Are English clubs treating the Heineken Cup with contempt?

The statistics tell the story. Exactly half of the 24 matches played so far were decided by less than one score. Only two sides have yet to register a bonus point. Only three teams have won both their matches.

Two of the unbeaten teams – Leicester and the Ospreys – served up a scintillating 32-all draw on the tournament's opening weekend.

A few hours before, Northampton had beaten European thoroughbreds Munster in a match that had the pundits reaching for the superlatives.

Couple those matches with London Irish's gritty win at the home of reigning Heineken champions Leinster, Treviso's extraordinary defeat of French champions Perpignan and three scintillating matches involving France's big three – Toulouse Stade Francais and Clermont – and it was easy to revisit all those cliches about the Heineken refreshing rugby parts that other tournaments cannot reach.

But while one sporting cliche was being dusted off and pressed into service, another was heading for the dustbin of history.

After week one it was tempting to declare that – with that Perpignan shocker in Italy and Brive's inability to beat the Scarlets at their recently accommodating Parc y Scarlet – the French clubs were living down to their reputation as poor travellers.

Only Biarritz won away from home on week one – a not entirely convincing victory at Glasgow's Firhill Park.

But the myth was exploded in week two as Toulouse, Stade Francais and Clermont all recovered from huge half-time deficits to put the fear of God in their hosts – Toulouse triumphing at Harlequins, Stade seeing off Bath at the Rec, and Clermont failing by a single point to beat the Ospreys in Swansea.

And those results, coupled with one or two pointers from week one might just encourage another myth to take root. In the first round, Leicester were 26-8 down at the break against the Ospreys and Gloucester got themselves into all sorts of trouble after opening up strongly against Newport Gwent Dragons.

Those week two defeats for Bath and Harlequins, with London Irish also losing at home after taking a lead into the final stages of their match against the Scarlets, have perhaps started to raise doubts about England's top clubs and the competition they play in.

Have Guinness Premiership clubs lost the ability to close out the big matches?

Given that the last two Heineken Cups and the last three Grand Slams have been won by teams whose players cut their teeth almost exclusively in the Magners League, is the Guinness Premiership all that its disciples crack it up to be?

And, given the decision of Harlequins to rest key players before their opening fixture in Cardiff, and Sale's decision to take a makeshift team to Toulouse, are the Premiership clubs starting to treat the Heineken Cup with contempt?

Harlequins fought tooth-and-nail to stay in the Heineken Cup after the Bloodgate affair, which found them guilty of trying to cheat their way into last year's semi-final.

Their decision to rest England players Nick Easter, Danny Care and Ugo Monye for the Cardiff match seemed both suicidal to their chances and disrespectful to the competition.

They could argue, and did, that under the Elite Players Agreement with the RFU they had committed to resting those players at some point in the second month of the season, but to claim that they had no alternative but to field a weakened team for a Heineken Cup match, is being disingenuous.

They could, and should, have taken that option earlier in the season. And the RFU's argument, that the elite players should be made to take regular breaks throughout the season in order to arrive for England duty in the best possible shape, has also proved less than compelling.

Players like Lee Mears, Simon Shaw and Andy Sheridan took breaks and ended up injured.

Riki Flutey didn't take a break, but like the other three, and a staggering seven other players from Martin Johnson's senior squad, will miss the autumn internationals through injury.

Which makes the Heineken Cup even more important to England. The competition is widely regarded as the next best thing to international rugby.

Wales and Ireland have long acknowledged that players who thrive in the Heineken Cup are likely to be able to cut the mustard at international level.

Martin Johnson is keen to follow suit. The last thing he needs is for the clubs to take the competition lightly and the players to under-perform. The opening two Heineken Cup weekends must have left him a worried man.