FORTRESS UNDER SIEGE

CLUBS are back in European action next weekend and Leicester return to Limerick, a decade after they became the first visiting team to win at Thomond Park in the continent’s premier event. These days, the fortress hierarchy has changed. This column’s top five would be Stade Marcel Michelin (Clermont), Allianz Park (Saracens), Stade Felix Mayol (Toulon), Thomond Park (Munster), Welford Road (Leicester). But an imposing new citadel is under construction: La Rochelle’s Stade Marcel-Deflandre, where Wasps face an almighty challenge on Sunday.