Double blow for English sides
Two-year wait: Ratuvou and Saracens set to compete in Euro Challenge Cup next season
English clubs bowed out of the Heineken Cup this weekend as both London Irish and Saracens suffered narrow defeats at the hands of previous winners Toulouse and Munster respectively.
The clubs, who currently sit seventh and eighth in the Guinness Premiership, were both looking to reach their first Heineken Cup final, but ultimately their opponents' greater experience of European rugby was telling.
For the Exiles, young English winger Topsy Ojo was the star performer, adding to his try in the league a week previously with the first try of the match at Twickenham on just thirteen minutes.
The impressive Ojo would surely have been earmarked for the England Saxons tour to North America, but may now find himself elevated to the senior squad.
"Topsy took a massive step forward today," said Exiles Director of Rugby, Brian Smith.
For Saracens, it was even closer; Richard Hill in possibly his final match being penalised in the last phase as Saracens tried to manoeuvre Glen Jackson into drop-goal territory.
Saracens had managed to summon up the same spirit that had seen them dispose of the Ospreys in the quarter-final, with committed performances across the field, most notably from a quartet of Englishmen, Hill, Adam Powell, Hugh Vyvyan and star performer Richard Haughton.
Yet Alan Gaffney's side suffered a double blow, with their defeat meaning England will provide just six Heineken Cup representatives next season, compared with seven for France.
Saracens have no realistic chance of securing a top-six Guinness Premiership finish with just two league games remaining, meaning they are consigned to a place in the second-tier European Challenge Cup.
"The gut-wrenching part is we are going to have to wait another two years to have another crack at the Heineken Cup," said skipper Neil de Kock.
"And that is a really tough pill to swallow."
England's likely Heineken Cup qualifiers are Gloucester, Bath, Wasps, Harlequins, Sale and Leicester, although Worcester will secure one of the spots if they beat Bath in this season's Challenge Cup final on May 25.
Should the Warriors, currently eleventh, cause an upset, then it means the sixth-placed Premiership club - a position currently occupied by Leicester - would miss out.
With the regular league season ending on May 10, it would leave the club that finishes sixth enduring a two-week wait before knowing their Heineken Cup fate.