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Could Ireland add both European Club trophies to a Grand Slam? - Neil Best
We provoke a shark every time we enter the water where sharks happen to be, for we forget: The ocean is not our territory -it’s theirs.
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It’s a big weekend for European Club Rugby this weekend and I fully expect home advantage to be a key factor. Of the quarter-finalists in the Champions Cup, Racing 92 pose the only real threat of an away win.
Statistics are on the side of the home teams. Last season all home quarter and semi-finalists won. The year before that all home wins in the quarters with Racing 92 winning an away semi at Leicester. The pattern of home wins in the knock out stages has become fairly entrenched over a number of seasons and there is nothing to suggest this season will be any different.
La Rochelle are a talented team with a big pack but they’ve lost twice on the road already in the Pool Stage, and although Scarlets also lost one at home in their Pool -this game is just too big for Scarlets, for them not to turn up.
Clermont’s form has been patchy at best and that allied with Racing 92 playing away but in country -gives this match the biggest prospect of an away win.
Saracens have found the knack of winning an away quarter-final. They won away at Ravenhill in 2014 -but only by two points after Jared Payne was red carded early on -and in 2015 by a single point at Racing 92. But Leinster are on another level and Saracens did well to get through their Pool with only three wins -I can’t see them getting a fourth.
Munster lost only once narrowly in their Pool Stage at Racing 92 and have put some good sides comprehensively to the sword at home. Toulon lost both their away games of note at Bath and Scarlets and I expect them to lose this one at Thomond on Saturday.
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In what has already been a fantastic year for Irish Rugby the Champions Cup is starting to have the feel of Leinster v Munster in Bilbao in May.
Of course, the Champions Cup isn’t the only European Rugby show in town. I was part of a Northampton team that lifted the European Challenge Cup 2009. We were undefeated in the Pool Stage winning away in Montpellier and Toulon. Home advantage in the quarters and semi-finals took us comfortably to the final where we beat Bourgoin at the Stoop. It was a scrappy affair -and I was involved in most of them.
This season I expect Pau, Edinburgh, Connaught and Newcastle to successfully navigate the quarters -all home wins. And despite the fact Edinburgh are in many ways the form side -having only lost once since the turn of the year -I think they will fall in an away semi-final. In contrast Connaught have had much more patchy form but would have a home semi, possibly against Newcastle, and they could go all the way.
How much more remarkable could this season get for Irish Rugby -is it realistic to think they could add both European Club trophies to a Grand Slam?
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European Rugby always throws up that little bit more excitement and intrigue as much for the players as the fans. In 2003-04 Ulster drew Stade in the Pool Stages -we won three at home and lost three away and didn’t qualify for the knockout stage. The following year we drew Stade again -there was a literally a huge cheer at Ravenhill from the playing group. We didn’t do any better -won three at home, lost three away and didn’t qualify. Why the cheer? The players had a great time in a nightclub the year before after the game, and they were looking forward to a reprise.
Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance
Comments on RugbyPass
What ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
129 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
129 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
129 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
129 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
129 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
129 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
129 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
129 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
129 Go to commentsHo hum.
129 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
129 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
129 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
129 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
129 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
129 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
129 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
129 Go to comments