The success of the new format for the Investec Champions Cup can be illustrated by the fact that the final round of the four-stage pool phase has been reached and there isn’t a so-called dead rubber among the 12 that will be played over the weekend.
From the opening game between Glasgow Warriors and Toulon at the Scotstoun on Friday night through to the clash between Exeter Chiefs and Bayonne that closes off the final round on Sunday evening, there is something on the line for everyone. Most of those listing near the bottom of the four pools can still make it into the top four which signifies a round of 16 qualification, and those that don’t have a chance of dropping into the business end of the EPCR Champions Cup by finishing fifth.
There are several battles within a battle taking place on many fronts, with the top teams looking to stay there so that they can be assured of home-ground advantage in the round of 16 and beyond. Others are looking to keep their hopes of glory in the elite European competition alive by making the cut, even if it does mean they have the huge disadvantage of having to travel in the first playoff round.
There’s plenty of jeopardy for some bit teams too though, and La Rochelle’s big win over Leicester Tigers hasn’t quite put them out of the woods as they battle for a top-four spot in Pool 4. They managed to deal with the Tigers easily, but that was on their home ground. They might find it tougher away to Sale Sharks in their mid-afternoon game on Sunday, although on last week’s evidence, there will be few betting on a home team win.
Sale did manage to keep their own hopes of survival alive when they grabbed a losing bonus point with a late try against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town last week, and it means that even the Stormers, currently second in the pool, can drop out of it if the weekend games go against them and the Sale/La Rochelle game ends with an unlikely five/two split in log points, meaning that Sale win and score four tries and La Rochelle lose by less seven and score four tries.
Unlikely? Yes, it certainly is. Impossible? Definitely not. Of course, that will mean the Stormers have to lose to Stade Francais without getting a bonus point, and the Cape team may be helped by the fact their opponents are one of the few teams this weekend who might feel they don’t have much to play for.
This means that Stade does appear to be focusing more on the French league, the Top 14, where they are well placed, and you have to question whether Stade will have as much interest in the Challenge Cup, which they will reach if Sale loses and Stade win with a bonus point, as some other teams in their position might.
Is it better to have the European weekends free to freshen up for league play than to play for the Challenge Cup? That will depend on how much the secondary trophy, with the final to be played on Friday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the Champions Cup final on Saturday at the same venue, means to those involved.
The Stormers have certainly not been ambiguous about their intentions this week. They know their passage to the next round is fairly secure due to the two teams that can upset that quest playing each other this weekend, but they want second place and home-ground advantage in the round of 16.
This is why coach John Dobson has taken a full-strength team to France. The Vodacom Bulls, third in Pool 1 but within touching distance of second and likely to clinch home advantage for the round of 16 if they beat Bordeaux Begles at Loftus and Saracens do the same at home to Lyon, have let their Springboks take their mandatory leave now.
But Willie le Roux, a World Cup double winner, is taking his leave in two batches, so it will only really be Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Marco van Staden missing when the Bulls clash with one of the form teams in Europe in the mid-afternoon heat at altitude on Saturday afternoon.
If the Bulls do win against Bordeaux they will wait a few hours until the Saracens/Lyon game before learning of their fate. Not that they have to worry about the travel if that is what they have to do, as the next round of the Champions Cup is well over two months away.
With so much on the line, it is hard to decide which of the games outside of the two involving South African teams should most grab the attention of South African viewers, but Leinster’s visit to Welford Road to play the Leicester Tigers should be right up there. Leinster and the Tigers have a rich tradition of rivalry so there shouldn’t be any question of Leinster, who haven’t been beaten in Pool play in this competition for a few years now, reducing their level of intensity.
And even if they didn’t have their rich rivalry, Leinster will be looking for as high a ranking as possible, meaning they will want to get as many log points as possible, for when the play-off fixtures are determined. The final is not set for their home patch, like it was last season, but they will want to be at home until the semifinals at least.
That is a different challenge though to the one faced by two fellow Vodacom United Rugby Championship front-runners. The URC champions Munster and Glasgow Warriors are third and fourth respectively in Pool 3 and need to win their last games to be sure they advance.
They are both at home, with Munster following up their fine away win against Toulon by hosting the in-form Northampton Saints on Saturday while Glasgow will be wary of a potential Toulon backlash at the Scotstoun on Friday.
Another big URC team, Ulster, travel to London to face Harlequins in their quest to safeguard their current fourth position from the threat posed by Racing 92. The French side, which of course features Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, is an example of how teams that have struggled have remained in the fight - they’ve lost all three games so far but their three bonus points put them just two points behind Ulster and in with a good chance of advancing if they beat Cardiff and Ulster, with Steven Kitshoff a star player, trip up at The Stoop.
Even Cardiff though, with two points, has a chance of advancing, and that’s the beauty of the current Champions Cup format.
In the Challenge Cup, all three South African teams are well-placed to advance to the next round and there should be some focus on the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ quest to secure their first back-to-back triumphs of the season so far when they play the Dragons in Newport on Sunday night.
Weekend Investec Champions Cup fixtures
Friday
Glasgow Warriors v Toulon (Glasgow, 22:00)
Connacht v Bristol Bears (Galway, 22:00)
Saturday
Vodacom Bulls v Bordeaux Begles (Pretoria, 15:00)
Harlequins v Ulster (London, 15:00)
Racing 92 v Cardiff Rugby (Paris, 17:15)
Leicester Tigers v Leinster (Leicester, 17:15)
Munster v Northampton Saints (Limerick, 19:30)
Stade Francais v DHL Stormers (Paris, 19:30)
Saracens v Lyon (Watford, 22:00)
Sunday
Sale Sharks v La Rochelle (Manchester, 15:00)
Toulouse v Bath (Toulouse, 17:15)
Bayonne v Exeter Chiefs (Bayonne, 19:30)
EPCR Champions Cup
Friday
Scarlets v Edinburgh (22:00 )
Gloucester v Castres (22:00)
Saturday
Pau v Zebre (15:00)
Black Lion v Clermont Auvergne (15:00)
Oyonnax v Toyota Cheetahs (17:15)
Benetton v Montpellier (17:15)
Sunday
Emirates Lions v Ospreys (15:00)
Perpignan v Newcastle Falcons (15:00)
Dragons v Hollywoodbets Sharks (19:30)
