THE story goes that Ashley Cole, that loveable footballer who said he nearly crashed his car after only being offered a miserly £55,000 per week contract, once sparked a dust-up in the tunnel at Chelsea by taunting Manchester City players with the terrace chant 'Thursday night, Channel Five'.

The Citizens had just got knocked out of the Champions League and didn't take kindly to it being pointed out that the less prestigious Europa League awaited them.

Just like in football, there is a snobbish view of the second tier tournament but there won't be many around this neck of the woods putting it down.

Sure, Clermont versus Northampton, Racing Metro against Saracens, Leinster's clash with Bath and Toulon's encounter with Wasps may be the big games on the first weekend of April in the Champions Cup.

But Newport Gwent Dragons' Challenge Cup clash with Cardiff Blues is really something to look forward to; a Rodney Parade encounter that will ensure the season doesn't just drift off with the winners quietly fancying their chances of making the final at the Twickenham Stoop after being drawn away to either London Irish or Edinburgh.

After years of being under-funded it's frankly the regions' level and, despite some admirable attempts from the western pair, it will take a few seasons before the quartet can attempt to genuinely mix it with the big boys in the Champions Cup.

There is no need for the needless barbs from those attempting to diminish the efforts of the Dragons in reaching the last eight but at the same time it is clear the Challenge Cup faces some, well, challenges.

It is certainly a tournament that will struggle to get the attention of the French, who understandably want to concentrate on avoiding the drop from the Top 14 given that Canal+ retained the broadcasting rights for the Top 14 with a four-year deal worth 74 million euros.

But the competition, which could do with a prize of a spot in the following season's Champions Cup, will go up a notch in the quarter-finals and there are some great match-ups on the cards with Gloucester and Exeter being the teams to beat.

We are still in the early days of the new Europe and those bemoaning the death of the Heineken Cup, which itself was a tournament in which the rich boys won, were left looking a touch foolish by the dramatic finale to the Champions Cup group stages.

And the Challenge Cup will also profit from being a genuine tournament for the second tier rather than merely being lifted by one of the three that drop down from the top tier.