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Four of the Weekend's Must-See European Champions Cup Clashes
The pick of the weekend’s matches as the penultimate round of European Champions Cup pool phase takes centre stage
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Leinster v Montpellier (Saturday, January 14, 3.45am HKT)
It’s a tale of two rugby styles, as speedy, canny Leinster face relentless, direct Montpellier. Sure, the three-time European champions from Dublin can bring the muscle, but the Top 14 outfit under Jake White have taken this part of the game to a whole new level. It’s win or bust for the French, who are five points behind their opponents going into this penultimate round of pool matches, so it’s a safe bet they will up the power ante at the RDS. The loss of hooker Sean Cronin to a hamstring injury is a blow for Leinster in the lead-up to this weekend’s match – but head coach Leo Cullen will be urging his side to keep their discipline and up the tempo as they look to counter the visitors’ brute force.
Wasps v Toulouse (Saturday, January 14, 11.15pm HKT)
A thunderous, rumble-in-the-jungle encounter at the Stade Ernest Wallon in the second round of pool matches ended 20-20, with Wasps surviving an hour of near-overwhelming forward power before making the most of the growing gaps as Toulouse’s monster pack finally ran out of steam. It wasn’t quite Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope stuff, but it wasn’t far off. Expect another titanic smash-up at the Ricoh Arena, as Dai Young’s men look to steal a march on the four-time European champions in the closest of the five pools. Three of the four sides are tied on 13 points, and with Connacht at home to nil-point outfit Zebre, whoever wins here will be in pole position for the knockout phase. All points could be vital as, next week, Wasps are in Italy, while Toulouse entertain the Irish province.
Glasgow Warriors v Munster (Sunday, January 15, 1.30am HKT)
When the Champions Cup fixture list was revealed, this bleak midwinter clash did not pique much in the way of interest among neutrals. And, yet, several months later, here we are waiting with collective breaths appropriately bated for what is arguably the must-see tie of the weekend between two sides that have played some truly entertaining, attacking rugby. If Munster win, they will secure a quarter-final place and have home advantage firmly in their sights. If Glasgow take the spoils, that decision will be delayed until next weekend’s final pool matches – with both sides deservedly highly likely to qualify for the knockout phase. Few were predicting that in October.
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Bordeaux v Clermont (Sunday, January 15, 9pm HKT)
Chances are, Clermont scrum-half Morgan Parra still has occasional nightmares about last season’s decisive European Champions Cup encounter between the two Top 14 sides. A moment of madness – he took a quick tap penalty in front of the Bordeaux posts late in the game, when a kick would have taken them into losing bonus territory – cost them the single point they needed to qualify for the last eight. It was an extraordinary moment at the end of what had been an extraordinary game. Expect him to be out for some form of redemption as the Top 14 leaders look to overcome the recurring bouts of travel sickness that have plagued their season so far to secure what would be a deserved last-eight berth with a game in hand.
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
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