Champions Cup 2024 / 25 - Round of 16

[TRF_Olyy]

Happy with that performance tbf, benches told and we couldn't get anything going in that final quarter
Scoreline doesn't really tell the whole story, I think, but they were huge in that final half hour so maybe does tell the story after all

Considering all the media about Jack Willis during/since the 6N he was outplayed by Burry, and was being outplayed by Turry before he broke his hand (I think?) - he shouldn't be making the lions tour, especially if he's missing the first few weeks

 

[Lé Ddanno]

Considering all the media about Jack Willis during/since the 6N he was outplayed by Burry, and was being outplayed by Turry before he broke his hand (I think?) - he shouldn't be making the lions tour, especially if he's missing the first few weeks

Comms were really getting on my ***s banging on and on about Willis for the Lions

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

Toulouse hung on by a thread there

Thank you thank you, you were too kind

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Comms were really getting on my ***s banging on and on about Willis for the Lions

If it was in a position where we didn't have any standout options then I'd get it but back row (openside specifically) is comfortably the most stacked position we have right now.

 

[Becca]

Oh bad luck Sale. That was a really good performance, especially after all that faffing around !

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Didn't watch any of it, but a sobering weekend for the English clubs. Even if Sale were quite gutsy it didn't really seem like they were ever really likely to win.

Interview with CCS on Saturday in which he said they were basically playing Ireland plus Barrett and Snyman. Kind of summed it up.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Not really sobering, every home team but one won. It's kinda what's expected.
Last year we had two in the semi finals, people are so dramatic I swear.

The most sobering thing is that this England resting period is dumb imo, it shouldn't be mandated within 3 weeks but just till end of season IMO.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Not really sobering, every home team but one won. It's kinda what's expected.
Last year we had two in the semi finals, people are so dramatic I swear.

The most sobering thing is that this England resting period is dumb imo, it shouldn't be mandated within 3 weeks but just till end of season IMO.

Only upset was the 9th seed beating the 8th and that 8th seed are on a losing streak stretching back since before the last round of European games.

R of 16 is a scam.

This weekend looks like it should have some good games at least, **** all away fans though...

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Only upset was the 9th seed beating the 8th and that 8th seed are on a losing streak stretching back since before the last round of European games.

R of 16 is a scam.

This weekend looks like it should have some good games at least, **** all away fans though...

Yeah exactly. Especially with the Prem down to 10 teams why not stick to the 20 teams in the Champions cup
5 Prem
7 from Top 14
8 from URC

and just have the quarters. Then if the prem grows to like 14 look at making some adjustments or something.

Make the Challenge cup 24 teams by adding the top 4 teams from the Super league or something

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Not really sobering, every home team but one won. It's kinda what's expected.
Last year we had two in the semi finals, people are so dramatic I swear.

The most sobering thing is that this England resting period is dumb imo, it shouldn't be mandated within 3 weeks but just till end of season IMO.

Agree on the stand down point.

It was the margins of defeat that were sobering, not necessarily the results themselves. Although something's wrong if everyone's resigned to a home draw being pretty much a gimme.

True that we did have 2 semi finalists last year. But in the 3 iterations before that only Exeter reached the semis where they were pretty easily dispatched. Last year looks, and still does, anomalous. It's a stretch to see an English club winning it in the foreseeable.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Why is it only the Premiership that gets people talking like this?

The last time a non-Leinster URC side made a Champions Cup semi-final was 2019 - there have been 4 different prem sides in the semis since then
Since the last time a URC side won the comp two different Prem sides have

 

[BPM]

TBH, I think the Quins and Saracens scores have mostly created the narrative.

Saracens were open about the fact they were not prioritising the competition but Quins were an absolute embarrassment.

Looking at how Sale and Ulster took the game to superior opposition really puts how bad that result is into stark relief.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Why is it only the Premiership that gets people talking like this?

The last time a non-Leinster URC side made a Champions Cup semi-final was 2019 - there have been 4 different prem sides in the semis since then
Since the last time a URC side won the comp two different Prem sides have

Because I'm an English fan and want to see the English clubs doing well. I don't give a monkey's about URC, although whether Leinster's set up is healthy for anyone apart from themselves is a whole different question.

France is the other purely club based league. In the last 4 iterations they've had 4 separate teams in semis, a couple on multiple occasions.

The odds are probably stacked against our teams a bit. But I at least want our teams to be properly and regularly competitive. For the most part this weekend they weren't.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Why is it only the Premiership that gets people talking like this?

The last time a non-Leinster URC side made a Champions Cup semi-final was 2019 - there have been 4 different prem sides in the semis since then
Since the last time a URC side won the comp two different Prem sides have

The URC teams, Leinster aside, were rinsed last year in the round of 16 and QFs after shipping big losses.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Because I'm an English fan and want to see the English clubs doing well.

and we're doing about as well as to be expected, I don't get the doom and gloom - it's not just you, it's rife on social media/reddit

The URC teams, Leinster aside, were rinsed last year in the round of 16 and QFs after shipping big losses.

yeah that's cause you're **** though

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

English sports in general love to hate on themselves

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

yeah that's cause you're **** though

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

TBH, I think the Quins and Saracens scores have mostly created the narrative.

Saracens were open about the fact they were not prioritising the competition but Quins were an absolute embarrassment.

Mostly.

But Tigers also had more than 40 put on them and ended up more than 3 scores adrift. From everything I've read it all seems to have been fairly straightforward for Glasgow.

Toulouse are different gravy and it sounds like Sale acquitted themselves very well. But at the end of the day they were overpowered by the depth of the Toulouse squad and also finished more than 3 scores adrift. It's an 80 minute, 23 man game. But Sale did a lot better than I expected.

You can't tell the whole story of a game from the scoreboard. But 20+ point margins are fairly definitive and the 4 English teams who lost all suffered at least that.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Mostly.

But Tigers also had more than 40 put on them and ended up more than 3 scores adrift. From everything I've read it all seems to have been fairly straightforward for Glasgow.

Toulouse are different gravy and it sounds like Sale acquitted themselves very well. But at the end of the day they were overpowered by the depth of the Toulouse squad and also finished more than 3 scores adrift. It's an 80 minute, 23 man game. But Sale did a lot better than I expected.

You can't tell the whole story of a game from the scoreboard. But 20+ point margins are fairly definitive and the 4 English teams who lost all suffered at least that.

I mean the 4 English clubs played the top 2 of the top 14 and URC

And the 4 English teams are all fighting it out for a play off in the prem

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Yeah, France are way ahead so whichever of the URC* or prems top 4 are weaker on any given year are going to look very weak. Glasgow finally showing up in Europe and La Rochelle being abject are the only real differences from last year.

Bookies having the semi finals odds on to be what they also had it last season before Quins shock win over UBB says a lot.

*Leinster excl.