What a start - and more to come!

Just for starters, the games at Munster, Montpellier, Glasgow and Toulouse were magnificent matches, high in quality and intensity, as well as being special occasions. And looking at this weekend's fixtures I cannot wait for the action to start again.

What I really love about this tournament is that, even after just one round of matches, you can have a contest that is virtually a pool decider - and that is just what we have at Franklin's Gardens where Northampton Saints meet the Scarlets.

The defeat by Leinster in last season's absorbing Heineken Cup final will only have made the Saints all the more determined to go all the way this time.

Last Saturday they lost to Munster in the dying seconds after being engaged in an extremely fierce battle but that will only strengthen their motivation to make a genuine statement in front of their own fans on Friday night.

The Scarlets played very well against a strong Castres side and the fact that all three Welsh clubs won on the back of their national team's tremendous World Cup performances tells you how healthy the game in Wales is at the moment.

Then there is the all-England clash at Kingsholm between Gloucester and Harlequins - and what a match that promises to be.

For me Gloucester were the surprise team of Round 1. It's never easy playing away, especially against a side like Toulouse, but they were very effective, performing with tremendous heart and passion.

I also feel they have just the right blend of youth and experience to have a huge say in the group but they will need to take all the experiences they gained in Toulouse into Saturday's game.

Because, for me, 'Quins could be the team of the tournament. They are going so well in the English Premiership that all the momentum is with them and, with the final in May being played across the road at Twickenham Stadium, they have a constant reminder and target to aim for.

I loved playing at Gloucester and receiving that "warm welcome" from the fans in the Shed. There is nowhere else like it and on Saturday it will be a ground brim full of emotion and intensity.

Across the Irish Sea, Connacht will be playing their first home Heineken Cup match but their 100th European tie and although Toulouse have such a fantastic squad, possibly the healthiest in European rugby, I am sure they will show great respect to the Heineken Cup newcomers.

Connacht play with so much emotion that I am really looking forward to that game, the Irish players will go beyond the limit for the cause so it could well be a very tight affair with just one score in it.

But Connacht - like everyone else - will have to keep a close eye on Toulouse's new scrum half Luke Burgess, he was immense against Gloucester, so clever, powerful and such a good ball carrier.

I think in just a couple of weeks time you will see he is the star of the Toulouse team.

The weekend will close with Montpellier going to Bath and that could be the perfect end to the round.

For a team who are currently struggling in the Top 14 I thought they were immense against the reigning Heineken Cup champions.

It was their first Heineken Cup match and it was a brilliant performance against Leinster but now they face the acid test of playing away from home - and there are few places better than Bath to really absorb themselves in the tournament.

It will be a totally different environment for them but, if they want to write a piece of history for their club, this will be the time and place for them to do it.