Leinster

heinekencupHarlequins, Clermont Auvergne, Ulster and Toulon have all qualified for the quarterfinals of the European Cup, but who will join them in the last eight?

Unbeaten English champions Harlequins are the only ones so far guaranteed home advantage in the quarterfinals, so with plenty to play for in Round Six here is the state of the Pools going into the final weekend of group games.

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heinekencupUndefeated Harlequins and Clermont can book European Cup quarterfinals this weekend with Toulon also close to securing their spot in the last eight. English champions Harlequins, bidding to make the knock-out stages for just the fifth time, already have 19 points from four Pool Three wins and on Saturday tackle Connacht where just a losing bonus point will be enough to see them through.

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RaboDirect PRO12 balls 5/8/2011Despite their loss to Munster at Thomond Park last Saturday, Ulster remain clear at the top of the Pro12 table as we start the New Year.

Ulster have a nine-point lead over second placed Scarlets, who they welcome to Ravenhill on Friday.

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heinekencupTwo-time defending European Cup champions Leinster host Clermont in the fourth round of the competition this weekend in the knowledge that they will have to dig deep for a “vital” bonus-point victory.

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The focus turns once again to the Pro12 this weekend, with Ulster leading the table courtesy of their unbeaten run so far this season.  They travel to Rodney Parade on Friday night to face a Newport Gwent Dragons team who are uncomfortably sat at the wrong end of the table, although at this stage in the season there are only 5 points, or a try bonus point win, between the Men from Gwent and 5th placed Munster.

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Leinster will target an unprecedented hat-trick of back-to-back European Cup titles when action in the continent’s showpiece club tournament gets under way on Friday.  The Irish province were champions in 2009, 2011 and 2012, and now have a chance of matching Toulouse’s record of four titles (1998, 2005, 2008, 2010).

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This weekend sees the start of the RaboDirect Pro12 for the 2012/2013 season.  In what could arguably be the pick of the fixtures Edinburgh, last year’s Heineken Cup semi-finalists, face Munster. Defending champions The Ospreys will be away to Treviso, while Leinster, consistently Ireland’s best team for the last few years, travel to face Llanelli Scarlets.

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There were no surprises in Saturday’s final round of the RaboDirect Pro12. All the results were as expected with the only real issue being the margins in some of the games being a little different than perhaps expected.

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What a big difference a week in rugby makes! But like last week when the Boks played badly I find myself in a strange but familiar position this week where I call on fans to calm down a bit following the Boks walloping of the Fijians on Saturday. Continue reading

Matt Giteau’s exit from the Wallabies squad has been like a slow, dripping tap that has taken more than two years to be turned off.

Ultimately, it came down to the Wallabies management – and not just coach Robbie Deans – having concerns that apart from opposing teams having ”worked Giteau out”, the Test midfielder had fallen short of the mark on several occasions when on-field pressure was applied.

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Peter de Villiers was quoted recently saying he will have to make some tough selection decisions in this Rugby World Cup year, the toughest of these, will be who wears the number 10 jersey.

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Two recent performances from the Springboks have raised some serious questions about the team that should take us to World Cup success next year, and whether the current crop has hit the ceiling, or still has a lot to offer Bok rugby. I asked Dr. Ross Tucker, an expert in the field of sport science for his opinions on the matter. Continue reading

This Tri-Nations will see one of its closest finishes where amazingly, all three teams will be looking to get something different out of the game as we start looking to the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Continue reading

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