It’s European rugby time! After a battling three week stint of league games it’s time to look outside of the English game and wonder just how we’re going to get on against the best Europe has to offer (that didn’t qualify for the Heineken Cup). And yes I know that sponsorship name has long since been dropped but I can’t shake it, which probably gives away what era I grew watching. Not that it’ll be getting much coverage here though as we remain firmly embedded in the comfortable confines of the Challenge Cup, although it’ll be intriguing to see how seriously the ownership takes the cup competitions this year, the Prem Cup might be a good opportunity to break the silverware dry streak but really a good European run would almost be better for the mood around the ground I think.
That’s as good an excuse as any for a roundup of the pool stage opposition and a quick speculate as to how far we might go in the competition this year.
Starting with this Saturday’s opposition, and our closest geographical rivals, Scarlets. It’s no secret that Welsh rugby is in a tough spot at the moment and it’s the non Cardiff clubs where this really plays out at times with Scarlets sitting an uninteresting 12th in the URC going into this week. I’ll dive into this one more in the buildup on Friday.
Also from the bottom end of the URC are Benetton, who currently only have perennial strugglers Zebre beneath them in the table. I feel sorry for I Leoni, their only reward for a very promising few seasons was to have the best of the playing squad picked apart by French and English vultures and their current crop has yet to score a win in the league. They do still carry quality Italian internationals though and actually may well be better than their domestic record shows at the moment, it should be an interesting trip to KP for them. And this is the third year in a row we’ve drawn them and I still haven’t managed the away trip to Treviso, which is killing me.
The final URC representative is the Holywoodbet Sharks, and honestly sponsorship in the club name, who would do that… Thankfully, due to the unique way in which the EPCR runs it’s competitions, these are the one pool stage opponent we don’t actually have to play, you think the Exeter trip was bad, imagine trailing all the way down to Durban.
The French contingent is represented by Castres Olympique and LOU Rugby (Lyon). Frustratingly its Castres at home and Lyon away, having been to Lyon recently I’m in no rush to go back for any reason never mind rugby. They are probably also the bigger threat and realistically one of the biggest sides in the competition this year by most metrics. Defeated finalists from two years ago they are currently eight in the Top14 although they have scored some big wins at home vs Pau and away at Racing, both of whom will be mixing it with the big boys in the other cup this year. Lyon are also hosting the finals this year so they may well come into this with a bit of extra motivation.
As for Castres, well aside from being the nicer away day that we’ve missed out on, they have spent the last few years lurking near the bottom of the Top14 although they’re some way above division whipping boys RC Vannes and there’s no danger of them being relegated, if you think England used to have a yo-yo club problem you should see the record of promoted Pro D2 clubs over the past few years.
Top three go through then, so are we in contention?
Well Castres at home looks very doable whilst Lyon away would be a big task so let’s say one from two vs the French sides. That leaves us with Benetton at KP and away at Scarlets. Scarlets for me are the weakest side in the pool but having to face them away from home makes it trickier to call. Also a bit of an unknown is the Benetton game but I think we’ve got it in us to get a least one of them and leave us on two wins. Don’t know if that’ll be enough and the South African presence in the pool is going to make things even more skewed.
Could we go all the way if we get through. Well no, because somehow Edinburgh are in this competition so there’s your winner for me, that aside, well any French away trip would be tough (although bring me Toulon away). Same with the South African traps, but beyond that, there’s not much that I don’t think we could give a game to at Kingston Park.
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