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Heineken Cup 2010/11

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Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
If Oz residents want to see the Heineken Cup on TV they will have to subscribe to Setanta. When the HC is not on you also get to see 2 or 3 Avira Premiership games a week plus 2 or 3 Magners League games. There are also weekly highlights shows of all the games in the ML and AP plus a Rugby Club type show called The Breakdown.

To join up I just clicked on the Setanta Channel in Foxtel and dialled the number that came up, but I guess you could do it on the net. You pay Setanta by credit card directly and once you have paid you are instructed which buttons to push on your Foxtel control to get hooked up immediately. If you have more than one Foxtel box in your house but want Setanta coming through just one TV, (it costs more if you want it to come through more than one TV) then there is an easy way to nominate which TV you want to see it on.

Before you do all that you decide which payment plan you want: monthly yearly etc.

There are 5 HC Games on Setanta this weekend, all live, plus 2 Amlin Cup games. It's good value, I reckon, if you've got the time to watch all the games. There are a few replays during the week of every game.

No - I'm not flogging Setanta for my monetary gain – just your rugby enjoyment gain.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
The game on last night was - Northampton 18 - Castres 14.

I was looking forward to seeing the Saints because they like to use the ball but they looked like they had stage fright at home. That included their goal kickers because none of the three looked convincing and they left points on the park well into the double figures. They were the better team but could have lost it because Castres got dudded a couple of tries by ref Lacey, who was pretty bad even apart from those calls.

Saints are 2nd in the AP comp and there was some loose talk about a bonus point win for them, but they played low skill footie. Castres don't have the budget of the galactico teams and have won only 4 out of 9 in the Top14 and are 10th; so they were happy to get out of town having earned a losing bonus point away.

The other games on TV this weekend are:

Leinster v Racing Metro (Sat night)

Mouth watering. Leinster have been playing like crap. It looked like new Kiwi coach Joe Schmitt (ex Clermont backs coach) had been trying to get them to play like the All Blacks but the Leinster lads haven't been clicking. Then last weekend the saw the red rags which were the Munster jerseys and they turned up to play. Out half Sexton looked good when he came on last week and he could be the man tonight. Drico also came back to form.

They still left a few tries on the park but they were streets better than when I saw Edinburgh smack them 2 weeks again.

RM are the red hot team in the Top14 having both the best attack and best defence, but have lost their two gun flyhalves JMH and Wisniewski. Will they be brave enough to play Francois Steyn there, especially as he looks like he has swallowed a whole cow recently.

Scarlets v Perpignan

Who really cares? Perpignan had 14 of their first pick players out a few weeks ago and I hear Mermoz has dropped out too. Scarlets don't have a lot of stars but could be a chance at home.

London Irish v Munster

Another mouth watering game. You could drop the Exiles right in the middle of the Super15 and they would feel right at home. They are the top team in the AP and their win playing away at Newcastle 2 weeks ago was as good as anything you'd see in Super rugby.

Munster have been winning ugly in the ML until last week when they lost ugly to Leinster. They can't score tries and are looking very uncomfortable with the ball in hand. Even their vaunted back row was dominated last week and Quinny and Wallace, when he came on, were showing their age.

The sooner skipper POC can play, the better. Good to see Earls back though he takes the place of 13. Mafi who did not miss with a looping right hand to the cheek of D'Arcy last week. He's a nutter and is out for a month which was a light sentence IMO.

The Exiles could win this one at home if they don't get scared of the size of the Munster scrapbooks.

Bath v Biarritz Sunday
The big question is: does Biarritz pay good money to get in an easy HC Pool every year? Not that it does them a lot of good.

The most interesting thing for me is that DHP is starting as fullback for Biarritz. They seem to like foreigners. In Round 2 of the Top14 11 of their run-on team weren't eligible to play for France.

Bath is doing OK in the AP but they don't have a lot of stars. However they should win at home under Aussie coach Steve Meehan.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Yeah it's disappointing that you have to pay extra but I guess Setanta bought the right to show it in Oz this year. I subscribed when I realised that you could get the Magners League and the Avira Premiership plus the Heineken Cup.
 

DPK

Peter Sullivan (51)
Scarlets v Perpignan
Who really cares? Perpignan had 14 of their first pick players out a few weeks ago and I hear Mermoz has dropped out too. Scarlets don't have a lot of stars but could be a chance at home.

Well me for one! I have a soft spot for the Welsh sides and I like Perpignan when they play well. Scarlets have Stephen Jones and Matthew Rees, and bright young inside Jonathon Davies who's been playing quite well.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Good player Jonathan Davies. He was unfairly dubbed to be another Scott Gibbs last year but the pressure doesn't seem to bother him. Another good young player is winger George North who is only 18 years old. Watch this space on North.

One of my favourite players from the Scarlets is Regan King who is playing 12 tonight instead of his usual 13. And there is 8. David Lyons, of course.


As for Perpignan: my favourite player is lock Robins Tchale Watchou; what a character.
 

Gagger

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Staff member
David Lyons playing exactly the sort of game at 8 for the Scarlets that Australia's been missing with big Cliffy out

Update - gets man of the match award as Scarlets win 43-34. I'm told the crowd were calling him Dai Lyons.

The handling in one of the Scarlets tries was breathtaking
 

dobduff11

Trevor Allan (34)
London Irish are doing me proud leading Munster 20-6 at the break.

Boy i played against a few times Jonathan joseph is on the bench for irish
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Leinster 38 - Racing Metro 22
Visiting teams in the Heineken Cup are similar to European soccer teams who are relatively happy if they get a draw away. In the HC visiting teams are relatively happy to get a losing bonus point: more so than teams in the Super14 are. Such points are even more valuable in this Pool of Death that Leinster and RM are in, but the lads from Paris left Dublin with nothing

Leinster won with a bonus point in scoring 5 tries, something they would not have expected before the game. They will be chuffed about their form reversal in the last two games, but they will be worried about Drico's busted hamstring.

Racing missed their ace flyhalves Wizniewski and JMH; so they will be a tougher proposition in the return match at home, but leaking all those tries was not a good look for the Top14 leaders.

Scarlets 43 – Perpignan 34
There were some marvellous tries in this match and worth a look if you get a chance. I thought that the home team would miss their young guns 12 Jonathan Davies and 11. George North but the hot potato rugby they put on worked a treat.

Their problem was stopping Perpignan scoring tries; in fact the visitors scored 5 of them to 4 and blew another 3 IMO near the goal line. Perpignan used turnover ball situations like set pieces and could have won the game. They damn near got a 2nd bonus point for losing by less than 7, but a last minute long range penalty missed.

As dobduff11 said: 8. David Lyons was man of the match with his trademark runs stepping off both feet but 12. Regan King had a blinder and was terrific to watch.

London Irish 23 – Munster 16

I had mixed feelings here as Munster is my favourite NH team but the Exiles are right up there in my allegiances too.

It was a fine win by the Irish who were not allowed to play the expansive game that suits them. They deserved the win but Munster were their own worst enemies sometimes. They lost the ball a lot of times like an inexperienced team and their lineouts were horrible in particular. But when it mattered most, when Munster needed a try in the last seconds of the match to get a losing bonus point, they scored it.

Munster are not to date this season the team that moves earth and heaven, but you can't write off a side that has got to the HC finals 12 years in a row. The Exiles may rue that bonus point that Munster got. Watch this space.
 

Thomond78

Colin Windon (37)
LG, we were missing Flannery, POC, Jones, Dowling, TOL (who, I regret to say, has been gash of late), Wallace hasn't started a game yet due to injury and Earls is only just back from about six months off injured. Now, we should have won it; but, considering we went to the AP leaders with half a team and still got something, how bad. Some of the LI guys are claiming they don't care about that BP, that they're happy with the win; in which case, they're either lying, or stupid, because the absolute key to tight HEC pools is to 4-0 the visitors at home and always, always pick up at least a 1-4 away.

And in passing, it must be some time-machine Dobduff has, as the HT score in the Munster game was 15-6. To be blunt, that intercept was the only way LI were ever going to get a try.

Toulon looked very, very average. And, given they've openly said they're concentrating on the T14, I'll be interested to see their selection, given that I doubt they'd want Wilkinson broken at TP with that coming up. We should have Fla back, as he was back playing for Shannon, so he might be in contention.

Incidentally, one thing from the weekend is that the T14 teams have been surprisingly poor; Racing, especially, looked like they thought tackling was optional.
 

Thomond78

Colin Windon (37)
Oh, it's beautiful handling.

The only problem is, it should never have been given, because there's a clear penalty right at the start.

Turk 7 is the receiver. As the Perpignan hooker is about to throw in, he's already moving; at 0:01 on that, you can see he's already level with the back of the lineout. Penalty, Law 19 (14) (a).

He then comes around from the Perpignan side before the ball has left the line of touch as the Perpignan jumper catches it - penalty, Law 19 (14) (c). (Turk 3 is guilty of this, too, and under 19 (14) (d)).

And from that offside position, he takes the ball - penalty.

So, clear penalties, right at the start, missed. And badly missed, I might add.

He then comes from the Perpignan side, and takes the ball.
 

Thomond78

Colin Windon (37)
Saint-André, in today's Irish Examiner, has announced that Contepomi will be starting against us next Saturday.

Which means a) Wilkinson won't, b) since Contepomi doesn't have a legit EU passport (turns out the Italian passport Leinster used to play more than two non-EU, non-Kolpak player was dodgy - anyone for annulling the 2009 HEC results because of this?), they can't play many more of their foreigh legion, which is nice, c) it has the feeling of "just don't get broken for the T14, lads" as their approach and d) they might be trying to play a bit more expansively than they did, but who cares, let's get in the little rat's head - again :D
 

Gagger

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Staff member
Funnily enough, on Sky Sports Dean Ryan actually highlighted his play in this lineout as key. He reckoned that as the ball's gone past the 15m line there's no offside at the lineout

As for the moving, I think he starts on the Perpignan's hookers first baulk (isn't this a FK to the Scarlets?)


Some of the speed of ball recycle and handling on display over the weekend was exceptional. Will be interesting how it holds up in the bog of winter
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Bath 11 – Biarritz 12
Bath blew the game 5 minutes from the siren when they had the ball in front of the posts with Barkley 20 metres out to drop the goal, but the ball was passed to the right instead. Then Biarritz, who know all about the Heineken Cup having been in the final twice in the last 5 years, got the pill and closed the game down.

It looked like the teams were taking turns at having possession and losing it: Biarritz before oranges, and Bath afterwards, but it was the visitors who took their chances better. 9. Yachvilli was outstanding as the on field general looking through the fog of war and marshalling his troops, and captain Harinordoquy was supreme in the trenches. On the other hand Bath lacked a few leaders and the injured Moody was sorely missed.

Aussie watch: Carraro played well on the wing for Bath and had a role in the only try scored in the game, but it was DHP playing fullback for Biarritz that took my eye. He was under pressure quite a few times and wasn't found wanting. It's the best game I can remember his playing.

Bath are in an easy pool and, on paper, it is more likely to get in the finals finishing 2nd than from a difficult pool where winning bonus points are scarce. But losing at home is usually death.

Toulouse 18 – Wasps 16
No sooner had Toulouse THP Census Johnston been announced as MOTM when he killed the ball 48 metres out and gave Wasps 10. Walder a chance to kick a penalty to win the game in the last minute. But it missed.

All the starters for Toulouse were internationals of some stripe and were expected to win handily, but the driving rain during the game evened things out for Wasps against the most successful HC team in history. They were conditions that make Wallabies fans wince when they are watching EOYT games and makes them go to bed and watch their recording in the morning when they can use fast-forward.

Pat on the back to referee George Clancy for not allowing Sowerby to come into the side of an attacking ruck on the Wasps goal line. Too many refs allow the attacking team to get away with rugby murder in such situations. Also when Lemi scored his try for Wasps it was unclear if the ball had been grounded; so he allowed play to go on for two kicks. Then he referred to the TMO once a mark had been called. Try.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
LG, we were missing Flannery, POC, Jones, Dowling, TOL (who, I regret to say, has been gash of late), Wallace hasn't started a game yet due to injury and Earls is only just back from about six months off injured.

Yeah you were a bit short of troops. Flannery would have thrown to the lineout better than Varley - and the injuries to Jones and Dowling and the suspension of nutter Mafi have thinned the depth, haven't they?

TOL may not have been in great form but opponents are always holding in case he runs. You're going to miss his type of scrummie if he's out for a couple of months. On the other hand it was good to see Stringer's roundarm pass again. I'm going to miss him when he hangs up his boots.

Wallace understandably looked rusty when he came on against Leinster in the ML but he was a game changer against the Exiles in the HC. Without him they lacked a ball running bruiser. Hopefully he will get to start next weekend.

Quinny had a bit of a shocker against Leinster but I was surprised to see him not selected in the 22. Was strange to see Warwick on the bench but, unusually, he also had a poor game the week before.

How far away is POC? He's the player you miss most.


Some of the LI guys are claiming they don't care about that BP, that they're happy with the win; in which case, they're either lying, or stupid, because the absolute key to tight HEC pools is to 4-0 the visitors at home and always, always pick up at least a 1-4 away.

I think you'll be happy with 3-0 at home. :D But you're right: that Munster bonus point may loom large in January.

To be blunt, that intercept was the only way LI were ever going to get a try.

You're probably right - the Munster defence was good and the Exiles could score only goals. Lamb couldn't tackle a rice custard but he proved he's good for something. Fair play to them for their goal line defence also: the tackle of Armitage on Buckley in goal was gold for the Exiles.


Toulon looked very, very average. And, given they've openly said they're concentrating on the T14, I'll be interested to see their selection, given that I doubt they'd want Wilkinson broken at TP with that coming up.

That game wasn't shown in Oz but by all accounts Wilko was the man, yet again, for Toulon. That's good news for Munster if he doesn't show up with his kit. Contepomi will welcome a stint at 10 as he has been playing as far out as 13 where the legs clock up the mileage and you're expected to be able to shift.

Incidentally, one thing from the weekend is that the T14 teams have been surprisingly poor; Racing, especially, looked like they thought tackling was optional.

Yeah Racing were short a few players and I think some were omitted by choice, at least from the run-on team. If Wizniewski can play on the weekend - different story. But I was surprised they leaked so many tries too.

The Top14 teams were not as dominant as I thought but I think they will be on a roll for a few years. The player depth that money can buy is extravagant and I read a report that Racing, Toulon and Clermont each have 20 players on their books who are not elible to play for France.

The Top14 refs don't help the French clubs much for the HC because many of them pay only lip service to the IRB law crackdowns. Then when they get an AP or ML referee they are disadvantaged. You could see this a couple of weeks ago clearly when the Euro referees officiated in other tournaments prior to the HC starting, and Andrew Small confused both Toulouse and Castres in a T14 match.

Last weekend the T14 teams did as well as the ML and AP teams in games against teams from other tournaments - if one takes out the Ulster win against Aironi, as one should. It's early days but I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of T14 teams in the final again.
 

Thomond78

Colin Windon (37)
Been confirmed that ContraryPony is travelling, and will be starting instead of Wilko.

And guess who's back in the Munster 23, apart from Fla? And, one presumes, at this very moment being prodded by Axel through the bars of the cage and being told that baldy Argentinian said he rode your sister...?

At the very least, it's going to be fun watching it. Because if ContraryPony hasn't played in that channel for a while when we let the lads loose howling down his throat, I suspect he may not quite be as able to tune it out as once he might have been... :D
 
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