Cardiff Blues' achievement in becoming the first Welsh team to take the No 1 ranking for the quarter-finals in the Heineken Cup could turn out to be a double-edged sword.
The Blues' record breaking 62-20 Round 6 triumph over Rugby Calvisano made it a perfect six from six in Pool 6 and took them to 27 points for the campaign.
But while their nine-try victory over the Italian champions guaranteed them the No 1 ranking, the record books show that the top seed isn't a recipe for success.
Only London Wasps, Bath Rugby, Leinster (twice), Scarlets and Biarritz Olympique have managed to win all six games in the Pool stages since the tournament went to home and away games in the 1997/98 season.
And the stunning fact is that despite their early momentum in the Pool stages NONE of those sides were able to go on and win the tournament.
In fact, in the 11 seasons since teams played six Pool matches (home and away) the No 1 seeds have NEVER won the Heineken Cup. Two teams have managed to reach the final - Stade Francais Paris in 2001 and Toulouse in 2004 - but the best team in the Heineken Cup at the end of the Pool stages has never proved to be the best at the end of the competition.
NO 1 RANKED TEAMS AFTER POOL STAGES
1997/98 London Wasps
1998/99 Perpignan
1999/00 Toulouse
2000/01 Stade Francais
2001/02 Bath Rugby
2002/03 Leinster
2003/04 Toulouse
2004/05 Leinster
2005/06 Toulouse
2006/07 Biarritz Olympique
2007/08 Saracens
2008/09 Cardiff Blues
RANKING OF HEINEKEN CUP WINNERS AFTER POOL STAGES
1997/98 Bath 3
1998/99 Ulster 3
1999/00 Northampton 2
2000/01 Leicester 2
2001/02 Leicester 4
2002/03 Toulouse 3
2003/04 London Wasps 2
2004/05 Toulouse 2
2005/06 Munster 4
2006/07 London Wasps 3
2007/08 Munster 6
