Which teams to look out for in the European Rugby Champions Cup?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
The Battle for Qualification Places Hots Up
We're at the halfway stage of the pool games in the European Rugby Champions Cup. Two more rounds of fixtures are going to be played over the next couple of weekends. There are still plenty of crucial matches to be played that will determine just who makes it into the last 16. We could be seeing new champions crowned this season with La Rochelle (winners for the past two seasons) struggling to qualify for the knockout stages. Which teams should we be looking out for in the next couple of weeks?
Lyon On Their Way to the Last 16?
Lyon were knocked out in the pool stages of the European Rugby Champions Cup last season. They won't want to see a repeat of that this time around and are in a good position after the first two rounds of Pool A.
They sit in second place in the pool, three points behind fellow French side Bordeaux and ahead of Bulls, Saracens, Bristol and Connacht. It's been a tight pool so far and Lyon have won one and lost their other fixture. Two extremely close games have been played with them losing by two points away at Bristol, despite a strong second half performance. That was followed by another tight match as Lyon came from behind to beat Bulls at home by a single point.
There are two games remaining and on January 13 they host Connacht. Their opponents are bottom of the pool and have conceded 96 points in their two games. They finish the pool with a trip to Saracens as competition rules say teams don't play other sides from their own nation, so no match against Bordeaux. Don't forget you can check all the European Rugby Champions Cup betting odds on Sportytrader.
Long Wait Could Be Over for Bath Rugby
It was in 2015 that Bath last reached the knockout stages of the European Rugby Champions Cup. The past two seasons have been spent playing in the European Challenge Cup but not this term. They are going well in the English Premiership and are well on their way to qualifying for the knockout stages in this competition.
Wins have come at home over Ulster but their 23 point winning margin doesn't tell the whole story. They lost the first half 14-8 but then won the second without conceding a point. That was followed by another come from behind win as they won 39-32 at Cardiff. Remaining fixtures see them host Racing 92 (who have lost both their games) on January 14 before a trip to current Pool leaders Toulouse on January 21. Qualification does look within their grasp. Keep up to date with the games by accessing our European Rugby Champions Cup livescore.
Pool C sees a close battle between two English Premiership sides. Northampton Saints are top of the pool and ahead of Exeter Chiefs on points difference. They are both five points clear of Glasgow Warriors and Bayonne with Munster six adrift and Toulon bottom with just a couple of points.
Remember, the top two won't play each other as they are from the same league. They are both at home this weekend and will be expecting to get another win to ensure they qualify for the knockout stages.
To qualify you need to finish in the top four and that looks like going down to the last set of fixtures. Key matches to look forward to in the coming fortnight include two vital matches for Toulon. They host Munster on January 13 before a final game away at Glasgow Warriors. The results of those two games will have a major influence on who makes it into the knockout stages, goes into the Challenge Cup or see their European season come to an end.
New Champions this Year?
The past two seasons have seen La Rochelle become champions of Europe. A hat-trick of successive wins has only ever been achieved by Toulon between 2014 and 2016. La Rochelle would love to repeat that feat but have a lot of work to do just to get into the knockout stages this season.
They are in Pool D and resume the competition in fifth place with only two points so far. Leinster (runners-up in the past two seasons) top the pool from Leicester Tigers and both have nine points. In third are Sale Sharks on four followed by Stormers (who beat La Rochelle by one point) on the same number of points.
This weekend sees La Rochelle home to Leicester Tigers and end up the pool with a trip to Sale Sharks. With two recent Top 14 wins, the defending champions must transfer that form to this competition if they are to avoid an early exit. Make sure you read the betting tips of our rugby experts.
