Heineken Cup 2013/14

[JSRF10]

Great win for Leinster, bloody Foxtel recording didn't work so going to have to wait till the replay later on before I can comment anymore.

Disasterous result for Munster, Edinburgh would have been targetted for a banker of 9 points. They are going to have to win the remainder of their games to get a home quarter final, but I'd imagine they'll just be targeting qualification.

 

[JSRF10]

Superb performances Leinster by Cronin, SOB and Heaslip. Encouraging Heineken debut by Moore and Macken, hoping both get another run out next week. Leinsters breakdown work is just manic, if Plumtree and Schmidt can get Ireland playing in that matter we'll be in a good position for an assault on the 6 Nations title

 

[the plastic paddy]

Pitiful from Munster.

The Edinburgh pitch was a complete disgrace which really needs addressing by the authorities especially as it led to an injury to a player. I have no problem with a wet pitch if it has been pissing with rain but to be watering the ground and for it to churn up like the fields of Passcendale is not acceptable. Should think the insurers will be asking questions if Zebo is badly damaged.

That said though, it wasn't the reason Munster lost, we lacked all direction in the midfield, Earls has to play 13 with Laulala moving to 12, if he won't move then he should be out the door.

The line out was an absolute train crash, don't know why Mick Sherry completely lost the plot, he seemed to get a bang to the head early on which might explain why he seemed to be in a parallel universe to anything we have seen from him ever. On a few occasions he threw to the wrong place, let alone underthrew. It really was a bizarre display from the fella.

Murray was not bad for Munster but Laidlaw was excellent for the posh jocks, quite excellent!!!! Have to win the next five games now. Pleased for Leinster, a cracking result. Annoyed with myself for not having a couple of quid on the Scarlets, our league is so far ahead of the English rubbish it beggar belief.

 

[Bardon]

What a day in the HEC. 2 games with 10 tries each.

First up Exeter scored 6 tries beating Cardiff 44-29. Exeter had their bonus point for 4 tries wrapped up within 30 minutes. They had the game won at half time being up 36-3. That didn't stop Cardiff going over 4 times themselves in the 2nd half and grabbing a bonus point for themselves.

In the first half Exeter blew away a Cardiff team full of Lions with their physicality and how quick they moved the ball. With Glasgow away next week they'll have to reproduce that first half performance for 80 minutes and keep the pressure up on Toulon. Cardiff host Toulon next week and they'll be looking to make a better start at home than they did today. A loss next week would see them effectively out of the competition after 2 rounds.

Then we had defending champions Toulon against the leaders of the Pro12 Glasgow. Toulon started at a frenetic pace and just blew Glasgow away in the first half.

They too secured their bonus point win before half time and went in 34-0 up. In the 2nd half Glasgow responded and scored 4 tries themselves, including 2 scored from Van der Merwe. The final score was 51-28 and Toulon ended up with 6 tries including 2 each for Giteau and Mermoz.

Again Glasgow are showing they find it difficult to carry their Pro12 form into the HEC. Toulon will be very happy about their start to their defence of the title. The only negative for them will be that Wilkinson had to go off with a hand injury. But if any squad can cope with injuries it's Toulon.

Overall it's been a great start to this year's HEC and I can't wait for next week's games.

 

[JSRF10]

Racing Metro also beat Clermont overnight, 13-9 was the final score. Decent result for both teams I imagine Clermont will be content with a bonus point.

Cardiff really are an enigma, on paper they have a lot of decent players but it seems as soon as they get called up for Wales they start look half arsed in the day job. There must be a serious culture problem in that team.

 

[aeneas]

Bad luck you Munster supporters. Your team was much much better than the Edinburgh bunch. NH goal kickers will make you pay though, Laidlaw was sensational. The scottie guys need to get Visser involved a whole lot more (much like Folau actually) as he is a beast.

And just how old is Paul O'Connell? 36??

I hope Zebo is ok.... I was surprised that the ref didnt blow that ruck up that formed over his injury.

The Ulster / Leiscter game was a cracker as well. When Pienaar came on at half back he drove the Ulster men around the park brilliantly. Jarrod Payne was excellent for Ulster, he was a huge loss to NZ rugby.

I was a little surprised that lesiceter seemed so happy to just lose by 7 and get 1 point rather than try for a win as they seemed to be the better side in the last 10.


Scarlets / Quins game. The scarlets deserved their win but Nick Evans is an absolute genius. Geez what I would give to see him available for the All Blacks. Mike Brown was awesome at fullback for the quins as well.

Anyone see the classic hat the fat scarlets supporter had? A white hard hat with goal posts on top of it.

 

[aeneas]

Good grief that Toulon side is stacked. I'll be amazed if they lose.

Heres their lineup from the weekend:
Delon Armitage; Josua Tuisova, Maxime Mermoz, Matthew Giteau, David Smith; Jonny Wilkinson (c), Michael Claassens; Emmanuel Felsina, Jean-Charles Orioli, Martin Castrogiovanni, Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Joe van Niekerk, Chris Masoe
Replacements: Benjamin Noirot, Xavier Chiocci, Carl Hayman, Steffon Armitage, Mathieu Bastareaud, Drew Mitchell, Frederic Michalak, Danie Rossouw

And Byran Habanna is to go into this side.

 

[KevinO]

Good grief that Toulon side is stacked. I'll be amazed if they lose.

Heres their lineup from the weekend:
Delon Armitage; Josua Tuisova, Maxime Mermoz, Matthew Giteau, David Smith; Jonny Wilkinson (c), Michael Claassens; Emmanuel Felsina, Jean-Charles Orioli, Martin Castrogiovanni, Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Joe van Niekerk, Chris Masoe
Replacements: Benjamin Noirot, Xavier Chiocci, Carl Hayman, Steffon Armitage, Mathieu Bastareaud, Drew Mitchell, Frederic Michalak, Danie Rossouw

And Byran Habanna is to go into this side.

They are a great side on paper, does not mean they are a great side on the field. Really should change their name to the Barbarians shouldn't they.

Still can't believe Munster threw that game away on Saturday night, Earls has to play 13. Being wasted on the wing as himself and Zebo never really got a great deal of quality ball.

 

[JSRF10]

Full list of this weekends Heineken Cup games:

DateLocal TimeStg HomeScoreAway VenueTV/Attend
18/10/2013 19:45 P3 Saracens v Toulouse Wembley Stadium Sky Sports, Canal + Sport, Sky Italia Preview
18/10/2013 20:00 P5 Leicester Tigers v Benetton Treviso Welford Road Sky Sports Preview
19/10/2013 13:35 P2 Cardiff Blues v Toulon Cardiff Arms Park Sky Sports, Canal + More
19/10/2013 14:35 P3 Zebre v Connacht Rugby Stadio XXV Aprile Sky Italia, Sky Sports Preview
19/10/2013 15:40 P1 Leinster Rugby v Castres Olympique RDS Sky Sports, Sport + Preview
19/10/2013 16:40 P5 Montpellier v Ulster Rugby Stade Yves-du-Manoir (Montpellier) France 2, Sky Sports Preview
19/10/2013 18:00 P4 Scarlets v Racing Métro 92 Parc y Scarlets Sky Sports, Sport + More
19/10/2013 18:00 P6 Munster Rugby v Gloucester Rugby Thomond Park Sky Sports, Sky Italia Preview
20/10/2013 12:45 P1 Northampton Saints v Ospreys Franklin's Gardens Sky Sports More
20/10/2013 13:45 P6 Perpignan v Edinburgh Rugby Stade Aimé Giral Sport +, Sky Sports More
20/10/2013 14:00 P2 Glasgow Warriors v Exeter Chiefs Scotstoun Stadium More
20/10/2013 16:00 P4 ASM Clermont Auvergne v Harlequins Stade Marcel Michelin France 2, Sky Sports, Sky Italia More

Must win games this weekend for Munster, Northampton, Ospreys, Glasgow and Harlequins. A loss for any of these teams probably puts them out of qualification contention, even a draw would be a huge blow to both teams in the Northampton Ospreys game.

 

[Bardon]

Really enjoyed Saracens v Toulouse. Not a try fest like some of last week's games, but two excellent, in form, packs going head to head. Toulouse bossed the scrum but Saracens had a similar advantage in the lineout.

Saracens were also very competitive at the breakdown, where they've been blown away in important games in Europe in recent years.

The game started with Toulouse trying to attack from everywhere, often when it wasn't on. Some very sloppy play and over ambition lead to a lot of mistakes from Toulouse with ball in hand.

One of the guilty men, McAllister, also had a bit of a nightmare from the tee. He missed 2 tough penalites before putting a gimme wide from in front of the posts. He then had to come off with an injury and Doussain switched to flyhalf.

A turnover from sloppy Toulouse play led to the 1st try with Ashton and Wyles combining and from the return pass Wyles went over. Toulouse hit back with a very powerful driving maul leading to a try for Tolofua. 2 penalties from Farrell saw Sarries go in 13-7 up at half time.

They then stretched that out to 16-7 in the 2nd half and looked like they were going to deny Toulouse a losing bonus point. But Toulouse held them out and then unleashed their powerful bench and came back into it. They started to play in Sarries half and their pressure lead to a penalty to put them within striking distance.

An excellent strip from Doussain was followed by an great break and kick from Huget. Huget then had the pace to get to the denfender and push him back over his own line. From the resulting scrum Toulouse got a good wheel and Picamoles managed to get the ball on the line for the try. The conversion made it 17-16 to Toulouse.

Saracens then had three chances to win the game in the last 5 minutes. First a piece of stupidity from captain Fritz in throwing the ball away lead to Nigel Owens marching a Sarries penalty 10 metres forward. Then from 55 metres out Farrell almost got it, his kick just going under the bar.

From another penalty Sarries kicked for the lineout in the Toulouse 22. They went for the catch and drive, but good defence from Toulouse resulted in a turnover.

With the game almost over Sarries had a scrum, from the same place Farrell almost put it over, Sarries tried a couple of times to win a penalty. But Nigel Owens was wise to it and warned them that he penalise anyone trying to win a penalty.

Sarries then moved the ball and managed to drive upfield. They set up a drop goal chance for Goode but it was touched in flight and fell short. Toulouse kicked it out and got their first away win in 8 games.

Definitely advantage Toulouse in this group. Saracens should still qualify for the Quarter Finals.

In the other game tonight Leicester got their 4th try for the bonus point right at the death against Treviso, winning 34-3. Treviso might give them a game in the return fixture but they've a few years to go before they're competitive away in Europe.

 

[JSRF10]

Always nice to see Globo Gym fall short in yet another one of their corporate trips to Wembley.

 

[Bardon]

Sarries also set a record for a pool game in the UK with a crowd of over 61,000. Whatever the English clubs think of the HEC, it's still extremely popular with the English fans.

 

[aeneas]

What cynical performance that was from Toulouse. They couldn't be bothered playing for 60 minutes, decided to play as a team for about 15 minutes to get their noses in front and then shut up shop again. A pity Saracens couldn't get their drop goal over.

McAllister displayed all qualities that made him so frustrating for NZ fans. Trying too much in his own half, attempting stupid kicks at goal from beyond half way rather than getting his huge pack in positions to score and giving hospital passes a vintage performance from him.

Sorry Bardon but I don't think that that was a good match as Toulouse could of won and should have won that by 30. Love your write up though!

 

[FingalRaven]

Good grief that Toulon side is stacked. I'll be amazed if they lose.

Heres their lineup from the weekend:
Delon Armitage; Josua Tuisova, Maxime Mermoz, Matthew Giteau, David Smith; Jonny Wilkinson (c), Michael Claassens; Emmanuel Felsina, Jean-Charles Orioli, Martin Castrogiovanni, Bakkies Botha, Ali Williams, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Joe van Niekerk, Chris Masoe
Replacements: Benjamin Noirot, Xavier Chiocci, Carl Hayman, Steffon Armitage, Mathieu Bastareaud, Drew Mitchell, Frederic Michalak, Danie Rossouw

And Byran Habanna is to go into this side.

Cardiff Blues 19- 15 Toulon, So be amazed!

 

[aeneas]

Cardiff Blues 19- 15 Toulon, So be amazed!

Well done the pinks! You score the only try you deserve to win.

One of the Cardiff backs looks like prince harry and has a hell of boot on him.

Halfpenny has got increasingly influential as the game has go on.

Couple of questions:

Why are they in pink?

Why do they play in that dump and not in the park across the road?

 

[aeneas]

Well that was eventually a good win for Leinster this morning 19-7 over casters . Leinster dominated the game for the first 20 before the French side finally worked out that they had by far and away the more dominant scrum. The game turned in their favour for the next 40 minutes though they were unable to take the lead.

After a Leinster break that resulted in a no arms tackle and a penalty the French side perhaps more crucially replaced their scrum half. Leinster scored a try with the man advantage and then the replacement scrum half depowered his own scrum by not feeding a single scrum straight for the rest of the match. To be fair the rest of his match as the ref got sick of the not straight nonsense and yellow carded him.

As an observation jimmy goppereth looked very poor when Leinster was under pressure. I can't believe that he can be the answer for them. Plus scrum chaos which they will need to resolve if they want to go further I imagine.

 

[FingalRaven]

Well done the pinks! You score the only try you deserve to win.

One of the Cardiff backs looks like prince harry and has a hell of boot on him.

Halfpenny has got increasingly influential as the game has go on.

Couple of questions:

Why are they in pink?

Why do they play in that dump and not in the park across the road?

I am not a Cardiff Blues fan but will have a stab at your questions.

Q1. Marketing gimmick, it's the Cardiff Blues European strip, they play in Blue for the Rabo. I think it started a couple of years back as a Breast Cancer awareness campaign and the marketing people at Cardiff ran with it ever since when they noticed their was a demand for pink jerseys and merchandise when the campaign ended. Pink apparently is one of the rarest colours to appear on sports jerseys so it's quite unique. Just look at the sales Harlequins gets for it's unique strip around the world from jersey collectors.

Stade Francais you might remember were one of the first to exploit the pink jersey but took it too far with this abomination

Q2. They can't get a decent crowd to fill it in the pool stages. Don't forget that the Blues lost to Zebre this year which was Zebre first win ever in the Rabo.

 

[JSRF10]

Gopperth was pretty average for Leinster today, not sure why he got 80 minutes t 10. I would have had Madigan on at half time to try and ignite the Leinster attack which looked very poor yet again this season. They aren't going to win this tournament relying on their D.

Good wins for Munster and Ulster as well. Munster will need 5 points as an absolute minimum from their doubl header against Perpignan but I'm fairly certain that they have blown any chance for a home quarter final. Ulster are in charge of their group now and they could be looking at being the top qualifier especially with Toulons defeat in Cardiff.

 

[Dai bando]

Cardiff beat Toulon, who would have thought, the pink shirts are selling like mad, also pink cowboy hats, a marketing goldmine,
Skarlets drew with Racing, all in all the French sides haven't had a very good time of it. out of the groups so far 6 are toped by rabo 12 teams

 

[Bairdy]

Perhaps there might be some Welshmen in the finals of the Heineken Cup this season, other than Nigel Owens of course