Munster and Toulouse book their place in Heineken Cup final
Munster edged past Saracens to join Toulouse in the Heineken Cup final, who had beaten London Irish on Saturday.
Both games were gripping to watch, and could have gone either way, but the prospect of Munster against Toulouse is what all the neutrals were hoping for.
We’ll have full reaction later in the week, but for now, let us know where you think the games were won and lost? Did the English sides deserve to go out?
Heineken Cup Semi-final preview
It’s one of the biggest weekends in domestic rugby with just four teams remaining in the Heineken Cup, battling it out for a coveted place in the final.
Few would have bet against Munster and Toulouse being there or thereabouts at this stage, but very few would have backed Saracens and London Irish to be making up the quartet.
These two teams have been the ’story’ of the competition, with consistent but fairly indifferent form in the Guinness Premiership, yet stepping up their performance on Cup weekends. Saracens’ win over the Ospreys was the highlight of the competition for me, and seeing Richard Hill at the top of his game was priceless.
Hill will need another heroic performance to overcome Munster on Sunday. The Irish side come into their own in the European competition, and although the national team has been misfiring of late, Munster’s victory over Leicester was anything but unconvincing.
Munster are experts at controlling a game from start to finish, imposing their style of play on the match and not letting the other side get a sniff of dominance. It should be a fine fixture, and although Sarries can’t be written off, I’m backing Munster to reach the final.
London Irish also face a fearsome task as they entertain Toulouse at Twickenham. The French will play at a lightning fast pace, looking to set free their exciting back line. The Exiles will want to exert their control on the game, and are likely to opt for a tighter game.
The set-piece should be crucial, and if Paice and Kennedy are on song in the lineout, Geraghty and Hewat can look to play a territorial game, picking up points when they can. Unfortunately for them, Ellisalde’s side have the ability to strike from wherever they are on the pitch, and I expect them to be too much for London Irish.
How do you see the games unfolding this weekend? Will there be an English side in the final?
Heineken Cup Semi-final line up
The Welsh came back to earth with a bump at the weekend as they saw the Opsreys and Cardiff dumped out of the Heineken Cup. Saracens produced a stunning performance to upset the form guide at Vicarage Road, whilst the class of Toulouse was no match for Cardiff.
Elsewhere, London Irish recorded a well-deserved victory over Perpignan, whilst Munster were too strong for Gloucester at Kingsholm.
The semi-final line up, to be played on 26th and 27th April, is as follows:
London Irish v Toulouse
Saracens v Munster
Let us know your thoughts on the weekend’s Heineken Cup action.
Heineken Cup Quarter final preview
The Heineken Cup cranks back into action this weekend to hail the start of that part of the season which has, in recent years, produced the best and most exciting rugby to be found in Europe at club or international level. Many of the games which have stuck in the mind of late have come at around this time as sides look to time their run to glory.The Heineken Cup has a very different look and feel to it this year. Many of the big guns have been sabotaged by the bewildering seeding system which happily has been consigned to the garbage for next year. It means that the 1st and 2nd seeds are the sides lying 8th and 6th respectively in the Guinness Premiership. Leicester and Leinster, Wasps and Clermont Auvergne have all fallen by the wayside, being as they were split between 2 groups which were won by Toulouse and Munster respectively. Indeed it is arguable that at least four of the teams playing this weekend are palpably not in Europe’s best 8. This could be lamented but if anything it promises to make the latter stages even more unpredictable and exciting.
Pre-Christmas, all the English teams left in the competition looked excellent and played some fantastic rugby in the pool stages. All have struggled since then and despite having home ties, will have to work very hard to ensure an English presence in the last four. The two Welsh teams, especially the Ospreys, will be buoyant after Wales’s Grand Slam, Munster have been quietly improving during the season and the French sides will benefit from having had more match action after the delayed start to the Top 14. The line-up may look unusual but there is a feast of rugby ahead of us.
London Irish v Perpignan (Saturday 1500hrs)
The first semi final is a hard one to pick. London Irish are capable of playing superb rugby but lack consistency. They qualified for the quarters as no 1 seeds after winning a group which contained Saturday’s opponents. Overall however, Perpignan probably just shaded their head to head encounters, London Irish taking the group by virtue of their ruthless demolitions of the Dragons and Treviso. The positive for Irish is that both games with Perpignan went with home advantage and this could once again prove crucial. They will need the utmost discipline, something they have struggled with this season, and Percy Montgomery’s immaculate left boot will be on hand to punish any misdemeanours.
The game could be loosely billed as Perpignan’s grunt against Irish’s guile but in truth it is far more than that. Irish will need a platform to play from and must achieve at least parity up front to unleash their backs. Shane Geraghty, Peter Richards and Delon Armitage are all in contention after spells out injured and they could make a huge difference to a squad which lacks the depth of some of their rivals. Perpignan do not possess the big names of some of their French rivals but will lack nothing in aggression as they seek a third Heineken Cup semi final. I take Irish to squeak home by less than a score with home advantage once again proving the difference between these two well-matched teams.
Gloucester v Munster (Saturday 1730hrs)
Kingsholm hosts what must go down as the tie of the round. Gloucester have been the coming team in Europe for some time without ever having quite made the breakthrough in big games. They lit up the early stages of the tournament with some scintillating rugby. Their first half against Ulster will live long in the memory but they still have plenty to prove. There remains the suspicion that they go missing in the big games and it is time for their young exciting lads to step forward on the big occasion.
Their recent form however has been patchy. While they remain near the top of the Premiership their form has tailed off. Yet as pitches start to harden and the likes of Tindall (whom they have missed hugely) return, they could start to rediscover their magic. Saturday is the perfect time.
Munster just keep plodding on. Every season seems to be billed as their last chance to make a big impression but they have reached the quarter finals for an incredible 10th time. Some of their players have been around so long they must be well into their 50s by now. Gloucester will still remember being humiliated at Thomond Park a few years back and will be determined to prove their big game pedigree. But Munster emerged from the toughest group in the competition through sheer bloody-mindedness despite being considerably more limited than Clermont and Wasps. Nobody understands the demands required for European success as much as Munster. Gloucester have it all to do and I expect them to fall just short.
Saracens v Ospreys (Sunday 1230hrs)
Saracens, after a season in which they looked likely to challenge for multiple honours are in danger of disintegrating and this represents their last chance of redemption if their season is not to sink without trace. They were hammered by Ospreys in the EDF and Ryan Jones voiced his suspicion that were they still playing now Saracens still wouldn’t have scored. However, this could play into Saracens hands. The Ospreys will be confident in their ability to overcome Saracens. However Saracens have seen what the Ospreys are capable of while Saracens showed very little of their potential in that game. It is likely that Saracens will face a very similar Ospreys team while Ospreys will be facing a very different Saracens outfit, not in terms of personnel, but in terms of efficiency and approach.
Saracens have showed before that they can turn it round quickly at home against Biarritz where they offered very little in the first half before running away in the second half to a 45-16 victory against one of Europe’s big beasts.
Having said that, Ospreys are confident and are on a roll. They will not want to lose the momentum established by Wales’s grand slam in which so many of them played a big part. It is often the case with Welsh teams that much depends on their self-belief. The international season, allied to their progression to the EDF final at the expense of Sunday’s opponents could render them an irresistible force. They certainly feel that this is their time. The loss of Mike Philips will barely create a ripple as they have Justin Marshall to step in and they should once again overcome Saracens.
Toulouse v Cardiff (Sunday 1500hrs)
Toulouse are rightly favourites for the competition and seem to have risen above the malaise which has enveloped French rugby of late. They possess so much depth and with Wasps, Leicester and Clermont Auvergne having been knocked out, they have a squad without peer in this year’s tournament. They should really fancy their chances. The loss of Michalak has barely been felt because all they really need at 10 is someone to transfer the ball from Kelleher or Elissalde to the likes of Jauzion, Heymans and Clerc. Not a bad position to be in.
Cardiff did well to get out of the dogfight that was Pool 3, taking the scalp of a strangely subdued Stade Francais on the way. But this will surely be a bridge too far for them. They have ended some years of underachievement by getting to this stage and it could be a platform for greater things to come. They have been unfortunate that they have got the toughest trip possible despite winning their group. I suspect that they will give a good account of themselves but Toulouse will prove too strong. It would be a gargantuan effort for Cardiff to prevail.
I don’t know about you but I love the Heineken Cup. So charge up the cold box, surround yourself with nibbly snacks and pizza menus, pack the other half off to the cinema, sit back and enjoy.
by Stuart Peel
The 6 Nations – Where are you putting your money?
The 2008 tournament sees the launch of The Rugby Blog 6 Nations Betting League so here are some hints from Stuart Peel on where he will be putting his money in light of recent events in the European Cup.
So another exhilarating Heineken Cup is put to bed for a few months and attention returns to the international game, namely the Six Nations. Inevitably the question arises of what predictions can be made for Europe’s leading international competition based upon the events of the leading club variety.
First of all there will be a huge number of high profile individuals who feel they have a point to prove. Due to the quite extraordinary seeding system which is the only significant Achilles heel of the Heineken Cup, many of Europe’s bigger clubs, and by definition biggest players, are currently contemplating a few weeks on the sidelines when the tournament resumes. You would have got pretty big odds on none of Stade Francais, Biarritz, Clermont Auvergne, Leinster, Wasps and Leicester making it through the pool stages and the tournament is poorer for it. Taking nothing away from those who have qualified, the quarter final line-up would probably look stronger if these big beasts were present.
For many players then, the Six Nations represents something of a shot at redemption, being their only chance of success this season beyond the domestic. This should add to the competitive edge as a huge amount of personal pride will come into play. Hopefully we will see a championship with rather more intensity than those served up immediately after previous World Cups.
Secondly, the more competitive pools in the Heineken Cup demonstrated clearly the prevalence of home advantage in the modern game. In Group 5, Wasps, Munster and Clermont Auvergne all won their home games against each other. It was Munster who showed above all the importance of fighting for every minute in the Heineken Cup, winning 3 crucial bonus points in their games against their closest rivals. Wasps by contrast squandered 3 very achievable bonus points and gave away two to their opponents. This resulted in Munster winning a pool in which, in terms of pure quality, they were probably the third best team.
Group 6 was just as competitive with Toulouse sealing it by virtue of being the only team to win away from home, burgling a narrow victory at Edinburgh who managed to turn over both Leinster and Leicester at Murrayfield. Indeed no team managed a 100% record in the tournament with only 5 out of 24 teams managing more than 1 away win, all of which were in fairly easy pools, and there was not a single away win which could be described in any way as a surprise.
All this points to a tight championship with no Grand Slam being won this year. Ireland must travel to Paris and London and, while they have shown over recent years that Twickenham holds no fears for them, they appear to have something of a hang up against the French. England must travel to Paris to face a France team hell bent on revenge for being ejected from their own World Cup by the old enemy. Both teams will have a different look and feel about them but the hostility will remain. France have both Ireland and England at home and the championship should be their’s to lose.
With Ireland and Wales both coming to Twickenham, I believe England have as good a chance as France of winning the championship. However, both France and England must travel to Murrayfield and the Scottish clubs in the Heineken Cup turned in impressive performances. Not only that, but Scotland defeated both of them two years ago and I back them to take at least one victory from their two home games. Ireland should dispose of Wales, Scotland and Italy at home and will feel that they have a huge point to prove this year as possibly their strongest side in years crashed and burned in France.
Wales will have to win their home games against Scotland and Italy to salvage anything from the tournament while the Italians will have their eye firmly on the Scotland game as their chance of getting points on the board. The Italian clubs generally produced an improved showing this year in Europe but they still remain some way short of being challengers. If any team manages more than one away win then they will be in pretty good shape to take the title.
Beyond the Heineken Cup, the close proximity of the tournament to the World Cup will make it fascinating to all rugby fans. Those expecting an injection of young blood and an expansion of playing styles could be disappointed but there will be an abundance of talent on show. France will be seeking redemption and the signs are that they will turn their backs on some of their established stars. Both Ireland and Wales endured miserable World Cups but on the evidence of recent weeks they have no better options than the players who underperformed so spectacularly in France. I expect to see them try to rediscover the winning habit with their existing players and then to introduce new players over the course of the next 2 years.
The World Cup came a couple of years too early for Scotland but they are improving and are likely to stick with the current formula, perhaps with a little more audacity grafted on top. They looked more dangerous in the last few minutes against Argentina when they threw caution to the wind than they have done for some time.
England can draw a line under the past 4 years and start introducing young blood alongside the more established names. There is a huge amount of talent around at the moment and I believe they have the right man at the helm to harness it. England should be targeting victory in all their home games and a win at Murrayfield at the very least, with a view to winning the Grand Slam in 2009. I see no reason why they should not be able to achieve this with the ability they have at their disposal.
This tournament has all the makings of a cracker but rugby supporters should be patient. No team will gel or click immediately and the odd ropey performance should not lead to heads being demanded on platters. Anyone who has been looking on with a mixture of bemusement and amusement at the goings-on at Newcastle United and Liverpool will appreciate the value of stability and the coaches should be given time to put their plans into place. I make an exception for Eddie O’Sullivan here as he must surely be sipping last orders in the last chance saloon after Ireland’s disastrous World Cup.
Only one thing is certain - all rugby fans in all the European capitals will have a bloody good time.
By Stuart Peel
Heineken Cup Quarter Finals
The Heineken Cup quarter finals will take place over the weekend of 4th, 5th and 6th April with the fixtures as follows:
Saracens v Ospreys
London Irish v Perpignan
Gloucester v Munster
Toulouse v Cardiff Blues
Gloucester were lacklustre against Ulster on Sunday, leaking tries and not looking too convincing - they will need to raise their game as they welcome Munster. The Irishmen took the defending champions apart on Saturday, with Ronan O’Gara expertly playing the conditions.
London Irish will face their familiar Pool 1 foes in the shape of Perpignan, whilst Saracens will tackle the Ospreys. New tournament favourites, Toulouse, take on Cardiff, the other Welsh side remaining in the competition. Sadly, no Scottish teams qualified for the latter stages.
Toulouse are now available at about 4/1 (best odds at Betfair), Gloucester are at 5/1 with Boylesports, as are Munster at Betfred, whilst the Ospreys are at 9/1, also with Betfred.
English teams look set to dominate Heineken Cup
This weekend sees the finale of Europe’s premier club competition, and the English teams look set to dominate the quarter-final places.
There is a possibility that all four quarter final ties will be played in England, with London Irish, Gloucester, Saracens and Wasps sitting atop their respective pools with better records than the other pool leaders. Irish need a bonus point win, but the others will be guaranteed a Home draw should they win this weekend.
The showdown of the weekend appears to be the Munster v Wasps fixture at Thomond Park - a mouth-watering prospect to decide which team qualifies for the latter stages.
Will this monopoly of Europe be reflected in the Six Nations competition that starts next week? France are the slight favourites with the bookies at about 6/4 , whilst England are second favourites at 5/2.
Controversy and the Cup - just another Heineken weekend
Round 4 of the Heineken Cup was marked with some sublime rugby and marred by a mindless moment from an RFU employee.
Wasps versus Clermont Auvergne was the game of the weekend, with Danny Cipriani’s first half performance earning him the label of a genius in the making. He pulled all the strings opposite his predecessor, Alex King, and his passing, kicking and remarkable pace gave Wasps complete control of the game.
The second half was spoiled by a brawl as Jamie Cudmore, Clermont’s flanker, landed a series of punches on Tim Payne’s head as he lay helpless on the ground - the scene was reminiscent of the Duncan McRae / Ronan O’Gara incident in 2001. Alan Black, an RFU manager, also waded in from the touchline flapping his programme somewhere near Martin Scelzo, the Clermont prop - he was removed from the ground and has since had to make an embarrassing apology.
Elsewhere in Europe, there was further success for English clubs, with six out of seven still fighting for a quarter-final place. Only Harlequins are out of the running having lost to Bristol.
Gloucester appear to be the best team in the competition after securing their fourth win out of four - the Cherry and Whites have usurped Stade Francais as tournament favourites as the men in pink suffered a second defeat, this time in Cardiff.
Round 4 Results
Biarritz 21-14 Glasgow
Ulster 8-16 Ospreys
Viadana 26-34 Saracens
Cardiff 31-21 Stade
Newport 22-24 Treviso
G’cester 51-27 Bourgoin
Perpignan 23-6 Irish
Edinburgh 29-10 Leinster
Wasps 25-24 Clermont
Munster 22-13 Scarlets
Bristol 20-7 Harlequins
Toulouse 22-11 Leicester
Return of the Heineken Cup
Following the drab EDF Energy Cup fixtures last weekend, the Heineken Cup returns with a bang with 15 matches live on Sky Sports over the next two weekends. Round 3 has a distinct Anglo-French twist with four teams from each of the rival nations locking horns.
Unbeaten Gloucester face a tough trip to Bourgoin tonight, and with the return fixture next week, they could secure their place in the knockout stages. Leicester face Toulouse whilst London Irish are up against Perpignan, but the clash of the weekend will be Wasps against Clermont Auvergne.
The defending champions have two wins from two and wins over the big-spending French outfit will make them favourites to emerge from a difficult Pool that also includes Munster and Llanelli.
Here is the full list of this week’s fixtures:
Stade fly the flag for French flamboyance
One of the most compelling features of the Heineken Cup is that the clubs, more so than international teams, express local characteristics by the way in which they approach the game. This can manifest itself through the team, the supporters or the trappings which surround professional sports outfits.
The fiery passion to be found at Stradey Park and Thomond Park reflects the sheer love of the game in the two areas. The styles of rugby played by the occupants of the two grounds however differs significantly, the abrasiveness of Munster’s approach countered by the exuberance of Llanelli’s. It reflects the way they like their sports teams to be. Similarly the conservative efficiency of Leicester could be seen as a reflection of the character of Middle England.
Nowhere is this more obvious than at Stade Francais. The traditional joie de vivre associated with French rugby teams has not been much in evidence of late, with Bernard Laporte’s conservative approach being mirrored to some extent by Biarritz, and with Toulouse not quite the force of old. Stade however refuse to be influenced by this and Parisian rugby continues to be characterised by an extravagance which reflects the typical perception of their home city.
Yet the arrogance and swagger which pervades through the club cannot be seen in any way as offensive. They may be one of the finest and most professional teams in Europe, but the Corinthian spirit of amateurism still courses through the veins of the club and they keep the flame of flamboyance in French rugby burning brightly. Their predecessors as the leading team in Paris, Racing Club, personified this even more and their influence over their local rivals is obvious in the activities of Stade’s marketing department.
A love of all things pink and flowery is a welcome antidote to the often overly serious and macho world of professional rugby and the sea of pink flags in the crowd at their home games is an expression of this. The President, Max Guazzini clearly revels in his use of the provocative but much of it is done with tongue firmly in cheek and the success of it can be seen in the fact that they are able to attract 80,000 people to their bigger home games.
Racing Club had a generation of players in the 1980s who were not only hugely talented but wanted to inject fun into the game in a city in which rugby was largely dormant. The likes of Jean-Baptiste Lafond and Franck Mesnel brought success to the club by winning the French championship but also drew attention with some bizarre but rather amusing antics in major matches. This included the wearing of white Bermuda shorts in the semi final of the French championship and the wearing of pink bow ties in the final.
On occasion, they also ran out wearing old-school blazers, wore fake bald heads and black face paint, drank champagne at half time, entered Bezier’s stadium on bicycles, and wore red, white and blue striped sans-culottes in tribute to the revolutionaries of the Bastille. The individuals behind these antics were known as the ‘Showbiz 5’ and went on to found the Eden Park clothing band with its logo of a pink bow tie. Guazzini’s Stade Francais attempt to keep this flame burning, albeit in the more restrictive world of professional sport.
Provocative it may be but I hope there is always a place for this sort of thing in rugby. It may have become big business in the decade since the advent of professionalism, but 100 years of amateurism has meant that fun and camaraderie are sewn into the fabric of the game. Stade are doing as much as anyone to maintain this. This is not necessarily by their playing style – they are enjoyable to watch but first and foremost their lifeblood is winning. It is in the way the club expresses itself. They have never won the Heineken Cup and may not his year given their propensity for travel sickness but, as they encompass all the elements we love about French rugby, the competition is enriched immeasurably by their presence. I for one hope that they keep it pink.
By Stuart Peel
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