Heineken Cup Preview
This weekend sees the kick-off of Rugby Union's Heineken Cup, a chance to see all of Europe's best teams- and some others thrown in as ballast- scrap it out to be named Champions at the end of the year.
Encouragingly there are a number of British clubs capable of being right up there at the end, with some mouthwatering matches being played right from the first weekend.
Defending champions Munster launch their campaign on Sunday with a tough match against twice-champions Leicester Tigers, in what will inevitably and tiresomely be monickered the "Group of Death", also including top Welsh seeds Cardiff Blues and French outfit Bourgoin.
Munster come into this match after a poor defeat to Edinburgh where crucial fly-half Ronan O'Gara was injured and equally important second-row Paul O'Connell didn‘t make the start- both are expected to be fit to take on Leicester, but they have started the season shakily. Leicester should go into this feeling confident after a combative derby victory against Northampton; however with Munster's play being more effective than attractive and Leicester having beaten Northampton without scoring a try, it could be rather hard on the eye.
One promising much more in the aesthetic department is Gloucester's match with Celtic League Champions Leinster on Saturday. Gloucester's precocious all-English backs (with an average age of 23 and three 20-year-olds), who cut apart an impressive Worcester side last weekend, will be facing the likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan- if these backs can be given the supply they need, expect fireworks.
English champions Sale Sharks take on Neath-Swansea Ospreys, who will be fielding Gavin Henson (the permatanned, ludicrously-haired, shaven-legged boyfriend of Charlotte Church) in a team which has been chopped and changed a lot this season already. Sale have started strongly, despite losing to Leicester in this season‘s opener, but the prospect of seeing bearded French neanderthal-man Sebastian Chabal charging at the rather more groomed and metrosexual Henson provides the real intrigue in this match, which has genuine potential- Ospreys have had little trouble against English opposition this season, having beaten both Bath and Gloucester in the last three weeks.
The usually formidable French teams are having very difficult domestic seasons so far, and with the exception of league leaders Stade Francais, should provide opportunities for upset, particularly when they travel. Last year’s runners-up Biarritz are struggling, providing hope for Northampton who play them on Sunday and should be capable of success against the group’s other teams, Italian also-rans Overmach Parma and Scotland’s Borders.
The same goes for London Wasps, who should be encouraged by the poor form of Castres and Perpignan, both struggling to be mid-table in the French league, and should hope to dispose of Bennetton Treviso, another Italian side- one of three for the first time in the competition’s history.
All in all an interestingly mixed bag of matches and genuine reason to be optimistic for a number of our teams, as they start the long road to this season’s Twickenham final.
Encouragingly there are a number of British clubs capable of being right up there at the end, with some mouthwatering matches being played right from the first weekend.
Defending champions Munster launch their campaign on Sunday with a tough match against twice-champions Leicester Tigers, in what will inevitably and tiresomely be monickered the "Group of Death", also including top Welsh seeds Cardiff Blues and French outfit Bourgoin.
Munster come into this match after a poor defeat to Edinburgh where crucial fly-half Ronan O'Gara was injured and equally important second-row Paul O'Connell didn‘t make the start- both are expected to be fit to take on Leicester, but they have started the season shakily. Leicester should go into this feeling confident after a combative derby victory against Northampton; however with Munster's play being more effective than attractive and Leicester having beaten Northampton without scoring a try, it could be rather hard on the eye.
One promising much more in the aesthetic department is Gloucester's match with Celtic League Champions Leinster on Saturday. Gloucester's precocious all-English backs (with an average age of 23 and three 20-year-olds), who cut apart an impressive Worcester side last weekend, will be facing the likes of Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan- if these backs can be given the supply they need, expect fireworks.
English champions Sale Sharks take on Neath-Swansea Ospreys, who will be fielding Gavin Henson (the permatanned, ludicrously-haired, shaven-legged boyfriend of Charlotte Church) in a team which has been chopped and changed a lot this season already. Sale have started strongly, despite losing to Leicester in this season‘s opener, but the prospect of seeing bearded French neanderthal-man Sebastian Chabal charging at the rather more groomed and metrosexual Henson provides the real intrigue in this match, which has genuine potential- Ospreys have had little trouble against English opposition this season, having beaten both Bath and Gloucester in the last three weeks.
The usually formidable French teams are having very difficult domestic seasons so far, and with the exception of league leaders Stade Francais, should provide opportunities for upset, particularly when they travel. Last year’s runners-up Biarritz are struggling, providing hope for Northampton who play them on Sunday and should be capable of success against the group’s other teams, Italian also-rans Overmach Parma and Scotland’s Borders.
The same goes for London Wasps, who should be encouraged by the poor form of Castres and Perpignan, both struggling to be mid-table in the French league, and should hope to dispose of Bennetton Treviso, another Italian side- one of three for the first time in the competition’s history.
All in all an interestingly mixed bag of matches and genuine reason to be optimistic for a number of our teams, as they start the long road to this season’s Twickenham final.
Labels: Sport
posted by Matt at 9:52 am
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