Leinster were denied a record equalling fifth Heineken Champions Cup trophy in the cruellest fashion when they were beaten off the last move by LaRochelle in last year’s final, but there’s good reason why they should be favoured to make up for that disappointment.
The Irish team has been on an inexorable march through both the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and the Champions Cup, with the pool phase of the latter competition seeing them accumulate 20 points in four games. In other words, that is a full house of five log points, with the four try bonus point, in every game they have played. They were comprehensive winners of Pool A.
LaRochelle have also stayed on course to be Leinster’s biggest obstacle again this season, as they headed Pool B. Even though their games tended to be closer than Leinster’s, and for instance they had to wait until the last move of the game to beat Ulster in the penultimate pool game, those results suggest they still have the knack of winning tight games, which is invariably what the later playoff games tend to be.
But here is why Leinster should be heavily favoured to draw level with Toulouse on five Champions Cup titles - the final this year is set for Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Which means that Leinster are guaranteed home ground advantage in every remaining game they play, something that can’t be said for any other team that got through to the round of 16.
Leinster’s impressive form is one reason why the Champions Cup has been a great advert for the URC, but it doesn’t end there. Of the 16 teams remaining in the competition, eight compete in the URC. That means a 50 per cent representation from a competition that only provides a third of the participants, the others being the French Top 14 and the Gallagher Premiership.
OSPREYS AND EDINBURGH ARE REVELATIONS
The three South African teams all advanced to the round of 16 at the first time of trying, but it was some of the overseas teams that provided the big surprise. None more so than the Ospreys, who for the first time in many years have managed to get out of the pool phase. And that during a season where they are still in the lower third on the URC log.
The extent of the Ospreys achievement can be measured by the fact that along the way to qualifying for the next round, they beat the champions of both France and England. Indeed, they beat the French champions, Montpellier, twice, both home and away. They edged out English champions Leicester Tigers by one point this past weekend, with the significant aspect of that result being that it was away at Welford Road.
Edinburgh have also been styling in the Champions Cup while not necessarily enjoying a particularly successful URC season. They ended fifth in Pool A, but only missed out on the top four position that would have clinched them home ground advantage in the single round last 16 stage because of an inferior points difference to the Cell C Sharks and Saracens, who also ended with 15 log points and ended third and fourth respectively.
It means the Sharks get to play at home against fellow URC team Munster, while Edinburgh are travelling to Leicester Tigers. After what Ospreys did to Leicester in the final pool game, and given the form Edinburgh have been in, you wouldn’t necessarily bet against them advancing to the quarterfinals.
URC TEAMS NEAR THE TOP
There are two URC teams in the top two at the end of the group stage in Pool A, while the Stormers were third in Pool B. The Ospreys finished fifth in Pool B with Munster sixth, while Ulster, under pressure for so much of the season, managed to squeak into the round of 16 by avenging their first round defeat to Sale Sharks with a good win at home at the Kingspan this past weekend.
Given that Ulster took champions LaRochelle to the final move of the game in their previous match, and it was away at a particularly intimidating venue, it can now be argued that the men from Belfast have turned the corner and are picking up some momentum. The URC champions, the Stormers, will have that in mind when the visit the Kingspan for a crucial top of the table URC game on Friday night.
The success of the likes of Edinburgh and the Ospreys begs a question - has the South African inclusion in the URC already started to have the effect of improving the quality of competition to the point it makes the URC teams more formidable in Europe? It is a fair question to ponder, notwithstanding the appearance that some of the French sides, very aware of the perils presented by the two team relegation format in the Top 14, could be holding back at this point of the competition.
FRENCH SUCCESS STORIES STILL IN THE COMPETITION
Only three French teams made it to the round of 16 - Toulouse, LaRochelle and Montpellier - as against five English teams. It is interesting to note though that the recent French success stories are all through.
The situation in the Challenge Cup is equally as positive for the URC, with the South African entrants from the URC, the Emirates Lions, being joined by Scarlets, Benetton, Connacht, Glasgow, the Dragons and Cardiff in the round of 16. That is seven teams, so if you consider that four teams drop out of the Champions Cup to compete in this phase of the Challenge Cup, it is a more than 50 per cent success rate.
Indeed, the only URC team that won’t be playing when round of 16 games are staged in the two competitions is Zebre Parma, who might feel they are represented by the Toyota Cheetahs, the wild cards from South Africa who are using the Zebres’ Parma headquarters as their home base.
Round of 16 Heineken Champions Cup fixtures (to be played 31 March/1 and 2 April, time TBC)
Saracens v Ospreys
Cell C Sharks v Munster
DHL Stormers v Harlequins
Toulouse v Vodacom Bulls
LaRochelle v Gloucester
Leicester Tigers v Edinburgh
Exeter Chiefs v Montpellier
Leinster v Ulster
Challenge Cup round of 16
Toulon v Toyota Cheetahs
Scarlets v Brive
Benetton v Connacht
Glasgow v Dragons
Stade Francais v Lyon
Emirates Lions v Racing 92
Bristol Bears v ASM Clermont Auvergne
Cardiff v Sale Sharks