Champions Cup 2024 / 25 - Round 4

[duncanb]

Toulose v Leinster final for me ,will be a great match up.
Sad for all of us supporting our teams, but both head and shoulders above rest.

 

[BPM]

May well happen, I reckon the other 3 slots are almost guaranteed. I'd be stunned if anything else went another way.

I dunno. La Rochelle and Saracens have dropped off quite a bit recently, but they're still capable of testing Bordeaux and Toulon.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Toulose v Leinster final for me ,will be a great match up.
Sad for all of us supporting our teams, but both head and shoulders above rest.

I'd say it's Toulouse and Bordeaux, a gap, Leinster, a bigger gap, everyone else

It's a shame it can't be a Toulouse/Bordeaux final

 

[IT157]

Toulose v Leinster final for me ,will be a great match up.
Sad for all of us supporting our teams, but both head and shoulders above rest.

Bordeaux are definitely in the same bracket of quality.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Don't think Toulouse and Bordeaux are better than Leinster at anything but running up a score against weaker sides. Imagine there'll be next to nothing in any potential final involving those three.

 

[mikebrownsauce1512]

Toulose will tire soon
Then we will strike

This post aged well ....

 

[mikebrownsauce1512]

View attachment 22678

Tournament's rigged for Leinster so it is.

That's a nice draw. La Rochelle v Munster will be hilarious.

Northampton have a great route.

 

[munstermuffin]

Leinster are good of course. BUT I think what will hurt them is the easy side. They need to be tested.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Leinster are good of course. BUT I think what will hurt them is the easy side. They need to be tested.

Why?

 

[munstermuffin]

Why?

Because they will still possibly not know where they truly are. Just an opinion like they will steamroll teams and not sure where they are.
Like take La Rochelle. Leinster beat them and we thought super result. But then they go an lose to Benneton. So it is like how do we rank that.
Likewise Bristol. I thought wow great win.But having seen Bristol alot since then they are poor. No reflection on Leinster and I do think they would compete with the best teams around and no reason why they can't win but I suppose it just how people view being overcooked/under cooked.

Like next time most Leinster lads play with Leinster will be the Harlequins game.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Because they will still possibly not know where they truly are. Just an opinion like they will steamroll teams and not sure where they are.
Like take La Rochelle. Leinster beat them and we thought super result. But then they go an lose to Benneton. So it is like how do we rank that.
Likewise Bristol. I thought wow great win.But having seen Bristol alot since then they are poor. No reflection on Leinster and I do think they would compete with the best teams around and no reason why they can't win but I suppose it just how people view being overcooked/under cooked.

Like next time most Leinster lads play with Leinster will be the Harlequins game.

I think that way of thinking would have merit if the team hadn't lost 3 finals in a row. They'll know what's needed if they make it that far.

Results suggest the squad is stronger this year than last year. Which you'd expect with the personell changes.

 

[munstermuffin]

I think that way of thinking would have merit if the team hadn't lost 3 finals in a row. They'll know what's needed if they make it that far.

Results suggest the squad is stronger this year than last year. Which you'd expect with the personell changes.

Don't get me wrong it more just an opinion and arguments could be made for every side of it.
I think personally that Leinster it simple - Win The Tournament outright or it is classed as a failure of a year.
Hindsight is a great thing but that will probably be what determines the views.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

This post aged well ....

Well tbf it did we scored 2 tries soooo

 

[AngloScotsHybrid]

One thing that hurts Leinster (and Ireland) in the big games is their insistence on always kicking to the corner rather than at goal. I like to see tries as much as anybody but in semis and finals you have to take the easy points.

 

[dirty harry]

Don't think Toulouse and Bordeaux are better than Leinster at anything but running up a score against weaker sides. Imagine there'll be next to nothing in any potential final involving those three.

This is a very good point, especially in the case of Bordeaux. That backline is just ludicrous, but theirnlastb3bgames were pretty tight affairs, low scoring arm wrestles at Toulon, Castres and Montpellier I think.

Their last 2 losses were away to La Rochelle, and Cleremont?

And they've already beaten Tolouse in Tolouse.

I don't think you can right them off, they aren't just an up and coming team, those names are performing on the world stage, not just high flying in the league

 

[Stade Rochelais]

I will follow the European Cup less and less.
South African clubs have unbalanced and brought down this competition because they needed time to adapt and besides, the best South African players play in Japan.
I don't give a damn about Investec, the ERC must make a sine qua non decision, the contract must be cancelled and they must be sent back to Super Rugby.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I'm guessing La Rochelle lost this weekend?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I'm guessing La Rochelle lost this weekend?

Send the Italians to super rugby.

 

[munstermuffin]

It is a fairly stupid set up. Toulouse are a 5th seed despite getting the 2nd highest amount of points and winning 4/4.
La Rochelle are at home to Munster yet La Rochelle got 11 points and Munster got 12.
Munster scored more tries and had better PD.

The South African teams don't have any interest and alot is because even if they get a home draw later in the tournament it is in Europe and they dislike that.
But the format is terrible and wrong.

 

[dirty harry]

A few years ago, when the Heineken cup was at its peak, each HK weekend was exciting with history and heritage...

A news article broke, about the 'unfairness' of the HK, and a couple happened.

I complained then, that this would end poorly for all but 1 league, and would be the end of European rugby.

Now here we are, a decade on, the Top 14, with their extra 14m per year, compared to the welsh regions 60k per year each (first year numbers), have developed star studded squads of SH talent, a number of English clubs have gone under, the Welsh regions are clinging on to dear life, and 1/3 leagues have become reliant on SA money, and the European champions cup (not generic name at all lol) has become an unworkable uninteresting shadow of its former self.

I'm not claiming all these issues are the fault of the power grab, but it could be argued that the pro 12 wouldn't have been so desperate to negotiate entry to SA teams, and the old HK would have gone from strength to strength had it not happened.

I have no interest in watching Cardiff play any SA team in the league, or even any SA team in Europe (even if they are worth 50% of our season wins lol).
Similarly I have no interest in watching Munster win the league in SA, or watch monster teams of European heritage like Sarries, Toulouse, Leicester etc play in Capetown. And this is the pinnacle of SA involvement, so imagine how much I care to watch them lose by 60+ in France last weekend (twice I think).

Ultimately, the powers that be are killing rugby, European, URC, community, junior even internationals, it's all becoming less interesting as it becomes more commercially viable (barely).

The final step is SA definately not joining the 6N, and when that definately doesn't happen, I'll be out I think, it'll be local only for me.