HC Quarter Finals - Discuss

First topic message reminder :

Clermont Auvergne v Montpellier
Saracens v Ulster Rugby
Harlequins v Munster Rugby
Toulon v Leicester Tigers

With our blues out, sadly for the first time in years I can look at the HC quarter-finals through the eyes of a neutral. The bookies have it that Clermont, Saracens, Quins and Toulon will make it an Anglo-French semi-final line up of Clermont v Quins in Montpelier and Sarries v Toulon in Twickers. Bookies usually call it right but I don't see it as that clear cut.

OK, Clermont should stuff Montpelier - especially after they put 60pts plus on Agen last week with Fofana getting 3 tries, Nalaga another 2 tries plus 4 more tires. Only Agen, but still Clermont seem to be in awesome form and this QF is probably the easiest to call. Montpelier a decent team but that's about it.

Saracens on a very good run although they were hardly stellar in beating an almost-relegated London Welsh at the weekend. Ulster were on a poor run but were excellent in beating Leinster at the RDS. Pienaar taking the kicks released Jackson as a playmaker, great defence - Leinster were barely in with a sniff of a try - and Ulster probably should have had more than the two tries they scored. Maybe I'm looking at this through green-tinted glasses but I sense a bookie upset here and this is the game where my pitiful few euros will be going on Ulster. At least, this is the one game where there might be an upset.

Munster are in dire straits and the game in Glasgow wass probably the worst performance I've ever seen from a Munster team. No passion, no confidence, feck all skills. Hard to see beyond Quins but then when Munster are being written off they have a tendency to make all of us who wrote them off look like eejits. Still, hard to look beyond Quins.

Don't see that many AP games but Leicester looked very good against Northampton at the weekend. Toulon scoring like there's no tomorrow but they did lose to Bayonne (!!!!) a couple of weeks ago. Love to see Tigers stuff this moneybags outfit - would mean there would be at least one Irishman in the SF's (Niall Morris) but all logic points to Toulon.

Overall, love to see Ulster and Leicester get through but if they don't then like to see Clermont go all the way.

I think a core of local players (or as local as possible) helps. It can breed a real sense of team ownership. This is something you see quite clearly with Ulster.

Of course a province has a much better chance of having a lot of local players than a town based club. After all the catchment area's are bigger.

I guess I was trying to show we had 2 Anglo/Irish clashes, 1 mainly Frranco clash and one Anglo/Harlem Globetrotters clash. Just trying to gain the moral high ground when we get thumped

COYQ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3StR2BNTGI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVmlMdmsLJE

Great clip Chequered. This is my favourite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJ65Og3A2o

What odd O'Gara to do it to Quins?

They'll have to be within 2 points

And ROG will have had to have survived the onslaught of Big MO. I presume we are only starting him for the comedy value of ROG trying to tackle him again

SecretFly wrote:And we say it don't matter where players come from, especially at club...and yet we all have our fingers ready on the stats anyway in case some wise guy makes it an issue

I remember doing the same a while back when Leinster were accused of winning because of their 'foreign' contingent...I did the maths and came back with a platoon full of 'foreigners/non-French players at Clermont...and quite a herd of them at Leiscester as I recall. We were outgunned 2 to 1 on the 'foreign' horde front many times.

Yep, it don't matter where players come from.....

And your point is?

whocares wrote:

SecretFly wrote:And we say it don't matter where players come from, especially at club...and yet we all have our fingers ready on the stats anyway in case some wise guy makes it an issue

I remember doing the same a while back when Leinster were accused of winning because of their 'foreign' contingent...I did the maths and came back with a platoon full of 'foreigners/non-French players at Clermont...and quite a herd of them at Leiscester as I recall. We were outgunned 2 to 1 on the 'foreign' horde front many times.

Yep, it don't matter where players come from.....

And your point is?

The point is.................................. it don't matter where players come from ........................ until someone tells me it does. Then I'll have my files up and running in no time.

Ah I see... Well good for you I guess

If you were not born and raised within spitting distance of the ground you play at, then you are an outsider.

So sayeth Ron Jeremy

LondonTiger wrote:If you were not born and raised within spitting distance of the ground you play at, then you are an outsider.

So sayeth Ron Jeremy

Ron Jeremy the "actor"?

4 NEQPs for Quins, now that Ollie Kohn is Welsh...

Anyone have an online stream for Montpellier/Clermont which works?

Am struggling a little with this one.

GC check your inbox

Great try for Clermont. Unreal skill from Sivevatu.

Brilliant running and awareness from Sivi

Starting to look bleak for Montpelier

that sivi try just gave me a semi

Looseheaded wrote:that sivi try just gave me a semi

pretty much everything they do gives me one.

Good try by Nagusa, glad Montpellier got something.

(Not assuming we'll actually beat Munster, but if we do) Oh my gosh, how the hell are we going to beat ASM?

ChequeredJersey wrote:(Not assuming we'll actually beat Munster, but if we do) Oh my gosh, how the hell are we going to beat ASM?

They're not invincible, their first half was pretty average. If they replicate the second half for the full 80 then i'll agree.

Clermont, when they're good (usually at home) they're very good, next to unbeatable. When they're bad (usually away) any good team can take them out. They can be a bit flaky.

Are they home or away in the semi?

I'd like to see them win the tournament because I feel they're probably the best team not to have won it (thanks to Leinster knocking them out three times).

Feckless Rogue wrote:Clermont, when they're good (usually at home) they're very good, next to unbeatable. When they're bad (usually away) any good team can take them out. They can be a bit flaky.

Are they home or away in the semi?

I'd like to see them win the tournament because I feel they're probably the best team not to have won it (thanks to Leinster knocking them out three times).

Technically neither as Semis are "neutral". But it's in Montpellier so more home than either Munster or Quins

Oh yeah I forgot the semi can't be in your home ground. Probably in the same ground we played them in the semi last year. And we won. Just about in the end. But over the 80 minutes deserved it because we outplayed them.

Clermont's record at home now stands at 59 unbeaten games in a row. Unreal how impressive that is!