With Bowe on the right wing and Trimble on the left there was no space in the side for young speedster Craig Gilroy, who so impressed for Ireland this autumn.

And with Leinster’s Fergus McFadden and Munster’s Keith Earls also contenders the battle for the wing positions is certainly a selection headache for Declan Kidney.

Both Trimble and Bowe’s scores came in the first-half at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night, the former racing ahead to touch down Paddy Jackson’s chip over the top and the latter diving over in the corner on the overlap.

Mark Anscombe’s troops have now won 13 games in succession in all competitions and the Kiwi admitted afterwards that his side had laid down a marker for the rest of the Heineken Cup.

“That was a bit of a statement,” said Anscombe. “We weren’t even thinking about the bonus point. We were more than happy to come here and take the win.”