It was a difficult weekend for English clubs, with Irish provinces picking up a triple crown of victories over Premiership sides
Ireland look like going into the Six Nations Larmour-plated. Joe Schmidt, who stood down as the national side’s head coach after the World Cup, never seemed to trust Jordan Larmour fully, certainly at full-back, but the 22-year old showed in Leinster’s emphatic victory over Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens that he is ready to take over from Rob Kearney, who was among the province’s replacements on Saturday. Larmour was the architect of Leinster’s first two tries, showing how deadly he can be in broken play if given just a trace of time and space, and he was part of a defensive unit that prevented the Saints from turning considerable second-half pressure into points. The victory puts Leinster in charge of Pool One with Northampton’s likeliest route to the quarter-finals being one of the best runners-up. Rivalling them for second place will be Lyon, who broke their Champions Cup duck with a 28-0 victory over Treviso. Paul Rees
Pool Three: Bath 17-34 Clermont Auvergne
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Pool Four: Munster 10-3 Saracens
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