Three out of four ain't bad...

 

 (http://bit.ly/1bbGBiG)

All the maths has been done, and all the quarter finalists sorted out for the HC and the AMC. Not by me, I was watching. And here they are, three Irish, three French and two English:

Ulster v Saracens
Clermont v Leicester
Toulon v Leinster
Munster v Toulouse
Semi-final Draw:
Ulster-Saracens v Clermont-Leicester
Toulon-Leinster v Munster-Toulouse

The Friday night matches were pretty poor, which is what you get with a 5 day turnaround. Leinster had an easy run in once Evans was red carded, but looked anything but sharp, except in patches. Luke Fitzgerald continues to impress, Healy was great, and with a best of rest and practice, they are going to give Toulon a good game.

I didn’t see the Connacht match, which is just as well as they got pretty comprehensively hammered by Saracens. Can’t take that away win over Toulouse from them though.

Ulster went to Welford Road looking for a win, played Leicester at their own grinding game, and got the result! The Tigers were shipping injuries all over the place, and Ulster seem to have more quality on the bench than they do these days.  They have a lot of injuries in the backs, but even their forwards don’t seem to have the physicality that the Tigers have always had. For Ulster, Chris Henry made his Ireland credentials clear, Rory Best is total performer, and Roger Wilson is an unsung hero. Meanwhile, Ruan Pienaar put in force 10.0 performance on the superlomometer, scoring all their points. One of the best players in Europe.

So on Sunday it was left to Munster to wrap things Ireland, which they did in style, with a hard edged performance that got them the bonus point, and a home quarter. Tommy O'Donnell is a workhorse who quietly puts in the hard yards, and should be getting higher recognition soon. Paul O’Connell was himself. Coughlan was industrious, and the stand out cameo was from Zebo, a man with time on ball. He needs to be parachuted back into the Irish team ASAP.

At one stage it was shaping up to be a Munster Leinster tie, but that all changed with Clermonts bonus point. Toulouse at home will be massive, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Munster yet.

Heineken Cup
Friday , January 17
Northampton 13 - 3 Castres 
Leinster 36 - 3 Ospreys 
Saturday , January 18
Saracens 64 - 6 Connacht 
Zebre 6 - 16 Toulouse 
Glasgow 8 - 15 Toulon 
Montpellier 24 - 6 Benetton Treviso 
Leicester 19 - 22 Ulster 
Cardiff Blues 13 - 19 Exeter 
Sunday , January 19
Perpignan 18 - 36 Gloucester 
Munster 38 - 6 Edinburgh 
Scarlets 20 - 22 Harlequins 
Clermont Auvergne 28 - 3 Racing Metro 92

Heineken Cup - enjoy it while you've got it!

 

 (picture  http://bit.ly/1j34ePP)

How quickly do the weeks roll around, it’s ALREADY time for the last round of the Heineken Cup matches, on frankly what could be the last Heineken Cup ever. Heineken may get fecked off with all the faffing about that’s going on about a tournament, so that when some agreement is finally all hammered out, first item will be a new sponsor. At the moment, the likelihood of a new European cup in 2014/2015 looks dimmer all the time. So enjoy it while you’ve got it!

Leinster’s group will get sorted out on Friday night. They’ve named a strong team, and have Ricardt Strauss on the bench which is great news. The Ospreys look like they have a strong pack, but are lot more inexperienced in their backs, still filled with talented players all the same. Leinster spent half of last week playing in ladyboy style, and half in ferocious attacking finishing mode. They are going to need to rediscover the inner man, get stuck in, and then finish in style. I can’t see them getting a better placing than 5th or 6th, and will win but without a bonus point.

Connacht have to go to Saracens for their last match. They tend to pull off big wins every year, but generally earlier in the season when they are still underrated and the opposition is in their comfort zone. Saracens are forewarned and forearmed, so hard to  see anything but a Saracens victory.

Ulster Leicester is a bit of a strange one. Both teams are qualified, so it’s position they are jockeying for. Ulster are the only unbeaten team in the tournament, but Welford Road is a huge challenge. However, this is
Ulster’s fourth qualification in a row, they have the experience now, and it’s a team they’d particularly like to beat. I see them digging very deep for this one, and getting it!

Munster are going to wrap things up for Ireland  with their match against Edinburgh on Sunday. They have no new injuries, Murray is playing really well, and I hope Zebo starts. I’m expecting a ruthless Munster to a) extract 5 points out of the hapless Scots b) get full revenge for their first round defeat.

Enjoy it all!

Heineken Cup
Friday , January 17
Leinster vs Ospreys 
Northampton vs Castres 
Saturday , January 18
Cardiff Blues vs Exeter 15:40
Glasgow vs Toulon 15:40
Zebre vs Toulouse 13:35
Saracens vs Connacht 13:35
Montpellier vs Benetton Treviso 18:00
Leicester vs Ulster 18:00
Sunday , January 19
Scarlets vs Harlequins 15:00
Clermont Auvergne vs Racing Metro 92 15:00
Munster vs Edinburgh 12:45
Perpignan vs Gloucester 12:45

Ireland pretty well smash Europe 4-0!

 

 Jordi (http://bit.ly/1dfUCQo)

I’m sitting here oinking from the couch after TOTALLY pigging out on rugby this weekend (while still managing to fit in the other stuff). And get in, what a result,4 from 4 for Ireland!

Ulster got things going at Ravenhill with a tough win over Montpellier. Everybody was expecting Montpellier to not really show, and mentally, I think Ulster had bagged the win and were planning for Leicester next week already. However, when they realized they were in a fight they rolled their sleeves and got on with it, directed by a superb performance from Ruan Piennaar.  A bonus point would have been good, but they’ve qualified which is the main thing. Leicester are also through from that group after getting 5 points in Italy.

Connacht got their win against Zebre, no bonus point, but they are mathematically not out of the running for the HC or the AMC yet. Again, great performances from Carty and Leader, and  a MOTM performance from Healy on the wing.

Munster played Gloucester in front of a thumping Kingsholme crowd. Great atmosphere, great set of supporters, and a good tough match. Munster were clearly the better side, I thought Earls’ try was very well worked, while POM gets better every match. Charlie Sharples put in a touch of magic to score a great individual try. But overall, Munster are in great shape, ultra physical, and disciplined in defence. Murray made a difference, and great to see Zebo back.

So three from three, all up to Leinster to complete a clean sweep, but up against Castres unbeaten for more than a year at home. Leinster’s scrum and tackling were pretty shocking, to be honest. They got blown off the ball at the break down in the first half, and cut to shreds in midfield. But they took their opportunities superbly well, coming back from 14 nil to touching distance. Then in the second half, discipline, fitness and application told, as they kicked themselves into a lead, and then, with only 14 men, saw Healy and Murphy combine for a great try. The new Leinster centres! Castres left a good few try’s behind, but we’ll take it, teams with much, much bigger budgets couldn’t do what Leinster did On Sunday in the last year. Great performance from Gopperth in attack, Rob Kearney was great, and I thought Jordi Muphy was the one Leinster forward who really stood up to be counted.

Seed Pool Winners
1  Ulster 22
2  Toulon 20
3  Toulouse 19
4  Clermont 19
5  Munster 18
6  Leinster 17
Seed Pool Runners–up
7  Leicester Tigers 20
8  Saracens 15

Heineken Cup
Sunday , January 12
Castres 22 - 29 Leinster 
Ospreys 17 - 29 Northampton 
Toulouse 21 - 11 Saracens 
Saturday , January 11
Benetton Treviso 19 - 34 Leicester 
Harlequins 13 - 16 Clermont Auvergne 
Connacht 20 - 3 Zebre 
Exeter 10 - 15 Glasgow 
Edinburgh 27 - 16 Perpignan 
Gloucester 7 - 20 Munster 
Toulon 43 - 20 Cardiff Blues 
Friday , January 10
Ulster 27 - 16 Montpellier 
Racing Metro 92 13 - 19 Scarlets 

Four from Four Ireland, Four from Four!

 

Aaron Dundon (picture http://bit.ly/1imMWgn)

What shall I do this weekend? I could play with my kids, fix up stuff around the house for my wife, and walk the dogs. OR MAYBE I’LL PIG OUT ON RUGBY, EAT SLEEP AND WATCH HEINEKEN CUP RUGBY ALL WEEKEND!!! YEAH! Or maybe a bit of both :)

Ulster get things started for the Irish clubs with a vist from Montpellier. Montpellier’s owners must have that feeling you get when you pay a fortune for a fancy coffee machine…but when you taste the coffee it still tastes like shit. This is Ulster:  J Payne, A Trimble, D Cave, L Marshall, C Gilroy, P Jackson, R Pienaar; (1-8): T Court, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller (Captain), D Tuohy, R Diack, C Henry, N Williams – get a strong team, and put Best and Muller in it, at home, means they are in awesome shape. Meanwhile, word on the street is that Montpellier are sending a second string side over, as they can’t see how they can make it out of their pool, so Ulster need to take advantage and get a 5 point victory.

Connacht have Zebre at home. The Galwegians have shown in their matches with Munster and Leinster over the last couple of weeks that they can mix it with the big boys. After upsetting Toulouse, I’m demanding a 5 pointer here, over the Italian side who’ll be buoyed by one of their only home wins over Treviso.

Munster have a trip to Gloucester to contend with, and the Cherry and Whites have only 4 times at home this season. Will they make it 5 this weekend? In a way, the loss to Ulster was perfect preparation for this game, nothing like the feeling of perceived injustice to really sharpen up your game. A win here, and the pool is really theirs. Interesting to see who starts at 10 for them, but  I can’t see any other result.

Finally Leinster are in France to take on Castres, who won’t have Antonie Claassen or scrumhalf Rory Kockott playing. That’s a bit of good news anyway. Castres don’t expect to go through to the next round, so it’s pride they are playing for – and also preserving an 18 week home winning streak. I’m just hoping Leinster are channeling Northampton Away this weekend, which I think they probably are. They know this competition, know they slipped up last time at home, and need to get back on the horse.  Apart from SOB, Leinster have a full squad to pick from, with Rhys Ruddock ,Aaron Dundon recovering and  Fergus McFadden back. So yes, I’m backing their experience to pull this one out the bag.

Apart from that, Quins/Clermont and Saracens/Toulouse will be the games to watch.

Heineken Cup
Friday , January 10
Racing Metro 92 vs Scarlets 
Ulster vs Montpellier 
Saturday , January 11
Exeter vs Glasgow 15:00
Toulon vs Cardiff Blues 15:40
Connacht vs Zebre 15:40
Harlequins vs Clermont Auvergne 13:35
Benetton Treviso vs Leicester 13:35
Gloucester vs Munster 18:00
Edinburgh vs Perpignan 18:00
Sunday , January 12
Ospreys vs Northampton 12:45
Castres vs Leinster 12:45
Toulouse vs Saracens 15:00

Post 400! With impressive home wins for Munster and Ulster, unimpressive home defeat for Leinster and defeat for Connacht

                                                 Luke (Picture  http://bit.ly/INT0lD)

Well, I probably picked the right weekend to miss most of the rugby. I watched a bit on Friday, Glasgow were appalling  while the Ospreys played a half decent match. I was planning to watch Ulster on Saturday, but it was like trying to peer through a shower curtain – not that I do that of course. So I watched Toulon instead, looking not all that impressive against Exeter, while Ulster got the 5 points they needed.

I watched the Leinster match with the fast forward button handy, and just as well, for highlights for Leinster were few and far between. After monstering  the Saints last week, this week they decided to play in the ladyboy style. It was a rugby league approach, fanning out across the field and getting picked off for turnovers all over the place. Their physicality was remarkable by its absence. Fair play to Northampton for turning around last weeks defeat. Luke Fitzgerald was the only player to come out of that with much credit for Leinster.

I saw a bit of the Munster Perpignan match, probably not the best bit but huge credit to them for getting  an away win at a really tough ground. And Connacht weren’t able to repeat their heroics of last week, but against Toulouse, we’ll give it to them.

Finally, I watched the Tigers cancel Christmas in Montpellier with a last gasp try to steal the win, which the Frenchmen only have themselves to blame for.


And post 400! I FEEL 400!

Heineken Cup
Friday , December 13
Ospreys 21 - 12 Castres
Glasgow 7 - 9 Cardiff Blues
Saturday , December 14
Benetton Treviso 3 - 35 Ulster
Toulon 32 - 20 Exeter
Saracens 64 - 3 Zebre
Leinster 9 - 18 Northampton
Connacht 9 - 37 Toulouse
Scarlets 13 - 31 Clermont Auvergne
Perpignan 17 - 18 Munster
Sunday , December 15
Harlequins 17 - 3 Racing Metro 92
Montpellier 14 - 15 Leicester
Gloucester 10 - 16 Edinburgh

Another Heineken Cup clean sweep for Irish teams?

 (picture http://bit.ly/1aXTAna)

After wallowing in rugby last weekend, this weekend it’s all going to be off the sky box as real life conflicts with real rugby!

Leinster look like they have a full squad available, apart from Cian Healy, as they welcome the Saints to the Aviva Stadium. Leinster set the bar as high as it gets last week, reaching that level again isn’t going to be easy, and the Saints are a much better team than they showed last Saturday. However, we’re talking of a comeback that would put Lazarus to shame for Northampton to actually win this match. I think it’ll be a close tight match, but self belief will see Leinster through.

Ulster have a trip to Treviso to contend with. After noting Connacht’s giant slaying antics last weekend, they want to make sure they don’t take the Italians too lightly at home, but It shouldn’t pose any problems for them.

Connacht get the chance to do the double over Toulouse after having got the hard away win out the way. Toulouse are in shock. They had these two matches down as squad rotation matches, after which they could get back to the tough T14 schedule. If they send a shadow squad over this weekend, they might lose, but be fresh for the T14. If they send over a full squad, they might still lose, and be demoralized and stale and for the T14! Connacht are going to be like tigers at home, Toulouse will probably win, but it’ll be one of the hardest fought matches this weekend.

Munster will have their tales up after beating Perpignan, resigning Connor Murray and signing Robin Copeland, the former Leinster academy player. I’m hoping they have Connor Murray back fit, as Sheridan is a good deal more workmanlike scrum half. Perpignan are going to be a different prospect at home from the side that caved in Limerick. Munster want to keep it tight and just ruck the life out of the game and grind something out. It’s a pretty pivotal match – if Munster lose it’s going to be a three way dog fight with Gloucester to get out of that pool. I’m backing them to do it though.

Heineken Cup
Friday , December 13
Ospreys vs Castres 20:00
Glasgow vs Cardiff Blues 20:00
Saturday , December 14
Leinster vs Northampton 18:00
Toulon vs Exeter 13:35
Saracens vs Zebre 15:00
Connacht vs Toulouse 18:00
Scarlets vs Clermont Auvergne 15:40
Benetton Treviso vs Ulster 13:35
Perpignan vs Munster 15:40
Sunday , December 15
Harlequins vs Racing Metro 92 12:45
Montpellier vs Leicester 15:00
Gloucester vs Edinburgh 15:00

The power of 4!

 

 Devon Toner (picture http://bit.ly/1bQxRn2)

I know when Leinster won their first Heineken Cup, it was on the back of a Ireland Grand Slam, and Rocky Elsom said at the time that when the players came back from the 6 Nations they just had that belief now. I After 4 mighty performances this weekend, it looks like that match against the All blacks is still pumping in the blood of Ireland.

The results were Ireland 4/4, England 4/6, France 3/7, Wales 1/3 and none for Scotland and Italy.

Leinster for starters put their hand up on Saturday, and said ‘please may I have some more?’ Heineken Cups that is. I’m trying not to too smug here, but that match totally looked like an international side versus a club side, which it was. Northampton got caught absolutely cold. They have a few key injuries, but they still ran into the match expecting their form in the premiership would give them an edge. But it was Ireland not #Leinster that ran on the pitch, and gave the 80 minute performance that they gave for 40 minutes against the All Blacks. Their pack is forceful – players like Cronin and Toner are stepping up to be world class now. The difference between this team and that of last season is conviction. They just knew they were going to do it. The backline was sensational, they scored 5 tries and left two behind,  BOD,Kearney, D’Arcy, Fitzgerald were all brilliant, and Madigan too, really growing into that 10 jersey. A tough night for Northampton fans who deserved better than their team could do

Ulster also stood up and put in a sterling 7 try  performance against Treviso.  They’re on track to get out of the pools for the third year in a row.

Munster put in a purposeful performance, putting Perpignan away with a bonus point win. There is some fine tuning to be done here and there, mostly in the backline, but their pack is as tough as they come, and from an Irish perspective they have three very good props now. James Cronin is the one to watch for me. And Earls put his hand up for Ireland  too, as a wing that makes things happen.

Last but certainly last least, I did Connacht a disservice by not giving them a chance against Toulouse. They only went and won it! That’s a result that’s going to live long in the memory, there’s going to be plays made about it, and it’s another scalp to add to their long list of famous triumphs.  I didn’t see it, but by the sounds of things there players like Marmion and Henshaw that are knocking on the door of bigger things.

I also watched Clermont get a bonus point out of the Scarlets. I thought the Scarlets played pretty well, but Clermont are just so physically imposing playing them is like getting run over by a tank.

Quins were hugely impressive against Racing Metro, although that’s the only way Racing Metro and ‘hugely impressive’ would fit in the same sentence. They were rubbish, shapeless, ineffectual and limp. Pairing Phillips and Sexton made them look half decent, and I’d expect that to work for them in the future. Just don’t go drinking with Mike, Jonny! Quins did that without the host of internationals that other teams can do, which made it even more impressive.

Heineken Cup
Friday , December 6
Castres 15 - 9 Ospreys 
Cardiff Blues 29 - 20 Glasgow 
Saturday , December 7
Clermont Auvergne 32 - 11 Scarlets 
Zebre 10 - 39 Saracens 
Exeter 9 - 14 Toulon 
Ulster 48 - 0 Benetton Treviso 
Northampton 7 - 40 Leinster 
Racing Metro 92 8 - 32 Harlequins 

This weekend - success for Leinster and Ulster, Munster need to pulverise, and charachter building for Connacht!

 

 We need intensity! ( picture http://bit.ly/IVSClm)

Now that the South has departed with most of the spoils, again, it’s time to hit the big time again with the return of the Heineken Cup!

Starting off with Leinster v Northampton at Franklin Gardens, now doesn’t that sound like a tasty prospect? I’ve got the teams below, and while they’re both strong teams, Leinster have a much stronger bench with 6 internationals.  The Northampton players I really rate are Wood, Lawes and Manoa, and George North of course. Not having Ben Fodden is a loss to them.  It’s going to be all about the intensity that the Leinster pack bring – if they’re on the front foot, we’ll win. And with our bench, we should win the last 20 minutes. Overall, I think it’s going to be a good day for Leinster.

Northampton Saints: 15 James Wilson, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Dom Waldouck, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Diickson, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Alex Waller. Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Christian Day, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Ryan Glynn, 22 Glenn Dickson, 23 Jamie Elliott.

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy. Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Leo Cullen, 20 Shane Jennings, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Zane Kirchner

Ulster have named a really strong team for Treviso, and having already slipped up against Edinburgh, they won’t do it again. Toulouse Connacht will probably be an ouch experience. Character building. Finally, Munster have what’s probably their A team on the pitch, as they welcome Perpignan to Thomond Park. Perpignan are 9th in the T14, and don’t seem to the quality of internationals that some of the other big French clubs have.  To me, it’s all down to the type of game Munster want to play. If they stick it up the jumper and keep it as an arm wrestle, they should win. Anything more expansive, at least until they’ve really pulverized the Catalans, and it could all go awry.

Heineken Cup
Friday , December 6
Castres vs Ospreys 20:00
Cardiff Blues vs Glasgow 20:00
Saturday , December 7
Northampton vs Leinster 18:00
Exeter vs Toulon 13:35
Zebre vs Saracens 13:35
Clermont Auvergne vs Scarlets 13:35
Racing Metro 92 vs Harlequins 15:40
Ulster vs Benetton Treviso 18:00
Sunday , December 8
Toulouse vs Connacht 15:00
Leicester vs Montpellier 15:00
Munster vs Perpignan 12:45

Ireland 4, Europe 0!

 (picture http://bit.ly/1b4nQyf)

I didn’t catch the Connacht match but they got a great win away at Zebre.

Leinster was next up for Ireland, who played some good rugby, some average rugby, then watched with interest as Castre imploded, and took full advantage. Julien Tomas gets the muppet of the month award for his yellow card for three crooked feeds. In fact, he can keep the award, someone is going to have to outdo themselves to win it off him. Leinster’s scrum is improved beyond recognition, we have 4 props now, 5 even, which is a pretty amazing turnaround. Our lineout was pretty average though, and the running rugby is still stuttering. But a good win at home nonetheless.

Ulster, meanwhile, were getting  a great away result at Montpellier. I didn’t see it, but that’s a massive result for them, from the form Irish province – they must have the best chance of bagging an HC for Ireland.

Finally, it was Munster’s turn to have a go at a strange looking Gloucester side. They put them away well in the end, but they, like Leinster, are missing a few gears. Great match for Peter O’Mahoney, but I’m, still not convinced with how Munster are trying to play. DOC, for instance, is not, and never will be a wing.
I also caught bits of the Toulouse Saracens match, where the English Galacticos slipped up when they surely had that one in the bag.

And huge  credit for Cardiff for sticking it to Toulon – maybe some of their stars are starting to show their age a bit, and Cardiff ran them into the ground eventually.

Quins battled hard with no return again, and Glasgow got their show on the road.

Finally, the all conquering All Blacks wrapped up their season with another good win, but Australia did themselves proud too.  Of concern will be that they’ve shipped 60 points in the last two matches.

Heineken Cup
Saracens  16 - 17  Toulouse    
Leicester  34 - 3  Benetton Treviso 
Cardiff Blues 19 - 15 Toulon 
Zebre 6 - 33 Connacht 
Leinster 19 - 7 Castres 
Munster 26 - 10 Gloucester 
Scarlets 26 - 26 Racing Metro 92 
Montpellier 8 - 25 Ulster 
Northampton 27 - 16 Ospreys 
Perpignan 31 - 14 Edinburgh 
Clermont Auvergne 23 - 13 Harlequins 
Glasgow 20 - 16 Exeter 

Leinster get back on the horse, Munster fall off, Ulster are firing again and Connacht were superb

 

Is that an alice band I spy?  (picture http://bit.ly/15zGa2a)

That was a 50:50 weekend for Ireland inc. On Friday, Ulster started to show a bit of their form from the last few years with a hard fought win over the Tigers. Not the pyrotechnics of a few years ago, but it was one they weren’t going to let go. They have several players roaring back into form, Bowe, Touhy, Wilson, Jackson, and Tom Court, with a bit of advice on his technique at half time, got some sweet revenge against Mr Scrumbender himself, Dan Cole.  These guys are only going to get better – with players like Diack, Olding and Henderson on the bench they have real depth these days, not to mention Afoa and Ferris still injured. Are the Tigers feeling O’Connors loss? They have injuries, but they seem to have lost some of their physicality.

Connacht in Galway were typically superb – you only had to see Saracens celebrating at the end to know what a battle they were in. They are making the Sportsground their fortress in this competition.

Munster were up next for Ireland, but arrived with their B game, looking as if they thought the match started at 3 instead of 1.30. They played some decent rugby in patches, and in fairness Edinburgh played well. It doesn’t mean Munster won’t go on to top the group, but it’s one they should have won. To me they need to concentrate on a back to basics forwards based game, sort out their pretty awful line out, keep it tight and only let it out when at all necessary. Well, they can only get better you hope.

Leinster turned it around at the liberty stadium, putting last weekend behind them and getting back on the horse, with a tough away victory. It wasn’t a characteristic running game from Leinster, but based on defense, and powerful running the ball up from Healsip and O’Brien. And McLaughlin, Ruddock and Cronin. Their scrum stood up well too, even without Ross. The Ospreys couldn’t break through, and just moved the ball from side to side. Finally, one for the Ospreys fans – Richard Hibbard is a superb player, a mighty Lion and all – but is there any chance you could all chip in for an alice band to keep his hair back?

I also saw a fair bit of the Scarlets Quins match – mighty performance from the Scarlets, where Scott Williams and Aaron Shingler starred, and Rhodri  Williams has future international stamped all over him.

Heineken Cup
Friday , October 11
Ulster 22 - 16 Leicester 
Connacht 17 - 23 Saracens 
Toulouse 38 - 5 Zebre 
Saturday , October 12
Benetton Treviso 10 - 27 Montpellier 
Edinburgh 29 - 23 Munster 
Castres 19 - 13 Northampton 
Gloucester 27 - 22 Perpignan 
Ospreys 9 - 19 Leinster 
Harlequins 26 - 33 Scarlets 
Sunday , October 13
Exeter 44 - 29 Cardiff Blues 
Toulon 51 - 28 Glasgow 

This Heineken Cup season has a limited edition, final tour feel to it...

 

The HC is back, and this season has a limited edition, final tour feel to it. Catch it before they sell out and break up!As is my habit now, I go through the pools and make risible guesses on the eventual 8 that make it out of this stage.

Group 1 has Castres  Leinster,  Northampton and the Ospreys. Castres are near the bottom of the T14, while Saints are no 2 in the premiership. It’s not a bad group for Leinster – no easy games for them, but it could be a lot worse! I’m going to be completely biased and say Leinster will top the group – and start off with an away win at the Ospreys. With all their internationals back, both sides have handy squads, but I’m going with Leinster’s experience. Hope BOD makes his recovery in time.

Group 2 has the Cardiff Blues, Exeter , Glasgow Warriors and Toulon. In this pool I’m going with mmm, Car…Toulon of course, and I think Glasgow will come good and get a runners up spot here.

Group 3 is Connacht , Saracens,  Toulouse and Zebre. Saracens top the AP, while Toulouse are 3rd in the T14, but tied first on points. I’m going with Toulouse because of their squad size. Connacht have Saracens this weekend, who will be totally underestimating them, so I’m going with a close win for Saracens.

Group 4 is Clermont Auvergne, Harlequins, Racing Metro Paris, and Scarlets. Clermont are 5th RM are 8th, it was Clermont’s season last year…until they blew it, but I’m sure Cotter wants to notch this up on his CV so Clermont it is., with RM getting a runners up spot.

Group 5 is Treviso,  Leicester Tigers, Montpellier,  and Ulster.  Tigers are 3rd in the AP and Montpellier 2nd in the T14. Likely to be between Ulster and Tigers as Montpellier have always been fecking terrible in Europe. And I think of all the Irish teams this is Ulster’s year,  with Pienaar back they should do the business against the Tigers this weekend, and end top of the group.

Group 6 is Edinburg, Gloucester, Munster and Perpignan. Gloucester are 10th in the AP, and Perpignan 6th. Really, if Munster don’t top this they are going to have to play really badly indeed! They should get things with a comfortable win against Edinburgh.

Heineken Cup
Friday , October 11
Toulouse vs Zebre 
Connacht vs Saracens 
Ulster vs Leicester 
Saturday , October 12
Castres vs Northampton 15:40
Ospreys vs Leinster 18:00
Harlequins vs Scarlets 15:40
Benetton Treviso vs Montpellier 13:35
Edinburgh vs Munster 13:35
Gloucester vs Perpignan 18:00
Sunday , October 13
Exeter vs Cardiff Blues 12:45
Toulon vs Glasgow 15:00
Racing Metro 92 vs Clermont Auvergne 20:00