European club rugby kicks off again this weekend but things have changed. Thanks to the money men getting involved, the Heineken Cup is no more and we now have the European Champions Cup to keep us entertained. And it is much more difficult to win for Irish provinces. For starters, the weaker teams have been weeded out of the pool stages and it will be dog eat dog. There are now just twenty teams involved, in five pools of four, and only the group winners are certain to advance. After that, the best three runners-up get through to the quarter-finals. None of the Irish sides were lucky enough to be grouped with the Italian side, Treviso, with their pool looking the easiest to amass enough second-placed points to get through to the last eight.

Connacht in the second tier Challenge Cup have the best chance of all, with Exeter, Bayonne and La Rochelle (at home this Saturday) all eminently beatable for an in-form side that has Mils Muliaina still to arrive.

In the premier competition, however, all three of our sides were drawn in tough groups. Munster have Clermont, Sale and Saracens for company, with the French perennial contenders and the English duo both exceptionally strong.

Leinster have two visits to London to see Harlequins and Wasps, with Gallic side Castres rounding out the group. This is possibly – although not by much – the best draw for the Irish.

Ulster can lay claim to group-of-death membership. They have the might of champions Toulon, as well as their well-worn foes Leicester Tigers and Scarlets. When the Welsh side, composing of a couple of Lions, are considered the lightweights in the pool, you know you have problems.

Munster

Munster are first out of the blocks with a potentially tricky away tie to Sale Sharks this Saturday at 1pm. There might be an old familiar face or two in the Sale lineout, notably Nathan Hines, who has tangled with Paul O’Connell on plenty of occasions in the Leinster jersey. In the Sale back line, Danny Cipriani is another to feel the wrath of Munster on previous encounters, while Chris Cussiter is a lively scrum-half – Conor Murray will have to keep a tight rein on him.

Sale limp into this game after being hammered 43-10 by Northampton at the weekend in the English Premiership. Unlike the Guinness Pro-12 this isn’t a league you can take lightly the week before European action, so Sale’s confidence took a battering. Of course, this is a two-way street for Munster: the absolute best time to be meeting them or the worst. We’ll take the worst-case scenario because Sale do have some early season form, just not back-to-back.

Anthony Foley comes into his first European tie in charge with momentum. Most of it was generated in the Aviva when Munster were clinical against Leinster. That was vintage Munster and a highly impressive performance, even more so when we know how badly it was needed.

That augurs well for Saturday. So does the extra playing time gained by Peter O’Mahony, Munster’s captain, who is absolutely crucial to their European ambitions. Against Sale, the likes of O’Mahony, O’Connell, O’Donnell and Murray, the pack engine room and their prompter at nine, will control this contest.

In the old days a bonus-point loss wouldn’t be the end of the world in your first away outing of the competition but we can’t think that way any more. A loss, no matter how close, will be a serious blow to ambitions, with Saracens at home just six days later. Realistically Munster will need at least one away win in the group (along with the expected three home wins) and Saturday might represent the best chance. The Reds have shown the right stuff this last fortnight and continuation of the Aviva form might be enough to get this weekend off to the perfect start.

Ulster

On Saturday night, Ulster get their campaign under way with the hardest possible opener: a trip to Leicester. The province do so without the talismanic Ruan Pienaar who is just one of the many key stars of Irish (club) rugby currently sidelined by injury. Brought north to get Ulster over the line in this tournament, it is likely they are eliminated from the playoffs by the time the Springbok is fit again around Christmas.

As one door closes and another opens for Paddy Jackson, a man who can finally put his imprint on the team over the coming, crucial weeks. Jackson has some talent outside him as Craig Gilroy and Tommy Bowe are both showing good form. Trimble (if fit), Marshall, Cave and Payne also offer decent attacking options.

Chris Henry, Iain Henderson and Robbie Diack will be expected to keep the Leicester pack in check, a daunting task for any team in Welford Road. This order looks a little tall for Ulster, who have stuttered for early season form – last weekend’s win over unbeaten Glasgow excepted. Unlike Munster, a bonus-point loss in this group would not signal the end, only a half-decent start.

Leinster

Leinster take on Wasps on Sunday evening at the ungodly hour of 5.15pm. This is must-win territory for the former champions, who in this match really start life without Brian O’Driscoll. The long-term losses of Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy have really weakened the Blues, with utility back Fergus McFadden and Marty Moore joining them for a while at least. This year has transition written all over it for Leinster. The return of Jonny Sexton is already pencilled in (so much for Ian Madigan’s confidence in the wake of Jimmy Gopperth’s presence in the outhalf’s jersey), but the injuries are crippling an already fragile squad.

There is still an eclectic mix of game-changing quality in the province. Any team with an on-fire Gordon D’Arcy or Rob Kearney has a chance, while a few young guns in the pack like Rhys Ruddock will be thinking of Irish jerseys in the autumn if their hands are up this next fortnight.

The name has changed but the competition has a familiar ring to it. Munster to fly the flag best of all.