Heineken Cup - General Discussion Thread

ed7890

Can Northampton qualify now, if they win with bonus tomorrow?

Tox56

totallegend wrote: »

We are looking at a very real possibility of an all Irish qf...

I'd prefer they all get split up, creating the possiblity of 3/4 Irish Semi's.

ongarite

totallegend wrote: »

We are looking at a very real possibility of an all Irish qf...

Who? Munster v Ulster??
Leinster v Munster?

durkadurka

ed7890 wrote: »

Can Northampton qualify now, if they win with bonus tomorrow?

Extremely unlikely but stranger things have happened.....

Tox56

ongarite wrote: »

Who? Munster v Ulster??
Leinster v Munster?

I don't know how it would technically work out, but if they get split in the QF's and all win, 3/4 would have to happen, I think?

justsomebloke

ongarite wrote: »

Who? Munster v Ulster??
Leinster v Munster?

Munster or Leinster V ulster

CatFromHue

ed7890 wrote: »

Can Northampton qualify now, if they win with bonus tomorrow?

Both Clermont and one of Cardiff or Edinburgh would have to take no points from their last game. All three of these teams are at home and both of the teams Cardiff and Edinburgh are playing are eliminated from all European rugby.

It's possible but very unlikely.

Brewster

justsomebloke wrote: »

Munster or Leinster V ulster

As I said in order thread, if Leinster, Clermont, Edinburgh and Cardiff win it's Leinster Ulster. (provided Clermont beat Ulster by more than five or don't lose out on tries scored etc )

gameoverdude

After tonight, I'm giving up making predictions. Excellent evening of rugby and more to follow. I love this competition!

justsomebloke

Brewster wrote: »

As I said in order thread, if Leinster, Clermont, Edinburgh and Cardiff win it's Leinster Ulster. (provided Clermont beat Ulster by more than five or don't lose out on tries scored etc )

Well if Leinster and Munster win, if ulster lose they will face one of them

washman3

Burgo wrote: »

what a night of upsets, the Heineken cup never fails to entertain.

WOW.... what entertainment....... a 9pts to 8pts result.
lets all dance on the rooftops...:D

totallegend

If Clermont, Munster and Leinster all win tomorrow, we are guaranteed an all-Irish QF.

OR

If Clermont, Leinster OR Munster, Cardiff and Edinburgh all win, we will have an all-Irish QF.

I'd say the odds are pretty good.

Big Nelly

washman3 wrote: »

WOW.... what entertainment....... a 9pts to 8pts result.
lets all dance on the rooftops...:D

Yes it was great entertainment, very tense and I enjoyed it very much. You point was?

bleg

Best rugby competition of all.

nordydan

All 3 Irish teams can beat ANYONE at home, lets hope Ulster & Munster do the business tomorrow

totallegend

bleg wrote: »

Best rugby competition of all.

It really, really is.

Podge_irl

bleg wrote: »

Best rugby competition of all.

More like it.

bleg

Podge_irl wrote: »

More like it.

Nah, women's beach volleyball at the Olympics!:pac:

durkadurka

Right lads. Who's going to post revised permutations and predictions now then?

I am incapable myself...

vienne86

durkadurka wrote: »

Right lads. Who's going to post revised permutations and predictions now then?

I am incapable myself...

I'd guess:

Leinster v Ulster
Sarries v Embra
Cardiff v Toulouse
Clermont v Munster

CIARAN_BOYLE

Has there ever been three quarter finals in the one country before. Just wondering cause if there are three more Irish wins this weekend there will be.

bleg

vienne86 wrote: »

I'd guess:

Leinster v Ulster
Sarries v Embra
Cardiff v Toulouse
Clermont v Clermont

wat

phog

vienne86 wrote: »

I'd guess:

Leinster v Ulster
Sarries v Embra
Cardiff v Toulouse
Clermont v Clermont

Munster are already qualified and you dont have them in any of your predictions

P_1

vienne86 wrote: »

I'd guess:

Leinster v Ulster
Sarries v Embra
Cardiff v Toulouse
Clermont v Clermont

durkadurka

phog wrote: »

Munster are already qualified and you dont have them in any of your predictions

And clermont vs clermont looks like a key match.

Podge_irl

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Has there ever been three quarter finals in the one country before. Just wondering cause if there are three more Irish wins this weekend there will be.

At this stage I think a losing bonus point would suffice for Munster to get a home QF.

Looking at it actually, it's quite likely they'll be playing Clermont unless they win. A LBP could mean playing at home as opposed to playing in Clermont - that's a massive difference.

vienne86

phog wrote: »

Munster are already qualified and you dont have them in any of your predictions

Thanks - just edited my post. Should be Clermont v Munster.

Tigerandahalf

Id say
Leinster v Toulouse...Toulouse are only on 18 points, they will be 8th seed

Ulster will more than likely be 7th seed as it will be hard for them to get anything.

Munster should thus have home quarter final.

Edit: sorry Munster would need to get something to get home quarter.

A lot depends on whether Clermont get bonus, which is unlikely. However, they have a smashing backline.

Podge_irl

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Id say
Leinster v Toulouse...Toulouse are only on 18 points, they will be 8th seed

Look above. Toulouse are guaranteed at least 6th seed as a group winner.

vienne86

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Id say
Leinster v Toulouse...Toulouse are only on 18 points, they will be 8th seed

Ulster will more than likely be 7th seed as it will be hard for them to get anything.

Munster should thus have home quarter final.

Pool runners-up are always 7th and 8th seeds regardless of the points of the pool winners.

phog

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Has there ever been three quarter finals in the one country before. Just wondering cause if there are three more Irish wins this weekend there will be.

Certainly there was two seasons.

07/08 Glaws, LI & Sarries

04/05 Biarritz, SF and Toulouse

Tigerandahalf

You're right lads.
So Toulouse will definitely be 6th seed as they have lowest points for group winner (unless something v strange happens with Cardiff/Edinburgh)

1 v 8
2 v 7
3 v 6
4 v 5

That's the order yes?

durkadurka

vienne86 wrote: »

I'd guess:

Leinster v Ulster
Sarries v Embra
Cardiff v Toulouse
Clermont v Munster

That's pretty plausible.( after the initial hilarity!) Still looking like semi finalists of leinster sarries clermont and Toulouse.

copacetic

Conns result was great for Munster as well as Ulster, along with Toulouse losing its given Munster a much better chance of a home 1/4.

circos

What a tournament. Not even in the knockout phase yet and the sheer amount of quality games is just baffling.

durkadurka

Good chance a lbp gets Munster a home qf.

Tigerandahalf

Clermont and Munster could finish on level points...20 points. I guess Clermont would finish higher as they have more bonus points/tries.

Id say

1 Leinster 25pts
2 Saracens 23pts
3 Cardiff 21pts
4 Clermont 20pts
5 Munster 20pts
6 Toulouse 18pts
7 Edinburgh 21pts
8 Ulster 19pts

Does that seem right?

Podge_irl

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Clermont and Munster could finish on level points...20 points. I guess Clermont would finish higher as they have more bonus points/tries.

Id say

1 Leinster 25pts
2 Saracens 23pts
3 Cardiff 21pts
4 Clermont 20pts
5 Munster 20pts
6 Toulouse 18pts
7 Edinburgh 21pts
8 Ulster 19pts

Does that seem right?

I doubt Leinster or Saracens will get the try bonus (especially Saracens) but that won't affect the order. Everything else is how I see it turning out also bar the possibility of Munster pipping Clermont to 4th. Munster desperately need the LBP to avoid going away to Clermont - they'll almost definitely lose that.

durkadurka

Leinster v ulster looking very likely.

washman3

Big Nelly wrote: »

Yes it was great entertainment, very tense and I enjoyed it very much. You point was?

Harlequins are top of the premiership,thats their goal this year.
merely going through the motions tonight.
similar to the French teams, treating the H.C. as Munster/Leinster treat the Rabo/Direct league. their season is defined on how they fare in the Super14. Its only in Super14 that they field their strongest teams.;)

Tigerandahalf

Vivienne could be right.

Although I wouldn't be surprised if Edinburgh lose...a lot of pressure on them and LI could take them. That could bring Biarritz or Ospreys back in to it, depending who wins that game.
It would mean Ulster would then be 7th seed and play Sarries.

d-gal

washman3 wrote: »

Harlequins are top of the premiership,thats their goal this year.
merely going through the motions tonight.
similar to the French teams, treating the H.C. as Munster/Leinster treat the Rabo/Direct league. their season is defined on how they fare in the Super14. Its only in Super14 that they field their strongest teams.;)

Can we post this up as one of the stupidest posts of the year please!

durkadurka

Podge_irl wrote: »

I doubt Leinster or Saracens will get the try bonus (especially Saracens) but that won't affect the order. Everything else is how I see it turning out also bar the possibility of Munster pipping Clermont to 4th. Munster desperately need the LBP to avoid going away to Clermont - they'll almost definitely lose that.

Ulsters motivation will have dropped off a bit following tonight, makes a bp more likely for clermont.

Flip side is Munster see a huge chance of a home qf, particularly as they will know the clermont result before they play.

Tomorrow will be a fascinating day.

circos

washman3 wrote: »

Harlequins are top of the premiership,thats their goal this year.
merely going through the motions tonight.
similar to the French teams, treating the H.C. as Munster/Leinster treat the Rabo/Direct league. their season is defined on how they fare in the Super14. Its only in Super14 that they field their strongest teams.;)

Trolling??

durkadurka

washman3 wrote: »

Harlequins are top of the premiership,thats their goal this year.
merely going through the motions tonight.
similar to the French teams, treating the H.C. as Munster/Leinster treat the Rabo/Direct league. their season is defined on how they fare in the Super14. Its only in Super14 that they field their strongest teams.;)

I don't think that was their sentiment when they beat Toulouse away.
Absolute garbage of a post.

Tigerandahalf

Lads,
a huge incentive for Munster to beat Northampton. If they do they would go 2nd and play possibly Edinburgh in the quarter in Thomond...the easiest draw.
Or they could get Ulster.

If they don't win it looks like they will play Clermont, either home or away.
Not an easy game.

Podge_irl

durkadurka wrote: »

Ulsters motivation will have dropped off a bit following tonight, makes a bp more likely for clermont.

Flip side is Munster see a huge chance of a home qf, particularly as they will know the clermont result before they play.

Tomorrow will be a fascinating day.

Clermont get a try bonus and Munster have to win essentially. I don't see it though. Ulster will want to avoid Leinster and they're not the kind of team to give up 4 tries easily.

totallegend

circos wrote: »

Trolling??

yes

Big Nelly

washman3 wrote: »

Harlequins are top of the premiership,thats their goal this year.
merely going through the motions tonight.
similar to the French teams, treating the H.C. as Munster/Leinster treat the Rabo/Direct league. their season is defined on how they fare in the Super14. Its only in Super14 that they field their strongest teams.;)

Troll, worst post I have seen in a long time

Not see the face on O'Shea towards the end when he knew the game was getting away from them.

Any French team that are in with a chance of QF will be fielding there strongest side.

Also if you knew anything look at the team Montpellier are putting out against Leinster. Its there strongest 15 or as close as possible

durkadurka

Podge_irl wrote: »

Clermont get a try bonus and Munster have to win essentially. I don't see it though. Ulster will want to avoid Leinster and they're not the kind of team to give up 4 tries easily.

We didn't foresee the results tonight. Anything can happen . There's been so many amazing results in this competition.

Ulster qualified 'twice' tonight. Who'd a thunk it.