Leinster
Harlequins, 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.
Undefeated 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.
Despite 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.
Connacht and Leinster have become embroiled in angry exchanges following Ireland lock Mike McCarthy’s decision to move to the Heineken Cup champions.
Two-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.
The pick of the games in the Pro12 Round 10 will not take place until Sunday, when second placed Scarlets welcome table-topping Ulster to Llanelli.
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.
This weekend saw an action packed start to the Heineken Cup. All twenty four teams were involved in the round which started on Friday and ended on Sunday.
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).
The second round of the RaboDirect Pro12 competition is scheduled for this weekend. Four of the games will be played on Friday night with the remaining two games taking place on Saturday.
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.
Ireland and Leinster fullback Rob Kearney has been named as the 2011/12 European Player of the Year after helping Leinster to win the Heineken Cup on the weekend.
Brian O’Driscoll handed Leinster a major boost after declaring himself fit for the all-Irish European Cup final against Ulster at Twickenham on Saturday.
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.
A round-up of the latest news shorts from the weekend’s rugby.
Sunday afternoon’s Heineken Cup sixth round pool clashes brought an end to the Pool phase of the Heineken Cup and the quarter finalists have now been decided.
It is Heineken Cup time and today 3 games were broadcast live on TV in SA.
They are:
- Montpellier vs Leinster
- Ulster Rugby vs Asm Clemont Auvergne
- Munster vs Northampton Saints
This was the general discussion thread for these 3 Games.
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.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that Springbok coach, Peter de Villiers, is starting to push the panic buttons.
John Smit is being done a massive disservice at the moment, one that could spell disaster and cost him the Springbok captaincy for the Rugby World Cup later this year. Continue reading
Many rugby players will go down in history as legends, very few will be classed as a genius. Continue reading
A New Zealand Herald and DigiPoll survey has revealed that precisely 70.4 percent of Kiwis believe that the All Blacks will win the Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2011.
Statistics are like a lamppost to a drunk man. It does not serve to illuminate but rather, to keep him upright. Continue reading
As the international season winds up, Greg Growden rates the top competitors before next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Is Bok rugby heading towards a crisis? Well given that De Villiers is seemingly scrambling to get experts on-board and all of them are turning him down, it seems we are getting pretty close. Continue reading
Rugby is a highly emotionally driven medium, but Springbok coach Peter de Villiers will do well to apply some sober thinking as he plans to fix what has gone wrong in the last 10 months. Continue reading
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