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The only certainty ahead of the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup... and 10 other stats

Eben Etzebeth in action for Toulon. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

The only certainty ahead of the knockout stage is that 2020 will see a new Challenge Cup winner crowned as none of the clubs in the last eight have lifted the trophy. Castres Olympique, Edinburgh Rugby and RC Toulon have all been defeated finalists.

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The Challenge Cup last-eight matches get underway on Friday, 18 September with the clash of Bristol Bears and the Dragons at Ashton Gate where France’s Mathieu Raynal will be on the whistle, and on the following day, Ireland’s Frank Murphy will be in the middle for the Stade Chaban-Delmas meeting of Bordeaux-Bègles and Edinburgh Rugby, while his compatriot, Andrew Brace, has been appointed for the RC Toulon-Scarlets tie at Stade Félix Mayol.

The concluding Challenge Cup quarter-final on Sunday, 20 September which pits Leicester Tigers against Castres Olympique at Welford Road will be refereed by Mike Adamson of Scotland.

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Last year Gareth Anscombe spoke to RugbyPass after the final of the Challenge Cup

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Last year Gareth Anscombe spoke to RugbyPass after the final of the Challenge Cup

10 OTHER CHALLENGE CUP FACTS: 

No 1-ranked Toulon are the only club in the quarter-finals to have won all six pool matches.

Edinburgh wing, Duhan van der Merwe, has the highest total of defenders beaten with 28.

Camille Gerondeau of Castres has won the most line outs to date with 45 which includes eight on the opposition throw.

Bristol Bears’ Callum Sheedy needs five points to reach 100 in the Challenge Cup.

If Dragons’ Matthew Screech is selected for the match at Ashton Gate it will be his 35th tournament appearance.

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Blair Kinghorn is now Edinburgh’s leading Challenge Cup try scorer with eight.

Darcy Graham’s four tries against Agen in Round 6 is the most by an Edinburgh player in a match in European competition.

Dragons have never lost a Challenge Cup quarter-final match to date, winning twice at home and once away against Gloucester in 2016.

Scarlets will travel to Toulon with confidence having narrowly lost 17-16 in Round 2 at Stade Mayol where Anthony Belleau’s last-gasp conversion edged the home side to victory.

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Rory Kockott’s 23 points in the Round 6 win over Worcester Warriors is a record for a Castres player in the tournament.

CHALLENGE CUP CUP MATCH KICK OFF TIMES:
Friday 18 September: Bristol Bears v Dragons, Ashton Gate (19:45)
Saturday 19 September: Bordeaux-Bègles v Edinburgh Rugby, Stade Chaban-Delmas (12:30)
RC Toulon v Scarlets, Stade Félix Mayol (20:15)
Sunday 20 September: Leicester Tigers v Castres Olympique, Welford Road (15:00)

All timings are UK/Irish time.

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J
JG 34 minutes ago
Scott Robertson opens up on drama surrounding Bongi Mbonambi's knock-on try

Oh my word, for how long are they still going to keep bleating about that try.

The match officials DID explain it at the time, ruling that the ball was knocked out of Bongi’s hand by a NZ player. The ball went straight down (not forward) and Bongi fell on it, thus resulting in the try being awarded.

So it is disingenuous of Robertson to say that it wasn’t checked. If the match officials are confident in their decision, based on what they saw, then they don’t usually go to the TMO - even if requested.

Or else they’ll be going upstairs for virtually every try scored in a match.

Seriously, the Kiwis must now get over themselves. Every time they lose a match by a narrow margin, they find something to go on and on about. It’s almost as if they believe that other teams are “not allowed” to beat them.

Mind you, I think that dates back to a few years earlier when it seemed like the All Blacks were untouchable in the eyes of the match officials at the time.

Maybe Robertson still thinks that is the case nowadays. He hasn’t received the memo about the ABs no longer being unfairly “protected” by match officials.

Let’s face it - there was a time, not too long ago, where players from other teams were almost too afraid to touch or tackle a New Zealand player, for fear of incurring the referee's wrath.

And also, around the same time, NZ captain Richie McCaw was the “golden boy” amongst match officials and even amongst the big brass at the (then) IRB (now World Rugby).

Dont get me wrong, I’m an admirer of McCaw as a player and captain - I think he was great. And I will ALWAYS regard the All Blacks as a great Rugby team.

BUT let’s just be realistic, the New Zealand Rugby fraternity do tend to have this rather large sense of entitlement when it comes to test matches won or lost.

They expect other teams to accept it whenever a dubious decision goes the All Blacks’ way in a game.

BUT they don’t seem willing to do the same.

They'll routinely congratulate their opponents when they lose a match, but will then (for months, or even years afterwards), continue to bleat and “bitch” about a decision or incident that occurred in that match, trying to play the “victim” that was hard-done-by.

Perhaps it’s time for all involved in NZ Rugby to realize and accept that NO team should expect to have the right to always be “protected” or “favoured” in every match they play in.


Come on Scott Robertson, quit sinking to the low levels of some of your predecessors who, annoyingly, believed that the All Blacks have some divine, inalienable right to win every match they play.

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