Champions Cup 2020

[johng]

Gloucester. LaRochelle and Treviso would be nice. Haven't had LaRochelle. Gloucester not since 06 and Treviso even longer ago.

[Dave Cahill]

Gloucester. LaRochelle and Treviso would be nice. Haven't had LaRochelle. Gloucester not since 06 and Treviso even longer ago.

Don't fancy Gloucester, I'm a bit fussy about my stuff not getting robbed

[johng]

If we don't get an English team in pot 2 we can't get LaRochelle in pot 3. If Glasgow (and Ulster by default) get pot 2 as I hope, then Gloucester would be the only Englsh team in there.

If not Exeter could join them in Pot 2 along with Saints

[neill_m]

Gloucester. LaRochelle and Treviso would be nice. Haven't had LaRochelle. Gloucester not since 06 and Treviso even longer ago.

I can endorse La Rochelle and Treviso for a rugby weekend. Gloucester is on the to do list.

[johng]

Gloucester. LaRochelle and Treviso would be nice. Haven't had LaRochelle. Gloucester not since 06 and Treviso even longer ago.

Don't fancy Gloucester, I'm a bit fussy about my stuff not getting robbed

You could go to Mike Teague's pub.....

[neill_m]

Premiership with 3 sides in Pot 2:

Pot 1: Leinster
Pot 2: Chiefs, T14 No 3, Gloucester, Saints
Pot 3: T14 No 4, Racing 92, Quins
Pot 4: Benetton, Montpellier, Bath, Ospreys, Sale

Pro 14 with 3 sides in Pot 2:

Pot 1: Leinster
Pot 2: T14 No 3, Gloucester
Pot 3: T14 No 4, Saints, Racing 92, Quins
Pot 4: Benetton, Montpellier, Bath, Ospreys, Sale

Top 14 with 3 sides in Pot 2:

Pot 1: Leinster
Pot 2: T14 No 2, T14 No 3, Gloucester, T14 No 4
Pot 3: Saints, Racing 92, Quins
Pot 4: Benetton, Montpellier, Bath, Ospreys, Sale

[Grumpy Old Man]

Gloucester. LaRochelle and Treviso would be nice. Haven't had LaRochelle. Gloucester not since 06 and Treviso even longer ago.

Don't fancy Gloucester, I'm a bit fussy about my stuff not getting robbed

You still made a profit though.

[neill_m]

La Rochelle will be Top 14 No 4 and in Pot 2/3. Lyon will be Top 14 No 3 and will be in Pot 2.

[neill_m]

Premiership with 3 sides in Pot 2:

Pot 1: Leinster
Pot 2: Chiefs, Lyon, Gloucester, Saints
Pot 3: La Rochelle, Racing 92, Quins
Pot 4: Benetton, Montpellier, Bath, Ospreys, Sale

Pro 14 with 3 sides in Pot 2:

Pot 1: Leinster
Pot 2: Lyon, Gloucester
Pot 3: La Rochelle, Saints, Racing 92, Quins
Pot 4: Benetton, Montpellier, Bath, Ospreys, Sale

Top 14 with 3 sides in Pot 2:

Pot 1: Leinster
Pot 2: T14 No 2, Lyon, Gloucester, La Rochelle
Pot 3: Saints, Racing 92, Quins
Pot 4: Benetton, Montpellier, Bath, Ospreys, Sale

[Flash Gordon]

Gloucester. LaRochelle and Treviso would be nice. Haven't had LaRochelle. Gloucester not since 06 and Treviso even longer ago.

Don't fancy Gloucester, I'm a bit fussy about my stuff not getting robbed

You still made a profit though.

Don't think we'll fall for the "oh somebody stole my wallet" stunt again.......

Gloucester was a once in a lifetime experience. Nice cathedral but the rest of it looks like a down market version of Milton Keynes.

[wixfjord]

Stolen from elsewhere, but I think it's right after last night:

Tier 1:
Saracens
Leinster
Toulouse
Clermont/Glasgow/Exeter Chiefs
Clermont/Glasgow/Exeter Chiefs

Tier 2:
Clermont/Glasgow/Exeter Chiefs
Gloucester
Munster
Lyon
La Rochelle/Northampton Saints/Ulster

Tier 3:
La Rochelle/Northampton Saints/Ulster
La Rochelle/Northampton Saints/Ulster
Harlequins
Connacht
Racing 92

Tier 4:
Bath
Benetton
Montpellier
Ospreys
Sale Sharks

For me, worst case:
Leinster, Exeter, Racing 92, Montpellier

and best case:
Leinster, Lyon, Quins, Treviso

Although I guarantee we'll get Clermont, and what a few games that would be!

[Oldschool]

La Rochelle and Munster in the same group (if possible) would be interesting, wouldn't it?

[wixfjord]

Yep it is possible.

Worst case scenario for Munster is probably

Sarries, Munster, La Rochelle, Montpellier.


Said it earlier in the thread but I think Sale are a bit of a dark horse and a tough pot four draw.

They've brought in the three Du Preez bros, Lood De Jager, Akker VDM and Oosthuizen for next year, along with Hammersly the Falcons 15 who's a good player.

That's to go with the likes of both Currys, Faf De Klerk, Ashton, McGuigan, James O'Connor, McGinty, Yarde, Solomona etc.

A pack with a lot of beef, a general at 9 and a back three that will score tries is a good foundation to play off.

They could give a few frights at home particularly.

[leinsterforever]

La Rochelle and Munster in the same group (if possible) would be interesting, wouldn't it?

Mmmm, and Saracens and Munster.

[leinsterforever]

Northampton could be a good draw for the back-to-backs. And will Ospreys improve from last season? - or will they be good for ten match points?

[wixfjord]

Saints would be a tougher nut to crack than Quins I think.
They've got both Franks bros and a fairly solid pack, with Reinach and Biggar at 9/10.

I'd fancy us to win both but on paper Quins look the easier proposition.

Plus a return to the Stoop would be nice 10 years on.

We've a bit of revenge to take after our loss in '14 there too.

[leinsterforever]

Saints would be a tougher nut to crack than Quins I think.
They've got both Franks bros and a fairly solid pack, with Reinach and Biggar at 9/10.

I'd fancy us to win both but on paper Quins look the easier proposition.

Plus a return to the Stoop would be nice 10 years on.

We've a bit of revenge to take after our loss in '14 there too.

I can't say I really know how good Saints are under Boyd, as I haven't really watched them at all. Presumably they're playing more intelligent attacking rugby under a good Kiwi coach than they were under Mallinder. Quins' defence could be good with Gustard as their coach.

[dropkick]

Saints would be a tougher nut to crack than Quins I think.
They've got both Franks bros and a fairly solid pack, with Reinach and Biggar at 9/10.

I'd fancy us to win both but on paper Quins look the easier proposition.

Plus a return to the Stoop would be nice 10 years on.

We've a bit of revenge to take after our loss in '14 there too.

I can't say I really know how good Saints are under Boyd, as I haven't really watched them at all. Presumably they're playing more intelligent attacking rugby under a good Kiwi coach than they were under Mallinder. Quins' defence could be good with Gustard as their coach.

Just saw one match against Exeter a few weeks ago. They're playing good rugby now and you can see the kiwi influence.

[cormac]

Northampton could be a good draw for the back-to-backs. And will Ospreys improve from last season? - or will they be good for ten match points?

Ospreys have a decent enough first XV. Where they've fallen down in recent years is the complete lack of depth in the squad. Seem to recall they were awful during the international windows last season. They have developed into a fairly obdurate defensive side and the signing of Gareth Anscombe is a big boost to their attacking game. If they can get AWJ to sign a new contract then they'll be far from an easy-beat.

[OTT]

I think the next thing that needs to be done is that Pro 14 teams from the same country need to be able to draw each other in the group stage. It makes zero sense to me that we can't, why can French and English teams but Pro 14 teams can't.

If you want meritocracy then draws should be that way each tier you have an equal chance of drawing an opponent as the next team. Could you imagine a Christmas double header against Munster, jaysus it would be savage, or Connacht doing one of us at the Sports Ground (preferably Munster or Ulster ). What was the reasoning behind having the Pro 14 treated differently as the two other leagues? Have those reasons changed? With the change in qualification process from the Pro 14 I think they have.