CHAMPIONS CUP REVIEW: Massive weekend sets up Glasgow v Leinster showdown

Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith has performed wonders with the Scottish side since taking over as coach two seasons ago but now faces one of his toughest battles when his side face Irish juggernauts Leinster in their Investec Champions Cup quarterfinal in Dublin on Friday night.

The defending URC champions have achieved a great deal under the former Springbok assistant coach, but Saturday’s game will test his team’s desire to be seen as one of the European giants with one of the toughest games in the last eight.

Leinster smashed English side Harlequins 62-0 in an exceptional performance of power and pace, and clearly answered their own question about what impact leaving their top players at home to prepare for the game, and not tour South Africa would have on their Champions’ Cup exploits.

The Irish side has lost only one game in their URC campaign and while their last few seasons have ended in disappointments in both tournaments, this year they seem to have an edge that few will be able to stop.

ATTACKING FORCE

Which brings us back to Smith, who has crafted Glasgow into an attacking force that won’t stand back for anyone, and this weekend could easily be seen as a prelude to a possible URC final given these are the top two sides in the URC at the moment.

Smith sounded a warning of his own after his side dispatched of a strong Leicester Tigers side this weekend that his team can still improve and will be better this weekend in their clash at the Aviva Stadium.

“I’m obviously delighted with the result and some good rugby played but we did leave some points out there,” Smith said after his side’s win over the Tigers.

“I think we weren’t as clinical as we may have been in the first half against the Lions a couple of weeks ago. So that is what excites me. I think we can still improve on our current performance.

“I think we came out and applied some good pressure from the restart. Our set-piece functioned. But we made full use of some of the opportunities, which obviously extended the points difference on the scoreboard and created a bit of pressure on them.

“A lot of the hard work was done in the first half, where we kept on staying in the 22 and just breaking it down.”

BIG SHOWDOWN

The big showdown aside, the weekend showed that the giants of the Champions’ Cup still are a way ahead of the chasing pack with some big scorelines across the tournament.

The biggest shock of the weekend came from Munster, who put in a gutsy performance away from home to earn themselves a famous one point victory over Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle, knocking the 2021/2 and 2022/3 champions out of the competition.

Former Sharks winger Thaakir Abrahams was sensational in setting up one of Munster’s tries from a counter-attack, but there were exceptional performances across the board for the Limerick side.

There was heartbreak for Italian side Benetton as they went down 39-37 to Castres thanks to a last minute try from Jeremy Fernandez that sent the crowd into rapture, and stopped what would have been a major upset as well.

GIANTS POST DOMINATING WINS

The big guns, however, may have stumbled, but they regained their composure in time for some dominating wins by the final whistle.

Bordeaux-Begles struggled to contain a game Ulster side, but still put up 43 points to win at home and march on while Saracens went up 27-5 in the first half against Toulon before the French giant roared back and won 72-42 in an incredible second half.

English champions Northampton Saints continued their march with a 22 point win over Clermont and Sale Sharks initially stunned defending champions Toulouse to lead at halftime, but also were overwhelmed in the second half as they were held scoreless and Toulouse went on to post a dominating 38-15 win.

Toulouse will have to travel to Toulon this weekend in a massive game on Sunday, while Munster will hope to continue their giant-killing quest as they travel to Bordeaux on Saturday.

The other quarterfinal clash will see Northampton host Castres on Saturday night.

RESULTS

Northampton Saints 46 Clermont Auvergne 24

RC Toulon 72 Saracens 42

Leinster 62 Harlequins 0

Castres Olympique 39 Benetton Treviso 37

Stade Rochelais 24 Munster 25

Glasgow Warriors 43 Leicester Tigers 19

Bordeaux-Begles 43 Ulster 31

Stade Toulousain 38 Sale Sharks 15

QUARTERFINALS

(Pool stage rankings in brackets)