Scrum of the Earth /

Long gone are the groups of death; pools blessed with the weak Italian and Celtic sides offering the best chance for an underdog making the semi-finals and two finalists paired with one of the favourites - roll out the red carpet for the seedings system and some proper competition.

Pool 1: Munster, Sale, Clermont Auvergne, Montauban
Prediction: Winners: Clermont Auvergne
Analysis: Declan Kidney's absence vs. French fear of travel? The French should suit the ELVs better than the marching red machine.

Pool 2: Wasps, Leinster, Castres, Edinburgh
Prediction: Winners: Wasps
Analysis: Guinness Premiership Champions vs. Magners League Winners - Wasps are better on the road so should escape the demons of Dublin.

Pool 3: Leicester, Perpignan, Ospreys, Treviso
Prediction: Winners: Leicester
Analysis: An elusive away win is the key to the tastiest of pool's, but the Tigers defence edges the heavyweight contest.

Pool 4: Stade Francais, Scarlets, Ulster, Harlequins
Prediction: Winners: Stade Francais
Analysis: Stade Francais at a canter. Harlequins away should prove to be the sternest of tests but it's unlikely the Parisians will lose two.

Pool 5: Toulouse, Bath, Dragons, Glasgow
Prediction: Winners: Toulouse
Analysis: Toulouse's record speaks for itself and in the pool stages they are an unrivalled force.

Pool 6: Biarritz, Gloucester, Blues, Calvisano
Prediction: Gloucester
Analysis: Fortress Kingsholm won't come under scrutiny until they host one of the big guns in the knock-out stage

Best Runners-Up: Bath and Munster