Should the Premiership be concerned after seven defeats from seven in Europe?

Of the seven, only Bath managed to claim a losing bonus point

Saracens were left stunned by their first European defeat in two and a half years (Getty)

For the first time ever, not one Premiership side managed to chalk up a victory in the Champions Cup at the weekend, which once again reopened the debate of where English club rugby currently resides when it comes to the European power rankings.

Only Bath managed to claim a losing bonus-point, suffering a late defeat by Toulon that could easily have been avoided had fly-half Rhys Priestland found touch with a penalty in the final 120 seconds that would have given the West Country side a 5m attacking lineout. For Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and Wasps, it was a case of being outplayed by better sides, although there are already very strong cases to argue that both La Rochelle and Munster will feature in the latter stages.

Northampton were completely outplayed by Ospreys in a performance that has cost director of rugby Jim Mallinder his job, while Exeter Chiefs played out a thriller against Leinster in a match where the reigning Premiership champions were unlucky to come away with nothing.

But the real surprise came on Monday – 25 hours after the tie of the weekend was due to get underway. Saracens were forced to delay their Champions Cup encounter with Clermont Auvergne when north London was blanketed in snow and ice that meant that Allianz Park was no longer safe or reachable for the majority of fans. This infuriated Clermont, whose team and supporters had travelled from central France where such snow storms are not as uncommon as they are in the Barnet area, and along with the ridiculous confusion that followed – in rearranging the game for 14:00 behind-closed-doors, then 17:30 and finally allowed supporters into the stadium – neither club were left happy with European Professional Club Rugby.

Saracens lost around £300,000 due to the empty stadium that featured a handful of supporters – many in Clermont yellow – but it was the damage to their reputation that hurt even more. A 46-14 thrashing broke numerous records for all the wrong reasons as Sarries suffered their first ever European defeat at Allianz Park, a first European loss anywhere since the 2015 semi-finals and their heaviest ever reverse in the Champions Cup. They also lost scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth and centre Brad Barritt to injuries that could threaten their participation against Clermont this Sunday, and with Billy Vunipola, Maro Itoje, Michael Rhodes and Liam Williams already sidelined, another mauling is on the cards.

Saracens were handed a record home defeat (Getty Images)

But that should not be the case across the board, and after this weekend’s English heartache, there is an optimism heading into the return fixtures. Bath will be buoyed by their performance against Toulon and hope that the Recreational Ground atmosphere will get them over the line this weekend, while Leicester will undoubtedly improve against Munster at Welford Road. Wasps will hope that the stereotypical French travel sickness strikes La Rochelle at the Ricoh Arena – although there is enough about the current Top 14 leaders to suggest that they will more than cope with the trip across the Channel.

Things look much bleaker for Quins, Exeter and in particular Northampton. Saints travel west to face the Ospreys in the hope of adding to their lone point in Europe this season, and everything points to another difficult day at the office, while Harlequins will know all too well that Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on a Friday night is one of the most difficult tasks in club rugby. While Exeter matched Leinster for the majority of their Sandy Park encounter, the return match at the Aviva Stadium will pose the Chiefs one of their most daunting tasks in their history – even if 10,000 cross the Irish Sea as expected.

But there is at least enough there to suggest that last weekend was a blip. A Saracens side with Vunipola, Itoje, Rhodes and Williams back in the ranks will see them back to the level that they expect to play at, while Wasps and Exeter will hold genuine quarter-final hopes where, in the one-off ties, home advantage is often the difference between reaching the last four or not.

With the Pro14 enjoying a resurgence this season in Europe – with Leinster and Munster top of their groups and Ospreys, Ulster and Scarlets all still in the hunt for last-eight progression – it would be easy to start blaming the no-relegation theory that the Celtic sides benefit from. But it is far too soon to start looking at that – which ultimately led to the Anglo-French revolt that saw off the Heineken Cup and introduced the Champions Cup as we know it – and come January, it would be no surprise to see one, two or even three English sides in the quarter-finals. Only then will we know if English club rugby is truly in crisis.