Who will shine in the group stages?

Robert Kitson It is hardly original to single out Clermont Auvergne but Les Jaunards will surely conquer Europe eventually. It may just be that having the defending champions Saracens in their pool proves a blessing in disguise. The knockout stage nerves that have undone them in the past will not be a factor.

Paul Rees The one that picks up victories on the road, a habit Saracens have got into and, in the league last season, Exeter.

Gerard Meagher Exeter have targeted a marked improvement in Europe this season and their fast start to the Premiership can be considered fine preparation. Must stick to what they’re good at though.

Mike Aylwin Saracens will shine because they’re still the best team in Europe. But it’s not a very interesting answer [see surprise packages]. No particular reason for looking beyond usual suspects, but if Glasgow don’t count as one of those keep an eye out for them.

Who will be surprise packages?

RK La Rochelle. The men from the Atlantic Coast like to play a spectacular all-court brand of rugby and have emerged as serious Top 14 players. The crowd at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre are a passionate bunch and their black-and-yellow-clad team will be keen to make an impact in their debut season of Champions Cup rugby.

PR What constitutes a surprise? Treviso winning a match? Castres interested in the final rounds? Wales and/or Scotland supplying a quarter-finalist? On current form, Wasps, Clermont Auvergne, Racing 92 and Ospreys getting into the last eight is more possible than probable, but 11 seasons after they last went through the Scarlets look equipped which, as league champions, they should be.

GM Hardly a surprise as they are the Pro14 champions but the Scarlets should at least reach the quarter-finals which would be demonstrable progress. There may be life in Toulon yet.

MA There aren’t supposed to be any surprise packages in the new Europe, are there? Treviso are the only weak team, and they’ll be gone from next season. The Scarlets are superb but whether, as champions of the Pro14 and thrice European semi-finalists, they would count as a surprise is moot.

How will Pro14 teams perform?

RK Potentially better than the Premiership’s representatives. Scarlets will need a good start against Toulon and Bath but both they and Leinster are good bets for the last eight. Ulster may well join them and Glasgow will not be far away either. No one should ever write off Munster and only the Ospreys look like enduring a painful campaign.

PR It is five seasons since they supplied a finalist, but only four teams have made the final in that time. Leinster and Munster will again lead the charge, Glasgow and the Scarlets have the talent if not the experience and Ulster could have had a worse group.

GM Inconsistently. Ulster have been unable to stay the course of the qualifying campaign in recent years while Munster are in transition. Leinster’s pool is very tricky, the Ospreys are cannon fodder, so it may be all up to the Scarlets.

MA This is meant to be the category of doom, but let’s not forget they’ve only thrice failed to supply a semi‑finalist, and one of those was in 1998, before the league existed. Mind you, another was 2016. The grip of Munster and Leinster has loosened, but there remain lively propositions. For now…

Who will make their name?

RK Bath’s Zach Mercer is going to be a serious player; Exeter’s Sam Simmonds is another exciting English back-row prospect. Keep an eye out, too, for Toulon’s Argentinian No8 Facundo Isa, his flying Fijian team-mates Josua Tuisova and Semi Radradra plus Clermont’s rampaging Alivereti Raka.

PR Steff Evans (Scarlets), Charles Piutau (Ulster), Nemani Nadolo (Montpellier), Finn Russell (Glasgow), Chris Ashton (Toulon), among others – and any Saracen.

GM It is wingers who set the pulse racing and there are two in Pool 5 – Toulon’s recent league convert Semi Radradra and Steff Evans of the Scarlets – who should do precisely that. Also keep an eye out for the Montpellier flanker Yacouba Camara.

MA Steff Evans. If the Scarlets are the darlings of those who value wit and ambition, which they are, this guy best represents them. If he’s not in the Wales team this season, they definitely have an obsession with size. Small but deadly. Watch out, too, for Tom Collins of Northampton – a very similar type of player.

Who are the ones to watch in the Challenge Cup?

RK Toulouse have never previously kicked off the Euro season in the Challenge Cup but they are a big club on the way back up. Their first round opponents Sale should be particularly wary.

PR The French aristocrats Toulouse are mucking it with the hoi-polloi for the first time, but Lyon have won three away matches this season; Friday’s game at Cardiff Blues will tell if they are bothered. Newcastle now have the resources to fight on two fronts.

GM If Toulouse or Stade Français take it seriously – and that is a big if – they have the pedigree. Gloucester – beaten finalists last season – and Sale lead the English charge, aware that the winners go straight into next season’s Champions Cup.

MA Obviously this will be dominated by the English and French, but if we’re simply watching out for someone let’s pick Zebre. Maybe talk of an Italian-free Champions Cup is premature. Zebre are fourth in their Pro14 conference. As things stand, they’d be in a play-off for Europe with Edinburgh, another team worth watching.

Who will make the last eight?

RK La Rochelle, Ulster, Clermont, Saracens, Leinster, Leicester, Toulon, Scarlets.

PR Wasps, Saracens, Leinster, Munster, Scarlets, Toulon, Clermont, Exeter.

GM La Rochelle, Clermont, Exeter, Leicester, Scarlets, Saracens, Montpellier, Toulon.

MA Saracens, Scarlets, Leicester, Ulster, Exeter, Toulon, Glasgow, Clermont.