Having largely given up on the Champions Cup last season, deterred by zero Irish representation in the knockout stages and the dizzying riches of the French and the English, Irish rugby fans are once again welcoming European Rugby to our hearts. This is, of course, mainly due to the fine performances of Leinster and Munster, both of whom have secured home quarter-finals and might - should the planets and stars governing post- Six Nations fitness align - meet each other in the final.
Added to that the fine performances of Connacht (Sorry, Ulster), and it has been a very fine pool stage for Irish rugby indeed.
This morning, French sports newspaper Midi Olympique have selected their team of the weekend just gone by, and two Irish internationals make the cut.
Both play for Munster: perennial Man of the Match CJ Stander is in the back row, with the prolific Simon Zebo at full-back. Stander picked up his fourth MOTM award in six matches in this competition against Racing on Saturday, a game in which he dutifully got through his usual workload, making eighteen carries and thirteen tackles. Zebo, meanwhile, has been in sensational form, and became the first man to score fifty tries for Munster when he crossed away to Racing. That same try was drenched with significance: it was also Munster's 400th try in European competition, becoming only the third side to do so. (Leicester and Munster's quarter-final opponents Toulouse are the other two sides).
Conor Murray is perhaps unfortunate not to be included in a side dominated by players plying their trade in France: there are two representatives from the Premiership (Chris Ashton and Owen Farrell) and three from the Pro12 (Ryan Wilson along with the Munster duo).
Here's the team in full.
