is an absolutely classic example of what they'd want from Nowell in this 'ninth forward' role.
England could position him as a floating man behind rucks in attack, ready to pounce when quick ball is available, using his fast footwork and powerful running style to find holes among lumbering forwards.
But in defence he could be even more useful. Nowell is especially good for a back at winning turnover ball at the breakdown, stealing it from the opposition, an area where England traditionally struggle.
By holding off, not committing into every ruck like other traditional pack-members, and loitering behind breakdowns he could pick his moments to leap in and try and win the ball back. Australians David Pocock and George Smith – who play in the back-row – are experts at this.
Fanciful? Maybe. Distracting? It certainly has averted gazes. But possible? Quite probably.
England coach Jones said this week: 'He's a great option. he can play wing, 13, 15, seven for us.'
Why not have the famous scene from 'When Harry met Sally' – where the latter fakes an orgasm in a restaurant to announce you've signed Nathan Hughes?
That's what Bristol Bears did this week, having nabbed the England No 8 from Wasps. Previously they've used Rafiki from the Lion King to tell their fans that Steven Luatua had signed a new deal and the Hulk when Alapati Leuia penned.
And this week not content with losing half their squad – with Will Stuart, Willie le Roux and Hughes all confirmed off – Wasps got in on the act, snapping up Jeff Toomaga-Allen.
But it was the way they told the world they had signed Malakai Fekitoa, with the help of Dan Robson, Lima Sopoaga, Brad Shields and Dai Young, that turned heads.
It's rugby – scrum's the word readers – but not as we know it.
Wasps announced they had signed Malakai Fekitoa with a bizarre video post on Twitter
Often when it comes to Eddie Jones' squad announcements, the list at the bottom of the press release is as long as the one entitled 'forwards'.
Vast numbers listed as 'unavailable for selection' – it was as many as 11 for the recent autumn Tests – but this time there are just six 'players unavailable due to injury.'
Piers Francis (Northampton), Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Chris
