RELEGATION FEARS GIVE FRANCE EURO EDGE, CLAIMS FINN

FINN RUSSELL believes that French clubs have become the dominant force in Europe because of the competitive edge created by the threat of relegation — a vital factor their British rivals lack. Three teams from the Top 14 league have reached the semi-finals of this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, including Russell’s Racing 92 from Paris, while the English contingent have been knocked out by the quarter-final stage and Scotland’s only representatives, Glasgow Warriors, failed to make it beyond the initial group phase. There was the same, one-sided balance of cross-Channel power last season, with Leinster the only non-French side to reach the last four, a feat they have repeated this season. While a lot of the focus down south has centred on how a reduction in the salary cap in the Premiership is impacting on the challenge of English clubs in the continent’s pre-eminent event, Russell highlighted the relegation factor — something also lacking from the United Rugby Championship, where the Scots clubs ply their trade — in the aftermath of his side’s quarter-final victory over Sale last Sunday. ‘There are never any easy games here,’ said the Scotland fly-half. ‘Every game, you have to play your best to win. This year, we’ve lost to Biarritz and Perpignan, who are at the bottom of the league. That just shows that whether teams are high up or low down, every game is massive. ‘Every week you are playing in a must-win game because if you drop two points, it puts you in a tough position. That’s a great thing for us.’ England’s top division has been scarred by some jarring, blow-out results this season. Bottom-placed Bath — without the spectre of relegation to galvanise them — have endured a series of heavy defeats, culminating in a recent 64-0 rout at the hands of West Country rivals Gloucester. Contrasting that to the scenario in France, Russell added: ‘In the Premiership just now, there’s no relegation. Over here, teams are scrapping at the bottom because they want to stay in the Top 14. ‘Whether they’re at home or away, it makes games much harder. They will do everything they can to stay up. ‘For me, playing at Racing, we’re not down at the bottom, but when you play those teams they are fighting as hard as they can. So the level of games over here is great — great but tough.’