Brian O'Driscoll lauds French rugby's time in the sun after "decade in darkness"

Europe's premier rugby competition returns to action this weekend when the Champions Cup knockout stages get underway, and Brian O'Driscoll isn't surprised to see French teams dominate the draw.

Seven of the 16 teams still in the first-tier competition hail from the Top 14, dominating the knockout bracket for the second straight year since it adopted a 'last 16'. Toulouse and La Rochelle last year produced the tournament's first all-French final since 2015, another sign the nation had re-tightened its grip on the continent.

The temptation for many fans and pundits is to attribute that trend to the fact France's governing body, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), permits its clubs a much more substantial salary cap in the Top 14. But France's recent Six Nations Grand Slam, as well as the fact they've finished top two in each of the last eight under-20 championships (winning two), tells O'Driscoll it's not just foreign imports driving success (though it is one component).

"It's a multitude of different factors that have added towards the re-emergence of France as one of the dominant nations in Europe, and now the world," O'Driscoll told Mirror Sport while promoting BT Sport's coverage of the Champions Cup knockout rounds. "On top of that, you're paying bigger money to overseas players to supplement those players [when they're] away at the Six Nations, so it's all worked in their favour.

"But they've had a long decade in darkness as well, so I'm always mindful of when teams or countries are going well that these things are cyclical; they don't remain forever. So, you can scrutinise one way or another, but the fortunes can change over the course of a season."

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