All four Irish provinces have fellow Pro12 clubs in their Heineken Cup pools…good job Liam Sinclair is on the case!
Gary Owen, straight up the middle! Bang! Time for the big show. It may not be politically correct to say it but our favourite rugby format is kicking off this weekend. The Heineken Cup starts and with the final in my hometown this year I’m extra excited. Tap and go lads!
Amlin Challenge Cup.
Felt I should add a bit of meat here so I’m going to run the rule over our exiled cousins as well as our one and only representative in the Challenge Cup.
London Welsh v Stade Francais: European debutants Welsh are making a decent fist of their maiden Premiership season while Stade blow hot and cold in France. This is more of the same domestically for the cosmopolitan Parisians but they have a good recent history of forgetting domestic form and bringing good performances to the Amlin with Final and Semi-Final appearances in 2011 and 2012. Experience will be the key here and Stade will win here and build momentum leading to another appearance in the knockout stages.
Wasps v Dragons: Played 6, Won 2, Lost 4. This is how both teams are faring in their domestic leagues. It’s about what we were expecting from The Dragons but the noise coming out of Adam’s Park in preseason suggest that they will be disappointed with their standing. A match for both teams to prove a point albeit with different motivation. Wasps are the stronger team and should come out victorious in front of their own fans.
Bordeaux v London Irish: I firmly believe that Irish are not as bad a team as their results and standing show. The dismantling of league leaders Northampton goes some way towards backing this up but the real key has to be consistency. While trips to France are never easy if it’s going to be anywhere the team second from bottom is as good as any. Similar to the exiles in that respect neither team will be going full gun here. I’ll plump for Irish here, quality to shine through.
Heineken Cup.
Ospreys v Treviso
Ospreys: Over their early season jitters for sure now The Ospreys have won their last three on the trot and are back to being a team to be feared sitting healthily enough in 6th. The turn in fortunes comes just in time for the shiny European games and first up is a rematch of the opening day of the season where the wobble began. Calm heads the key and Ospreys will need to make sure their eyes are 100% in this game knowing there are bigger challenges around the corner.
Treviso: Surely only the most optimistic Benetton Rugby fans would’ve predicted the start they’ve had to the season. A win in Edinburgh leaves them with three wins and thirteen points. Treviso are really playing to the max of their strengths with ferocity an important part of the arsenal.
The Match: Ospreys in full flow are a joy to watch and, with the home fans cheering them on, they should get some measure of revenge this weekend. Five points would be an advantage with Toulouse and Leicester also in the group.
Edinburgh v Saracens: A loss to Treviso sees Edinburgh heading into the European matches with only two domestic victories to their names. I’m baffled. There is strength in this team and they really should be doing better. Things aren’t going to get any better for Edinburgh being, as they are, in a very tough Heineken Cup group. Home comforts to start off versus English bosh merchants supreme The Saracens. The breakdown, discipline and time in opposition half will be the key points here. I fancy Saracens to have too much for the Scots here. They’ll win the digging match and keep the score ticking over throughout the match for the win.
Zebre v Connacht: De-fault the two greatest words in the English language. The wisdom of Homer Simpson should resound with these two sides who can consider themselves lucky to be playing in the Southern Hemispheres premium club competition. Perhaps it was faith that they end up in the same group so that the tallest dwarf competition can be decided up close and personal. Having already met at the same venue in the Pro12 with the Irishmen victors by 13 points we can be forgiven for predicting an easy run out for them. The score doesn’t tell the whole story, the match was in the balance until late and with Zebre putting them under heavy pressure Connacht scored a break away try to seal the victory. Zebre could see the victory it was that close. Since then Connacht have gotten one more victory where Zebre have remained firmly at zero. Not much in it but I do feel this is Connacht’s to lose.
Clermont v Scarlets: Scarlets back to winning ways with a victory over The Dragons. Back to back defeats officially considered a blip and can be very pleased with second place in the Pro12. On the crest of a rugby wave where’s the last place any team wants to go? Stade Marcel Michelin. Has to be the most intimidating ground in Europe, Clermont just don’t lose here and I don’t think Scarlets are going to be the ones to put an end to that run. It’s going to be a tough campaign for the Scarlets and they’ll face an uphill battle from the start.
Northampton v Glasgow: Victory over Cardiff in Arms Park the latest moment in a respectable season so far for the Scots. I didn’t think they’d make much of a splash this year but the ripples can be seen and they’ll head south feeling the positive vibes ahead of what will be a tough clash. Waiting for them are Premiership leaders Northampton who lost for the first time this season at the weekend. This should add a bit of the wounded beast to their already exciting style and they’ll brush the vibes out of their way to calm the Glasgow ripple.
Sale v Cardiff: The loss at home to The Warriors makes Cardiff one of four teams in the Pro12 with a W3, L3 record. The very essence of mid-table mediocrity at the quarter point of the season. Coming up against Sale though strength and consistency are not necessarily going to be needed. England’s bottom team can’t buy a win at the moment and have only one measly Zebre-esque point to their name. Europe becomes less important in this type of circumstance so I expect Cardiff to get the win over the demoralised and distracted Sharks.
Liam Sinclair (@liam_bs) – Guesses, generalisations and clichés.
