@@corcaigh What was it ROG said when Munster were put in the group of death of 2008. “If you want to win with Munster you got to win the hard way”. They then won away in the Quarters and Semis followed by beating Toulouse in the final in Cardiff. Never say never haha
As a Saints fan, very grateful to Sale for their victory over Toulon. Rank 3 is so much better than rank 4 this year! Kinda hard on Sale that their reward for that win is an away trip to Toulouse...
3 videos in a day, Tim, that's awesome. You add quantity to your usual quality. Thank you ever so much for your work ! As always, very good analysis and insights. And so much passion in your tone. After a good rugby day, I always go and watch your post games videos to understand some of the things that happened in the games. You very often have comments never heard anywhere else. Plus, you really seem to love French rugby, which is always very pleasant to hear from the "old ennemy". I hope you get your ticket to Marcel Deflandre next spring !
Really appreciate you guiding me thru this comp. Still a little new to it so don't much understand the history or squad rotations etc. Really looking forward to April matches
I'm sorry but Leinster's group was nothing exceptional. La Rochelle is not as good this year (they lost at Benetton Trevise!), Clermont isn't Toulouse or Bordeaux, and Bath and Bristol are both average teams, at best. Yet, Leinster conveniently avoids the best squads until the final. Hilarious.
@@davidwalker2402 Leinster had a very hard group playing the 4 top seeded teams. Bordeaux/Toulouse had an easier group where they did not play each other.
Leinster do that to tigers annually I was at their last game and the crowed were chanting “ we want 60.” Toulouse haven’t been tested they haven’t been pushed this year.
@@Impl0ze93 Top14 is very different from Champion's Cup. Loosing a match here and there is not really important while it's crucial in Champion's Cup. Therefore I agree with ciaranbrk : Toulouse haven't been challenged yet this year. But I would add : the other teams haven't been either. The real stuff begin with knockout stage. Then people can no longer hide. No more calculations, no more bluff, and stuff. Only win matters ! This is the real test.
@@ciaranbrk They have, in the top 14. They would have been tested in the champions had they played UBB, too. The game in SA against the Sharks was supposed to be epic and a real test for Toulouse and it didn't deliver.
@@ciaranbrk Toulouse gets pushed regularly in Top 14 unlike Leinster in the URC. This may explain why Leinster becomes a little nervous when they get pushed in champions cup final
Yeah, will be brilliant, can't wait to see all the half and half scarves. I'd say ROG will let us camp at his place in Ile de Re and let us use his Jacks n'all #legend
@@Matt-m3y-r4u In fairness, Leinster only have that because Toulon messed up at the weekend. If Toulon had won Leinster would have a much tougher route.
@@Matt-m3y-r4u Toulouse and Bordeaux are in the same group because Bordeaux were second seeds in the group having being eliminated in the QF in '24. They also were not drawn to play each other in the group and therefore both scored high points. If they had played eachother then one team would lose 3-5 points or both would lose 4 (a draw). None of this has anything to do with Leinster. Was there any more to your conspiracy theory son?
@@robbiee814Leinster would have Northhampton/Toulon semi instead of a Northhampton/Castres semi. Both in Dublin. Much of a much ness. Northhampton at full strenght are as good as Toulon.
I would love to go to that game but I would have to travel around the world for it. I expect the people of La Rochelle will welcome the Munster faithful with open arms and it will be some weekend. Tim knows best and even he is choosing that as the game to experience
Is this where UBB think they only need to turn up and Ulster do them on a famous run through them, la Rochelle, Toulouse and Leinster? I don't think so either.
As an Ulster fan I can say 100% I’d prefer us in the Challenge Cup, we’ll get embarrassed by Bordeaux and it won’t do our young lads any good at all. Farcical that we are in the round of 16 having been smashed by Toulouse and Bordeaux. 😢
It is testament to how crap this competition format is that we qualify following 3 pumpings and a win. 100% would have preferred a young and developing Ulster team to have had a run in the subsidiary shield. Equally, the URC needs to be an Ulster’s sole focus this year. Top 8 is a financial necessity.
As a Leinster fan I'm happy with the side of the draw we are on but wouldn't get ahead of myself as Glasgow would have no fear coming to Dublin (I'm pretty confident we'll beat Quins handsomely), then if we beat Glasgow it's Northampton most likely again probably in Croke Park who have had the experience playing there already so they will be very confident. All in all Leinster should get to the final again with the squad they have and the run of home games but not convinced we'll beat Toulouse in the Final
@@timslade5808 Quins are better than Glasgow as they showed this weekend. The last time we played Glasgow two years in a knockout match it was what 78-14 or something. Just put Van Der Flier marking Tuiluloto and they have nothing else to offer.
@@eoinh3816 In fairness they are a completely different team from two years ago so we shouldn't think of it as an easy win but I agree we should beat them no excuses
Toulouse had a soft group Leinster beat 1/2 English teams twice winners Rochelle and Claremont 4th in the top 14, Toulouse beat Exeter ulster 2nd team etc.
You're probably right, but Quins on a hard track off the back of a few wins could be dangerous. We'll bring a few fans over and either way it should be fun. (Just waiting for that perfectly timed run of form).
What is it with fans just writing off English sides just for the fact they're English. If Glasgow would have no fear, then quins would absolutely steamroll leinster. Obviously that's not going to happen. Both quins and Glasgow are good sides that could have a shot at beating leinster. It won't happen. Leinster are going to make it to the final and lose it again like they have for the last few years.
Thanks for that Tim. They said on the radio today that Leinster's round of 16 will be in Croke Park, so I'd imagine that means the QF and SF will be there also
I’d say qtr will be at Aviva if they get there. Croke park for last 16 is because Aviva isn’t available no other reason. Although Leinster attendances this year will set some sort of record I reckon.
@@aonghus3860 don't count on it. I believe the Champs Cup flops who drop down to the Challenge Cup have away fixtures no matter how far they progress. Reward for getting pumped 3 from 4 I guess. 😅
As a Welsh man, god am I not looking forward to France in Paris in a fortnight. If some of those French players bring their club form to that game it's going to be horrific for us.
Completely agree. Toulouse and UBB were outrageous this weekend and if Galthie let's his French team play open, I can't see anything other than a French Grand Slam and a cricketscore vs Wales and Italy....
Hope Northampton can go on a bit of a run and have a go at Glasgow or Leinster in the semi-final. They were very close to upsetting Ireland, sorry Leinster, at Croke Park last year.
Leinster are tested this year and their defense is top tier bar the bath game. They Also have a prop that can scrum after getting rid of allatoae for slimani
Bulls beat Leinster in SA, then 5-6 weeks later Ireland beat SA in Durban. Leinster are not Ireland. Well done on repeating a joke that has been utter x 1000s times. Dod you make it up yourself?
At least all the EUROPEAN Champions Cup knockout stages get played in EUROPE this rather year rather than some in AFRICA. How this fiasco is allowed to continue is beyond me. But the URC does what the URC does with European clubs then having to spend a fortune travelling to the Southern Hemisphere to play teams who don't value the competition. The world has gone mad, not saying that travelling around the Southern hemisphere for matches is any better for South Africa. It's almost as mad as Australia being in the Eurovison Song Contest and I wonder what the outrage would be like if the European Champions League invited the Brazilian and Argentian football sides to play.
@ Calling this a EUROPEAN comp is like taking it up the batty and claiming you’re a virgin. Yes, I suppose technically you’re right, but you are playing loose-and-fast with some definitions here (if you will pardon the crude analysis). Think about the amount of players and coaches in Europe, who are from SA or the south hemisphere. LAR? Kerr-Barlow, Leyds, Rhule, Skelton, West. Leinster? Nienaber, Snyman, Barrett, Louwe, Park. Sale Sharks at one point had more SA born players than English! Not to mention the ridiculous amounts of pacific islanders and Argentinians everywhere. “European” rugby has been influenced, supported and affected by SH rugby for decades now. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Sorry, but we are here to stay.
Munsters trip to La Rochelle feels like a pilgrimage for Munster fans to visit Saint ROG (I heard his right boot was recently upgraded to a class 2 relic).
Pollock is such a random pick. You pick two absolute units and then a baby? There are absolutely loads of world class backrowers for england to choose from that are definitely better and more consistent than pollock. He's the future, not the present.
yeah they where poor in the champions cup maybe fatigue and not sending full strength sides because they can only use a player for a certain amount of games a year and their club sides don't have that amount of depth like Leinster etc. But it will change they will eventually adapt
Sharks and bulls were close in fairness, and stormers are just having bad year all round, but the epcr should organise the SA teams' games in mini tours like they do in tje URC It would suit the epcr for the SA teams to go all out for the champions Cup
@mikeyfoley2240sharks and bulls got wrecked in Bordeaux and Castres. The only thing that makes it seem the Bulls were close is because they won easily at home against Stade Français this weekend.
Genuine question which even i hate asking, but what financial benefit is there for Sale to fly a full team out to get pumped away by Toulouse?? Being a Sale fan im confident the team will back themselves, send a full squad and wont get a 80-0 hammering. But it seems like this tie will just cost the club significant money and they are firm firm under dogs.
La Rochelle has an airport, and Ryanair fly there. Nantes is not far away either, and Bordeaux from the other direction, all fairly handy to get there.
Ryanair doesn't fly there in the winter, the service starts only in may, I think. I'm wondering if they're reactive enough to offer something. Nantes and Bordeaux are doable but it's a bit of a hassle. Paris can do, too. The interconnections by train between the western atlantic coastal cities should improve dramatically in the years to come, there are new operators willing to compete with SNCF. The irony is the TGVs are actually built in Alstom's La Rochelle plant.
@Desi365 fair comment, and well appreciated. French rail is a pleasure to use, especially when you're from Ireland. I was in Bordeaux last April, and it's an amazing city and region. I wanted to catch the Bordeaux Top 14 match on Saturday evening, but it was an hour before our flight, so couldn't quite squeeze it in. I saw La Rochelle v Toulon when Wilkinson was playing for them. That was a hell of a match and a great night out. French rugby is awesome 👌
He was working yesterday so didn’t get to do his usual prodigious output. I’m sure he’ll do some sort of detailed round 4 during the week. The man is a machine!
It's tough alright, I feel the young lads will take a heavy blow, but they can't let it linger. Nobody is expecting them to survive that run in, it's horrendous, so they just need to take what they can from it and march on.
I reckon Leinster are going to get their new-found ability to prevent opposition teams playing fully tested from now on. I just wonder if they are going to master a proper attack/Defense balance in their playing style before they face those French Giants?!
I wonder will some leinster people support la Rochelle over munster like some munster lads did when the leinster team played them 😂I will be supporting all irish teams BTW
On like Munster. We Leinster fans support Irish teams. Even do Munster don’t deserve it with the way they reacts to the Leinster games. But we’re not the same as Munster. Best of luck Munster from Leinster fan. Irish is Irish ☘️
I was fairly disappointed yesterday watching Toulon's rather unconvincing performance against Sale. My first thought was: no one can be too optimistic having to possibly take on both Toulouse and then Bordeaux. Well, if I checked correctly, Toulouse's last win at Toulon was in 2015-16. Which means quite a number of consecutive defeats at Stade Mayol for mighty Toulouse. Is there perhaps some wisdom in Toulon's choice of this side of the bracket?
It's getting more and more like football's CL, they almost want to decide the Finalists before the Tourny starts. And I totally disagree with the 2nd chance drop down into the Challenge Cup.
@@benoitsamuel7954you played in the softest group of all groups with ulster Exeter sending out second teams to play you, but now your whining unbelievable 😂
Munster kind of knew they'd be on the road, but you could be in worse places than LA Rochelle. I think Munster fans will fancy that trip. La Rochelle really showed up against Leinster because they targeted it heavily, but then look what Benetton did to them following that. Munster have it in them to do a job here !!!
Ulsterman here bloody gutted tbh. Serve the boys up for a battering in France when could’ve built up some decent experience for them in challenge maybe
Being a Munster supporter is expensive business with all the away games. Would happily pay for the few trips to France if they can pull off repeat miracles.
If La Rochelle and Toulon had won their fairly easy fixtures this weekend they’d have been on Leinsters side of the draw but of course the French think it’s some sort of conspiracy against them . If Toulon had won they’d have had a home semi vs Leinster if they met so they only have themselves to blame. The competition obviously needs to go to 4 pools of 4 teams and then directly into the last 8 but can’t complain about the current system when they had their fate in their own hands .
@@mahasamatman12clearly you French lack reading comprehension. Leinster would have had to play La Rochelle in the quarter and Toulon away in France in the semi final if both won this weekend but they lost to an Italian side and a terrible English side .
I’m French and I 100% agree with everything you’re saying. There is no conspiracy whatsoever. And you’re right with the Toulon / La Rochelle facts. Had they done the job, the draw would have been very different. 16 teams format and quarter final directly would be indeed much better. Big issue is Toulouse and Bordeaux being in the same pool (that should not happen, give some rankings to the teams I don’t know) and therefore Toulouse having easily won their 4 games playing away from the quarter finals onward…. What a terrible format that is. Anyway they’ll play « away » in Toulon and Bordeaux… won’t be too big of a trip. And we’ll very likely have the usual Toulouse - Leinster 50/50 final we’re all looking forward to.
@T2Lam10you’re 100 percent right about there fact there should be way less teams In the competition. I think it should be 4 pools of 4 with the top 2 of each group going through . Yeah the fact Toulouse and Bordeaux are going to meet in the semi is a shame and bad management by the organisers for sure. I was just talking about some people in the comments who were convinced La Rochelle and Toulon didn’t have an easy draw for the knockouts on a plate for them if they had won their games at the weekend.
Hi Tim I'm sure it's been debunked as to why it shouldn't/couldn't work this way but I've been thinking lately of a severely reduced 3 pools of 3 teams format ; each pool would get a team from a different comp, based on the ranking of the last season. For instance : The First of the URC vs Second of the Prem vs Third of Top14 and so on. Pools would be home and away which would make it a 4 weeks pool format, same as now. The extra to this kind of format is that the small finale (probably not an accurate idiom in english. It's the litteral translation from the french "petite finale" which is the encounter between the teams defeated in the Semis) now means you win this otherwise fairly useless encounter to be able to compete in the champions cup the year after. It basically gives another high-stake game at the end of the season for each competition. The knockout stages of the Champions Cup would then go straight to the SemiFinals, with two options Either it's a classic "Winner of every pool + first runner up" Or the challenge cup knockout stages are played a week or two earlier and the Champions Cup knockout stages becomes a "outsider could-win-in-all' narrative with a "Winner of every pool from the Champions Cup + Winner of the Challenge cup" format. This option is appealing, storytelling-wise at least, but I'm not sure it's feasable. It would re-create this notion of a champions cup directly above the other, but reachable nonetheless, even at short term, since any team in the challenge cup could fight its way in a gritty championchip to challenge one of the few teams still in the champions cup knockout stages and even win the whole thing. It's basically a reverse version of what they did this year where they droped clubs from the champions cup to the challenge cup after the pool stages.
Some overall observations. The 3 URC teams knocked out were the the three South African teams, not going to improve the way their participation is regarded. Overall competitive. Only 1 team didn't get a win, which is a sad indictment on Exeters form. Also competitive in the challenge cup, only teams without a win were Newcastle and Zebre. Which is a black mark against them given cheetahs and black lion managed wins. Whilst the pools were competitive individual matches often were not, too many weak teams getting pumped.
The Sharks and Stormers had a horrible run of injuries (stormers had 17 injuries when they played Quins). They also played two top teams at home. I do believe they gave it a good go, but, squad depth is quite thin there, and the truth is thaT SA rugby is still wrapping their heads around the CC. The Bulls is another story. Jake the Snake should know better, as he coached Montpellier. He has no regard for the CC, and one feels like sees it as a nuisance. This is also the first year that not one SA team progressed to the knock-out stages, and it is a good question why (beyond the typical “they don’t belong here” BS). But that is for the Saffa teams to figure out.
@stephdegoede8316 I agree. And it should also be said that if the 3 Sourh African teams were not in it and replaced with the next 3 URC sides it probably changes nothing.
Does not make any sense for Toulouse! The pool phase of this competition is a joke!! By the way interestingly no Irish provinces play in the Sunday bizarrely just before the 6 nations so that Ireland can prepare with fresher player.
The real competition can start now, I guess. This group phase was so bad, so many blowouts. I love French rugby and clubs and it wasn't even fun to watch.
Tim, South African teams deserve to be thrown out of the Investec Cup! If was in charge, I will give them a last warning.... otherwise they can play curry cup amongst themselves.
PREMIER SPORTS (Please ignore, if you have already addressed this, but I haven't heard your thoughts on it.) I love watching rugby with some like minded fans of the glorious game. I also like to have a pint or two whilst watching. In my case, and it's the same for all local fans around here, the usual watering holes don't have PS. Our Sports and Social Club and our Local Rugby club are both 'not for profit' organisations. There is no way they can afford to pay £1200-1500 just to see one rugby tournament. They are already forking out for SKY and TNT. So we are very dissapointed that the rugby 'powers that be' have sold the rights to yet another streaming service. Very frustating and not helping to increase viewing figures or popularity of the competition. PS may be popular in cetain parts of Europe, but that's not the case in the UK. (rugby fan based in the East midlands :()
@daag3805 they won it 4 times, and Ireland 2 in a row winners of 6 Nations, yeah they lost 3 finals in a row, nothing freakish about that, sh1t happens.
Toulon and La Rochelle bottled their games this weekend , if they had won then they’d both be on Leinster side of the draw and Leinster would have had to play away to Toulon in the semi .
Yes, because the tournament organisers planned out how they wanted the French teams to finish, and got them to win and lose their games in the exact manner so they'd all end up in the seeded positions they did. *facepalm*
Zero shits given by the South African teams for the Champions/Challenge Cup. We could do a lot better if we really wanted to. Look at what the Sharks managed last year when there was only one way to redeem a horrendous season. It'll probably take us a few years to get the balancing right, to manage both competitions.
@@davidwalker2402 What's a disgrace is that, as an adult, you don't know the difference between 'you're' and 'your', and seems you know even less about punctuation.
Clermont were the only half-decent team that the Sharks played in the entire competition, and they only won by a single point. Most of their other opponents were among the worst teams in Europe. Challenge Cup isn't a real title, mate.
@@JH20132 Champions Cup isn't a real title either "mate" ... nobody seems to care about it all ... just look at the team lack of interest and the poor viewership numbers. Nobody cares until the QF's, & only about 8 teams really make any effort. Seems more like a lot of artificial media hype to cover for the reality.
Toulouse Leinster final again. Toulouse will have too much quality for Bordeaux, only thing that could change that is a Dupont injury, then Toulouse would fall apart like France in last years Six Nations.
@ you mean Glasgow who had 94 points scored against them losing 2 games in the pool against a team who have won 14 games on the bounce , you obviously know a lot about rugby 🤣
All the talk has been about what’s wrong with the Champions Cup recently, people blaming South African teams, etc. the real issue that no one is talking about is that certain teams have been allowed to create a monopoly over their countries’ top players. Leinster and Toulouse need to be forced to give away some of these players, it’s actually ridiculous. Other international rugby unions would never allow this. They would force their clubs to give away players if they had too many in certain positions. Anyone remember the Irish rugby union forcing Ulster to not sign Ruan Pienaar for this kind of reasoning, but they’re happy to let Leinster have 30 internationals in their squad???
You are actually clueless. Leinsters 28 or so Ireland internationals are all from the Leinster academy bar Robbie henshaw . Leinster are the ones who developed the test players that Ireland then went on to select. Leinster aren’t taking any players from other provinces. In fact there’s 5/6 ex Leinster players in each of the other three provinces . You can’t just tell a player he has to go to a different province when they don’t want to leave . The only time that happened was with carberry being made to move to Munster and that went horribly . Also Your comment about pienaar is a completely different point as that’s to do with foreign signings.
@ Ha, use your brain. All the top young Irish players go to Leinster every year, they’re not developing randoms, they sign all of them, because they’ve monopolised Irish rugby. And. The Ruan Pienaar is not a separate point, because it proves the union can tell clubs what to do, and it’s an absolutely valid point when they’re signing RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett. You can tell players they have to go to different teams, it’s happened in other countries as I’ve said, New Zealand.
Sounds like you're jealous of Leinster mate. Sour grapes and begrudgery is a bad look. The Leinster school system and academy develops young players to international standards. It's not their fault that the other provinces don't have the same resources. I'm a Munster supporter and the whining about Leinster is getting old.
Baille, Marchand, Mauvaka, Flament, Meafou, Cros, Ntamack, Ramos, Lebel, etc. have been grown by Toulouse or signed when they were still nobodies so why would we penalise Toulouse for their smart model and growing academy ? Toulouse starter a new project around 2018/19 and before that they really sucked by giving confidence to their academy players (that are better than the average) and key retired international with Kaino and Faumuina. From that they grew their players and did some good finding with Dupont for example (who were already quite the player with Castres and France). Then through injury jokers we gained the two argentinians Mallia and Chocobares but they really improved since. Then Capuozzo who were a promising young french boy from Grenoble ProD2 and Roumat who were not used well by Bordeaux. And then come the luxury with Mr Willis (but you can blame greedy englishmen for him) and also he quite improved his game since and the most questioning signing with Kinghorn because he's not really needed now. Therefore, Toulouse made à lot of players internationals for the french team and gained some SC extension and with their strong academy (that almost tied with the mighty LaRochelle) can help them go through the season. Yet it too Mola some seasons to build this depth and manage them well: Toulouse struggled with exhausted players that players a lot in the Top14, Champions Cup and 6Nations when they could not give away matches in the Top14 to their academy players. Therefore why would it be fair to say that Toulouse is not to be seen as a model and should be penalise ? Greedy presidents should just invest in growing talent and competition in their squad instead of wanting to smash those that growing an healthy model
A cake-walk for Munster to the final - all we have to do is beat La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Toulouse away.
Such confidence has me fettling to put a tenner on that!
You have a fine team.
@@corcaigh What was it ROG said when Munster were put in the group of death of 2008. “If you want to win with Munster you got to win the hard way”. They then won away in the Quarters and Semis followed by beating Toulouse in the final in Cardiff. Never say never haha
Johnny Hodnett last minute over for the equaliser,Crowley converts to win SUAF
Nah, Ulster will beat Bordeaux so Munster will have a home QF!!!
Well, if you do win nobody can say you didn't deserve it
So very much looking forward to Leinster away - what a great day for Quins!
And in croke park too.
In the Aviva no?
@JoeBloggz-x2j Avivas not available
As a Saints fan, very grateful to Sale for their victory over Toulon. Rank 3 is so much better than rank 4 this year! Kinda hard on Sale that their reward for that win is an away trip to Toulouse...
As a Sale fan, I could not agree more! Insane fixture
“Worst of the best”?😂 You’re awesome Tim! Thanks for all your videos.
3 videos in a day, Tim, that's awesome. You add quantity to your usual quality. Thank you ever so much for your work !
As always, very good analysis and insights. And so much passion in your tone.
After a good rugby day, I always go and watch your post games videos to understand some of the things that happened in the games.
You very often have comments never heard anywhere else.
Plus, you really seem to love French rugby, which is always very pleasant to hear from the "old ennemy".
I hope you get your ticket to Marcel Deflandre next spring !
French rugby ? Depends as he is also in love with SA rugby.
Really appreciate you guiding me thru this comp. Still a little new to it so don't much understand the history or squad rotations etc.
Really looking forward to April matches
Union Bourdeaux Bègles, Stade Rochelais, Stade Toulousain and RC Toulon are all on the other side of the draw to Leinster. Very happy with that! 💙
Well look at the group Leinster had compared to Toulouse/ Bordeaux.
@@davidwalker2402 yes but let's be honest, whatever the group, Toulouse and Bordeaux would have come through easily.
@ well then stop whining about the draw.
I'm sorry but Leinster's group was nothing exceptional. La Rochelle is not as good this year (they lost at Benetton Trevise!), Clermont isn't Toulouse or Bordeaux, and Bath and Bristol are both average teams, at best. Yet, Leinster conveniently avoids the best squads until the final. Hilarious.
@@davidwalker2402 Leinster had a very hard group playing the 4 top seeded teams. Bordeaux/Toulouse had an easier group where they did not play each other.
If anyone hasn't seen the Toulouse game yet, you need to watch it. They made Leicester look like amateurs.
Leinster do that to tigers annually I was at their last game and the crowed were chanting “ we want 60.” Toulouse haven’t been tested they haven’t been pushed this year.
@@ciaranbrk they have in top14 ! and lost
@@Impl0ze93 Top14 is very different from Champion's Cup. Loosing a match here and there is not really important while it's crucial in Champion's Cup. Therefore I agree with ciaranbrk : Toulouse haven't been challenged yet this year. But I would add : the other teams haven't been either. The real stuff begin with knockout stage. Then people can no longer hide. No more calculations, no more bluff, and stuff. Only win matters ! This is the real test.
@@ciaranbrk They have, in the top 14. They would have been tested in the champions had they played UBB, too. The game in SA against the Sharks was supposed to be epic and a real test for Toulouse and it didn't deliver.
@@ciaranbrk Toulouse gets pushed regularly in Top 14 unlike Leinster in the URC. This may explain why Leinster becomes a little nervous when they get pushed in champions cup final
So an ulster v benetton final then👀
Obviously 😊
😂😂🎉
😂
Munster on the road again and to a new location. La Rochelle will Rock.
Yeah, will be brilliant, can't wait to see all the half and half scarves. I'd say ROG will let us camp at his place in Ile de Re and let us use his Jacks n'all #legend
Nearest airport to La Rochelle is La Rochelle😁
Toulon vs Toulouse at Toulon although Toulouse has 6 more point it's kind of ridiculous
Yep, this competition is ridiculous. And Leinster conveniently avoids the best teams until the final, what an amazing coincidence 😂
@@Matt-m3y-r4u In fairness, Leinster only have that because Toulon messed up at the weekend. If Toulon had won Leinster would have a much tougher route.
@@Matt-m3y-r4u Toulouse and Bordeaux are in the same group because Bordeaux were second seeds in the group having being eliminated in the QF in '24. They also were not drawn to play each other in the group and therefore both scored high points. If they had played eachother then one team would lose 3-5 points or both would lose 4 (a draw). None of this has anything to do with Leinster. Was there any more to your conspiracy theory son?
@@robbiee814Leinster would have Northhampton/Toulon semi instead of a Northhampton/Castres semi. Both in Dublin. Much of a much ness. Northhampton at full strenght are as good as Toulon.
Ulster fan would have preferred to be in Challenge cup
We are going to a new place. La Rochelle. Every game is a Cup match, and we travel in hope.
I would love to go to that game but I would have to travel around the world for it. I expect the people of La Rochelle will welcome the Munster faithful with open arms and it will be some weekend. Tim knows best and even he is choosing that as the game to experience
Clermont was in Pool2 with Leinster and La Rochelle and did not play Northampton Tim
Is this where UBB think they only need to turn up and Ulster do them on a famous run through them, la Rochelle, Toulouse and Leinster?
I don't think so either.
As an Ulster fan I can say 100% I’d prefer us in the Challenge Cup, we’ll get embarrassed by Bordeaux and it won’t do our young lads any good at all.
Farcical that we are in the round of 16 having been smashed by Toulouse and Bordeaux. 😢
it Should be an easy champions cup win for Ulster to be honest, you only have to beat Bordeaux then La Rochelle then Toulouse then Leinster.
Absolutely hilarious that we are in the r16 haha 1 win and 3 shockers
It is testament to how crap this competition format is that we qualify following 3 pumpings and a win.
100% would have preferred a young and developing Ulster team to have had a run in the subsidiary shield. Equally, the URC needs to be an Ulster’s sole focus this year. Top 8 is a financial necessity.
Munster langers in La Rochelle will be like da Hajj in Mecca.
LOL Google offering a translation 😂😂
As a Leinster fan I'm happy with the side of the draw we are on but wouldn't get ahead of myself as Glasgow would have no fear coming to Dublin (I'm pretty confident we'll beat Quins handsomely), then if we beat Glasgow it's Northampton most likely again probably in Croke Park who have had the experience playing there already so they will be very confident. All in all Leinster should get to the final again with the squad they have and the run of home games but not convinced we'll beat Toulouse in the Final
@@timslade5808 Quins are better than Glasgow as they showed this weekend. The last time we played Glasgow two years in a knockout match it was what 78-14 or something. Just put Van Der Flier marking Tuiluloto and they have nothing else to offer.
@@eoinh3816 In fairness they are a completely different team from two years ago so we shouldn't think of it as an easy win but I agree we should beat them no excuses
Toulouse had a soft group Leinster beat 1/2 English teams twice winners Rochelle and Claremont 4th in the top 14, Toulouse beat Exeter ulster 2nd team etc.
You're probably right, but Quins on a hard track off the back of a few wins could be dangerous. We'll bring a few fans over and either way it should be fun. (Just waiting for that perfectly timed run of form).
What is it with fans just writing off English sides just for the fact they're English. If Glasgow would have no fear, then quins would absolutely steamroll leinster. Obviously that's not going to happen. Both quins and Glasgow are good sides that could have a shot at beating leinster. It won't happen. Leinster are going to make it to the final and lose it again like they have for the last few years.
Thanks for that Tim. They said on the radio today that Leinster's round of 16 will be in Croke Park, so I'd imagine that means the QF and SF will be there also
I’d say qtr will be at Aviva if they get there. Croke park for last 16 is because Aviva isn’t available no other reason. Although Leinster attendances this year will set some sort of record I reckon.
@Ollyk1 RTE saying Croke park for quarter final game.
Nearest airport to La Rochelle is.......La Rochelle Airport.....😊
As a Bath fan I’m quietly hopeful that the Challenge Cup is ours for the taking. Cardiff final too…
Yep I think Bath have to be favorites for that now
Don't forget the Sharks will be fully loaded with their Springboks come the Knockout stage
@@timslade5808😂😂😂
@@aonghus3860 don't count on it.
I believe the Champs Cup flops who drop down to the Challenge Cup have away fixtures no matter how far they progress. Reward for getting pumped 3 from 4 I guess. 😅
@ I’m not. They barely beat Gloucester with that side.
As a Welsh man, god am I not looking forward to France in Paris in a fortnight. If some of those French players bring their club form to that game it's going to be horrific for us.
Completely agree. Toulouse and UBB were outrageous this weekend and if Galthie let's his French team play open, I can't see anything other than a French Grand Slam and a cricketscore vs Wales and Italy....
International rugby is a lot tighter. France generally are not better than the sum of their parts.
Hope Northampton can go on a bit of a run and have a go at Glasgow or Leinster in the semi-final. They were very close to upsetting Ireland, sorry Leinster, at Croke Park last year.
Leinster are tested this year and their defense is top tier bar the bath game. They Also have a prop that can scrum after getting rid of allatoae for slimani
Bulls beat Leinster in SA, then 5-6 weeks later Ireland beat SA in Durban. Leinster are not Ireland. Well done on repeating a joke that has been utter x 1000s times. Dod you make it up yourself?
Munster vs La Rochelle, ROG will sort us out...😫
How many Munster fans will be shouting for La Rochelle in this one 😂😂
No south African teams in the knock out stages, damn
Yeap. First time that ever happened. Rough.
They have looked a million miles off it this season in Europe. Very disappointed with the Sharks in particular
Will need a few years realistically to build the squads. Be patient
At least all the EUROPEAN Champions Cup knockout stages get played in EUROPE this rather year rather than some in AFRICA. How this fiasco is allowed to continue is beyond me. But the URC does what the URC does with European clubs then having to spend a fortune travelling to the Southern Hemisphere to play teams who don't value the competition. The world has gone mad, not saying that travelling around the Southern hemisphere for matches is any better for South Africa. It's almost as mad as Australia being in the Eurovison Song Contest and I wonder what the outrage would be like if the European Champions League invited the Brazilian and Argentian football sides to play.
@ Calling this a EUROPEAN comp is like taking it up the batty and claiming you’re a virgin. Yes, I suppose technically you’re right, but you are playing loose-and-fast with some definitions here (if you will pardon the crude analysis). Think about the amount of players and coaches in Europe, who are from SA or the south hemisphere. LAR? Kerr-Barlow, Leyds, Rhule, Skelton, West. Leinster? Nienaber, Snyman, Barrett, Louwe, Park. Sale Sharks at one point had more SA born players than English! Not to mention the ridiculous amounts of pacific islanders and Argentinians everywhere. “European” rugby has been influenced, supported and affected by SH rugby for decades now. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Sorry, but we are here to stay.
One slight correction Tim, Saints did not play Claremont in the pool stage, we played Castres and Stade. Keep up the excellent videos though :)
Munsters trip to La Rochelle feels like a pilgrimage for Munster fans to visit Saint ROG (I heard his right boot was recently upgraded to a class 2 relic).
It's going to be a great week end. La Rochelle has a really small stadium, though, not even 18000 seats.
Agree some cracking games to come but so long to wait -3 months+😮 Poor quins,go Saints but Leinster vs Toulouse final 😊
Tim, i think they play on the weekend of 4th April.
Poor Ulster didn't even get a spot on the thumbnail
imagine england having a backrow of J Willis, T Willis, H Pollock
It would be a pretty small Backrow
@@timslade5808 Pollock is the only 'small ' one out of them but no-one can seem to put a dominant tackle on him anyway
CCS, willis, curry would shade it IMO, pollock looks handy though.
excellent, I want Roots back, gut feeling....underhill clone ..
Pollock is such a random pick. You pick two absolute units and then a baby? There are absolutely loads of world class backrowers for england to choose from that are definitely better and more consistent than pollock. He's the future, not the present.
Interesting that not a single South African team has made it through to the knock out stages
yeah they where poor in the champions cup maybe fatigue and not sending full strength sides because they can only use a player for a certain amount of games a year and their club sides don't have that amount of depth like Leinster etc. But it will change they will eventually adapt
Sharks and bulls were close in fairness, and stormers are just having bad year all round, but the epcr should organise the SA teams' games in mini tours like they do in tje URC
It would suit the epcr for the SA teams to go all out for the champions Cup
Not surprising looking at the very low interest to this competition they show.
@mikeyfoley2240sharks and bulls got wrecked in Bordeaux and Castres. The only thing that makes it seem the Bulls were close is because they won easily at home against Stade Français this weekend.
Attention a toulon c'est une très bonne équipe elle pourrait être la surprise de la championne cup
Genuine question which even i hate asking, but what financial benefit is there for Sale to fly a full team out to get pumped away by Toulouse??
Being a Sale fan im confident the team will back themselves, send a full squad and wont get a 80-0 hammering. But it seems like this tie will just cost the club significant money and they are firm firm under dogs.
Hey tim got a vid idea what about a combined 15 of the final 16 club teams might be good craic
La Rochelle has an airport, and Ryanair fly there. Nantes is not far away either, and Bordeaux from the other direction, all fairly handy to get there.
Ryanair doesn't fly there in the winter, the service starts only in may, I think. I'm wondering if they're reactive enough to offer something. Nantes and Bordeaux are doable but it's a bit of a hassle. Paris can do, too. The interconnections by train between the western atlantic coastal cities should improve dramatically in the years to come, there are new operators willing to compete with SNCF. The irony is the TGVs are actually built in Alstom's La Rochelle plant.
@Desi365 fair comment, and well appreciated. French rail is a pleasure to use, especially when you're from Ireland. I was in Bordeaux last April, and it's an amazing city and region. I wanted to catch the Bordeaux Top 14 match on Saturday evening, but it was an hour before our flight, so couldn't quite squeeze it in. I saw La Rochelle v Toulon when Wilkinson was playing for them. That was a hell of a match and a great night out. French rugby is awesome 👌
Tremblez!!!!! from toulouse
Did you do a review on the Leinster v Bath game Tim? I can’t find it?
No but if it was a SA team he’d have done it 😂
He was working yesterday so didn’t get to do his usual prodigious output. I’m sure he’ll do some sort of detailed round 4 during the week. The man is a machine!
Remind me what stadium stade rochelle play in again Tim? 😅
For La Rochelle, Nantes airport should be the closest :)
The scissors will be coming out on all of those duo LaRochelle/Munster flags on display at the Leinster match.
The nearest airport to La Rochelle is, strangely enough, La Rochelle airport. Ryanair will make sure that price is high.
what's the financial implications of a quarter final place ? seem to remember 150k 6 or 7 years ago.
Penaud ❤👍
Anycase... I support from here onwards: Leinster, Glasgow Warriors and Bath!!!!!
This is the year to see 6/8 French teams in quarter if Clermont beats Saints. Others are favorites in my opinion
Clermont will be very stiff opposition for anyone. Leinster had a hard time. Bath beat 14 men.
How are Ulster still in this competition? It’s a bit of a joke really and I’m an Ulster fan 😅
It's tough alright, I feel the young lads will take a heavy blow, but they can't let it linger. Nobody is expecting them to survive that run in, it's horrendous, so they just need to take what they can from it and march on.
I reckon Leinster are going to get their new-found ability to prevent opposition teams playing fully tested from now on. I just wonder if they are going to master a proper attack/Defense balance in their playing style before they face those French Giants?!
Saints played castres at pool stages. Castres sent a mixed bag
I wonder will some leinster people support la Rochelle over munster like some munster lads did when the leinster team played them 😂I will be supporting all irish teams BTW
I will support Munster 100%
Irish teams all the way !!!! Leinster will be shouting for Munster for sure👍
I'll be shouting for Munster, especially since they'd rather not have Leinster fans shouting for them 😝
On like Munster. We Leinster fans support Irish teams. Even do Munster don’t deserve it with the way they reacts to the Leinster games. But we’re not the same as Munster. Best of luck Munster from Leinster fan. Irish is Irish ☘️
Irish people need to shout for Irish teams. If a few idiots in Munster don't understand that then their fellow Munster dwellers should explain it
Thank you lord - avoid Bord/Toul until final (if the stars align)
I was fairly disappointed yesterday watching Toulon's rather unconvincing performance against Sale. My first thought was: no one can be too optimistic having to possibly take on both Toulouse and then Bordeaux. Well, if I checked correctly, Toulouse's last win at Toulon was in 2015-16. Which means quite a number of consecutive defeats at Stade Mayol for mighty Toulouse. Is there perhaps some wisdom in Toulon's choice of this side of the bracket?
Thanks matey !
Both Ben Earl & Elliott Daly's upfront tackling should be worrying for both Sarries & ENG Fans!
It was miserable earl so many simple mistakes, not that long ago they were calling him best player in England .
As a frenchman I absolutely hate this set. The 4 biggest french clubs on the same side... easy road for leinster
Seems to happen every year... but tbh... it's not their fault the competition is a farce at the group stage that's what messes it up.
As a Toulouse fan i agree 100%. This set is stupid.
Yeah as I fellow frenchman, I think it's a total shame.
I was cleary hoping for only french semi-final, but we will have them in quarter final sadly
It's getting more and more like football's CL, they almost want to decide the Finalists before the Tourny starts.
And I totally disagree with the 2nd chance drop down into the Challenge Cup.
@@benoitsamuel7954you played in the softest group of all groups with ulster Exeter sending out second teams to play you, but now your whining unbelievable 😂
You have to get to Croke Park for Leinster v Quins surely?!
4/5/6 April
Saints could be the dark horse in this .
I saw that and also thought castres is sitting there with nothing to lose at all. Can concentrate fully on this
Allez Toulon ❤
Munster kind of knew they'd be on the road, but you could be in worse places than LA Rochelle. I think Munster fans will fancy that trip. La Rochelle really showed up against Leinster because they targeted it heavily, but then look what Benetton did to them following that. Munster have it in them to do a job here !!!
Fantastic Leinster - 19 of the 23 all home grown in the province. Massive second half from the blues
La Rochelle is not in 'the Cognac' region......
Leinster v Benetton semi final. You heard it here first!!!
We're are the amazing SA teams😂. They need to play Super Rugby again.
Playing all over the world. SA Rand can’t compete with the Euro’s. So we will just have to wait for the World Cupp again 😂😂😂
Toulouse vs Leinster
Bit weird that probably best french sides all on same side of draw. Leinster with home advantage should be in Cardiff for another final
Ulsterman here bloody gutted tbh.
Serve the boys up for a battering in France when could’ve built up some decent experience for them in challenge maybe
Being a Munster supporter is expensive business with all the away games. Would happily pay for the few trips to France if they can pull off repeat miracles.
Is there going to be a separate video for South African fans…. Assuming they’ve not bothered turning up here …
Im here. No need for a separate video. We were kak. Next year.
Tim is more than our crap rugby. We watch him even where the Boks or our clubs aren't concerned. Like this very video.
Everything is done to make sure Leinster goes to the final from their pool, without deserving it 😅 they'll have absolutely no challenge till then
Another Toulouse v Leinster final coming then!
Northampton didn’t play Claremont in the group stage.
Leinster straight into a fourth cinsecitive final then. One hand already on the 5th Star!
Hardly one hand on the trophy. They just manage to avoid the two French powerhouses until then. Toulouse favourites to win it again
“No disrespect” to any team that would rather be in the other half of the draw from Toulouse and Bordeaux.
If La Rochelle and Toulon had won their fairly easy fixtures this weekend they’d have been on Leinsters side of the draw but of course the French think it’s some sort of conspiracy against them .
If Toulon had won they’d have had a home semi vs Leinster if they met so they only have themselves to blame.
The competition obviously needs to go to 4 pools of 4 teams and then directly into the last 8 but can’t complain about the current system when they had their fate in their own hands .
Lol, until now I thought SA fans were the dumbest😂
@@mahasamatman12clearly you French lack reading comprehension.
Leinster would have had to play La Rochelle in the quarter and Toulon away in France in the semi final if both won this weekend but they lost to an Italian side and a terrible English side .
@@brianodriscoll2725 Well, you're not a Saffa , are you ? So my point stands🤣
I’m French and I 100% agree with everything you’re saying. There is no conspiracy whatsoever. And you’re right with the Toulon / La Rochelle facts. Had they done the job, the draw would have been very different.
16 teams format and quarter final directly would be indeed much better.
Big issue is Toulouse and Bordeaux being in the same pool (that should not happen, give some rankings to the teams I don’t know) and therefore Toulouse having easily won their 4 games playing away from the quarter finals onward…. What a terrible format that is.
Anyway they’ll play « away » in Toulon and Bordeaux… won’t be too big of a trip.
And we’ll very likely have the usual Toulouse - Leinster 50/50 final we’re all looking forward to.
@T2Lam10you’re 100 percent right about there fact there should be way less teams In the competition. I think it should be 4 pools of 4 with the top 2 of each group going through .
Yeah the fact Toulouse and Bordeaux are going to meet in the semi is a shame and bad management by the organisers for sure.
I was just talking about some people in the comments who were convinced La Rochelle and Toulon didn’t have an easy draw for the knockouts on a plate for them if they had won their games at the weekend.
Toulouse v Leinster final again so it is.
WTF Bordeaux and Toulouse colliding in semi finals whereas they come from the same pool ?!
Hi Tim
I'm sure it's been debunked as to why it shouldn't/couldn't work this way but I've been thinking lately of a severely reduced 3 pools of 3 teams format ; each pool would get a team from a different comp, based on the ranking of the last season. For instance : The First of the URC vs Second of the Prem vs Third of Top14 and so on.
Pools would be home and away which would make it a 4 weeks pool format, same as now.
The extra to this kind of format is that the small finale (probably not an accurate idiom in english. It's the litteral translation from the french "petite finale" which is the encounter between the teams defeated in the Semis) now means you win this otherwise fairly useless encounter to be able to compete in the champions cup the year after. It basically gives another high-stake game at the end of the season for each competition.
The knockout stages of the Champions Cup would then go straight to the SemiFinals, with two options
Either it's a classic "Winner of every pool + first runner up"
Or the challenge cup knockout stages are played a week or two earlier and the Champions Cup knockout stages becomes a "outsider could-win-in-all' narrative with a "Winner of every pool from the Champions Cup + Winner of the Challenge cup" format.
This option is appealing, storytelling-wise at least, but I'm not sure it's feasable. It would re-create this notion of a champions cup directly above the other, but reachable nonetheless, even at short term, since any team in the challenge cup could fight its way in a gritty championchip to challenge one of the few teams still in the champions cup knockout stages and even win the whole thing. It's basically a reverse version of what they did this year where they droped clubs from the champions cup to the challenge cup after the pool stages.
where are the south african teams?
In South africa 😂
Some overall observations.
The 3 URC teams knocked out were the the three South African teams, not going to improve the way their participation is regarded.
Overall competitive. Only 1 team didn't get a win, which is a sad indictment on Exeters form.
Also competitive in the challenge cup, only teams without a win were Newcastle and Zebre. Which is a black mark against them given cheetahs and black lion managed wins.
Whilst the pools were competitive individual matches often were not, too many weak teams getting pumped.
The Sharks and Stormers had a horrible run of injuries (stormers had 17 injuries when they played Quins). They also played two top teams at home. I do believe they gave it a good go, but, squad depth is quite thin there, and the truth is thaT SA rugby is still wrapping their heads around the CC.
The Bulls is another story. Jake the Snake should know better, as he coached Montpellier. He has no regard for the CC, and one feels like sees it as a nuisance.
This is also the first year that not one SA team progressed to the knock-out stages, and it is a good question why (beyond the typical “they don’t belong here” BS). But that is for the Saffa teams to figure out.
@stephdegoede8316 I agree. And it should also be said that if the 3 Sourh African teams were not in it and replaced with the next 3 URC sides it probably changes nothing.
The worst of the best 😂😂
Does not make any sense for Toulouse! The pool phase of this competition is a joke!! By the way interestingly no Irish provinces play in the Sunday bizarrely just before the 6 nations so that Ireland can prepare with fresher player.
Toulouse or Bordeaux v Leinster or Glasgow.
Or Saints!
@fynch79 no chance 😂. Nearly lost to Munster mind 😂
The SA teams have been disgraceful in this competition. These are professional teams and players and showed no appetite to win....
No South African sides in the knockout stages……….
The real competition can start now, I guess. This group phase was so bad, so many blowouts. I love French rugby and clubs and it wasn't even fun to watch.
Tim, South African teams deserve to be thrown out of the Investec Cup! If was in charge, I will give them a last warning.... otherwise they can play curry cup amongst themselves.
PREMIER SPORTS
(Please ignore, if you have already addressed this, but I haven't heard your thoughts on it.)
I love watching rugby with some like minded fans of the glorious game. I also like to have a pint or two whilst watching. In my case, and it's the same for all local fans around here, the usual watering holes don't have PS.
Our Sports and Social Club and our Local Rugby club are both 'not for profit' organisations. There is no way they can afford to pay £1200-1500 just to see one rugby tournament. They are already forking out for SKY and TNT. So we are very dissapointed that the rugby 'powers that be' have sold the rights to yet another streaming service. Very frustating and not helping to increase viewing figures or popularity of the competition.
PS may be popular in cetain parts of Europe, but that's not the case in the UK.
(rugby fan based in the East midlands :()
Munster Vs La Rochelle is a horrible game when you're a fan of both teams. The packs colliding will be insane.
Can you imagine the craic there that weekend?
Bad game for La Rochelle. Munster with nothing to lose and they'll have 4 - 7 players back by then. One score game.
Leinster are so strong...but their irish...it's always a problem
????
Non sense.
Means they will choke..like every other irish team does@LFire12
@daag3805 they won it 4 times, and Ireland 2 in a row winners of 6 Nations, yeah they lost 3 finals in a row, nothing freakish about that, sh1t happens.
No South African teams, as it should be!
Meaning? Try to let me understand.
Harlequins didn’t really put up much of a fight they weee terrible Leinster would have done the same .
th-cam.com/video/DPcdXCoQMQs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=o1TukinmVPK8B3Jz
Wtf is this? The 4 French teams on one side? Someone is desperate for Leinster’s chokers to win
Toulon and La Rochelle bottled their games this weekend , if they had won then they’d both be on Leinster side of the draw and Leinster would have had to play away to Toulon in the semi .
Yes, because the tournament organisers planned out how they wanted the French teams to finish, and got them to win and lose their games in the exact manner so they'd all end up in the seeded positions they did. *facepalm*
@@LFire12 exactly, you got it
Disappointing effort by the South African teams.
@@DjStebowaLesele was that not more down to players being rested post Autumn Tests ?
Zero shits given by the South African teams for the Champions/Challenge Cup.
We could do a lot better if we really wanted to. Look at what the Sharks managed last year when there was only one way to redeem a horrendous season.
It'll probably take us a few years to get the balancing right, to manage both competitions.
Your crap and you don’t care for sharks its about money not fans, you should be in the champions cup it’s a disgrace.
@@davidwalker2402 sounds like sour grapes. Go cry some more.
@@davidwalker2402 What's a disgrace is that, as an adult, you don't know the difference between 'you're' and 'your', and seems you know even less about punctuation.
Clermont were the only half-decent team that the Sharks played in the entire competition, and they only won by a single point. Most of their other opponents were among the worst teams in Europe.
Challenge Cup isn't a real title, mate.
@@JH20132 Champions Cup isn't a real title either "mate" ... nobody seems to care about it all ... just look at the team lack of interest and the poor viewership numbers.
Nobody cares until the QF's, & only about 8 teams really make any effort.
Seems more like a lot of artificial media hype to cover for the reality.
Toulouse Leinster final again. Toulouse will have too much quality for Bordeaux, only thing that could change that is a Dupont injury, then Toulouse would fall apart like France in last years Six Nations.
Toulouse restera très fort sans Dupont
One can only hope
@@MisterPoppy-sc1sjbad if they didn’t, but they did well in a very soft group.
The way Leinster have been playing, they will do well to beat the URC champions 😂
@ you mean Glasgow who had 94 points scored against them losing 2 games in the pool against a team who have won 14 games on the bounce , you obviously know a lot about rugby 🤣
At least Leinster has a bigger chance to go to final... Leinster's lucky again
🤣🤣🤣🤣
How r they lucky, how many finals have they lost in a row.....😂😂😂
@ because they are mentaly weak? Remember Clermont. They litteralu rolled on every master class team for 5 years... never won the HCUP
All the talk has been about what’s wrong with the Champions Cup recently, people blaming South African teams, etc. the real issue that no one is talking about is that certain teams have been allowed to create a monopoly over their countries’ top players. Leinster and Toulouse need to be forced to give away some of these players, it’s actually ridiculous. Other international rugby unions would never allow this. They would force their clubs to give away players if they had too many in certain positions. Anyone remember the Irish rugby union forcing Ulster to not sign Ruan Pienaar for this kind of reasoning, but they’re happy to let Leinster have 30 internationals in their squad???
You are actually clueless. Leinsters 28 or so Ireland internationals are all from the Leinster academy bar Robbie henshaw .
Leinster are the ones who developed the test players that Ireland then went on to select.
Leinster aren’t taking any players from other provinces. In fact there’s 5/6 ex Leinster players in each of the other three provinces .
You can’t just tell a player he has to go to a different province when they don’t want to leave . The only time that happened was with carberry being made to move to Munster and that went horribly .
Also Your comment about pienaar is a completely different point as that’s to do with foreign signings.
@ Ha, use your brain. All the top young Irish players go to Leinster every year, they’re not developing randoms, they sign all of them, because they’ve monopolised Irish rugby. And. The Ruan Pienaar is not a separate point, because it proves the union can tell clubs what to do, and it’s an absolutely valid point when they’re signing RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett. You can tell players they have to go to different teams, it’s happened in other countries as I’ve said, New Zealand.
Sounds like you're jealous of Leinster mate. Sour grapes and begrudgery is a bad look. The Leinster school system and academy develops young players to international standards. It's not their fault that the other provinces don't have the same resources. I'm a Munster supporter and the whining about Leinster is getting old.
@ Nonsense.
Baille, Marchand, Mauvaka, Flament, Meafou, Cros, Ntamack, Ramos, Lebel, etc. have been grown by Toulouse or signed when they were still nobodies so why would we penalise Toulouse for their smart model and growing academy ? Toulouse starter a new project around 2018/19 and before that they really sucked by giving confidence to their academy players (that are better than the average) and key retired international with Kaino and Faumuina. From that they grew their players and did some good finding with Dupont for example (who were already quite the player with Castres and France). Then through injury jokers we gained the two argentinians Mallia and Chocobares but they really improved since. Then Capuozzo who were a promising young french boy from Grenoble ProD2 and Roumat who were not used well by Bordeaux. And then come the luxury with Mr Willis (but you can blame greedy englishmen for him) and also he quite improved his game since and the most questioning signing with Kinghorn because he's not really needed now.
Therefore, Toulouse made à lot of players internationals for the french team and gained some SC extension and with their strong academy (that almost tied with the mighty LaRochelle) can help them go through the season. Yet it too Mola some seasons to build this depth and manage them well: Toulouse struggled with exhausted players that players a lot in the Top14, Champions Cup and 6Nations when they could not give away matches in the Top14 to their academy players.
Therefore why would it be fair to say that Toulouse is not to be seen as a model and should be penalise ? Greedy presidents should just invest in growing talent and competition in their squad instead of wanting to smash those that growing an healthy model