2017-18 Champions Cup

ironingbored

For me, forward out of the hands all day. That is why Trin-Duc's was flat to Basteraud and this one is clearly forward.

penybont exile

Dubious of the competition organisers to allow Leinster to play a "home" quarter final in the Aviva then a "neutral" semi-final in the Aviva. In my view the semi should be in Thomond Park.

[BTW .... I don't have a lot of skin in the game here].

.ak

penybont exile wrote: »

Dubious of the competition organisers to allow Leinster to play a "home" quarter final in the Aviva then a "neutral" semi-final in the Aviva. In my view the semi should be in Thomond Park.

[BTW .... I don't have a lot of skin in the game here].

Does TP qualify as a big enough stadium for the semis?

No doubting having our neutral national stadium in our back yard is a massive advantage for us but I don’t really see any alternative for the organisers - guaranteed sell outs in a 50k stadium? They’ll take that all day long.

Jack Kanoff

penybont exile wrote: »

Dubious of the competition organisers to allow Leinster to play a "home" quarter final in the Aviva then a "neutral" semi-final in the Aviva. In my view the semi should be in Thomond Park.

[BTW .... I don't have a lot of skin in the game here].

I think it will possibly be looked at in the future as only on paper is it a neutral ground... but for this year... Scarlets are going to have to suck it up I'm afraid

penybont exile

Exeter Chiefs

penybont exile wrote: »

Dubious of the competition organisers to allow Leinster to play a "home" quarter final in the Aviva then a "neutral" semi-final in the Aviva. In my view the semi should be in Thomond Park.

[BTW .... I don't have a lot of skin in the game here].

It's been this way for 15 years plus. It's mitigated by the fact that Scarlets will have a huge ticket allocation for the match (half of the tickets?) should their fans decide to travel.

Plus commercial realities kick in. Lansdowne is twice the size of Thomond and the game will sell out. They'd be leaving millions of Euro behind by playing in Thomond.

Burkie1203

Exeter Chiefs

.ak wrote: »

Does TP qualify as a big enough stadium for the semis?

No doubting having our neutral national stadium in our back yard is a massive advantage for us but I don’t really see any alternative for the organisers - guaranteed sell outs in a 50k stadium? They’ll take that all day long.

Leinster played Toulouse in Toulouse in 2010 Semi if I'm not mistaken

Cardiff played Leicester in the Principality in 2009. Didn't hear the Welsh crying about that.

penybont exile

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Leinster played Toulouse in Toulouse in 2010 Semi if I'm not mistaken

Cardiff played Leicester in the Principality in 2009. Didn't hear the Welsh crying about that.

I might be wrong but back then the semis were not on neutral venues .... I will stand to be corrected though.

penybont exile

Rhea Massive Barrel wrote: »

It's been this way for 15 years plus. It's mitigated by the fact that Scarlets will have a huge ticket allocation for the match (half of the tickets?) should their fans decide to travel.

Plus commercial realities kick in. Lansdowne is twice the size of Thomond and the game will sell out. They'd be leaving millions of Euro behind by playing in Thomond.

I get the money side of it ....doesn't make it right though. The Aviva is not neutral given it's "home" status yesterday.

Racing are not playing in the SDF ..... plenty of dough being left behind by that decision ..... it shouldn't all be about money. The integrity of the competition counts for something.

Burkie1203

Exeter Chiefs

penybont exile wrote: »

I might be wrong but back then the semis were not on neutral venues .... I will stand to be corrected though.

Semi finals were home country advantage even back then

Podge_irl

penybont exile wrote: »

I might be wrong but back then the semis were not on neutral venues .... I will stand to be corrected though.

The semis are not in neutral venues now either.

The semi-final matches will be played at venues designated by EPCR, but the following clubs will have home country advantage in their respective semi-final matches...

Peregrine

Castres

penybont exile wrote: »

I might be wrong but back then the semis were not on neutral venues .... I will stand to be corrected though.

The rules clearly say "home country advantage" and not "neutral venue". Teams play for "home semis", remember? It's not supposed to be a neutral venue.

The Aviva isn't Leinster's home ground and the rules don't preclude Leinster from renting it for the QF when they know they can sell 50,000+ tickets.

They were the same rules back in 2009 when Cardiff played their QF and SF in the Millenium. Same year Munster played Leinster in Croke Park.

penybont exile

Podge_irl wrote: »

The semis are not in neutral venues now either.

That clarifies it .... nothing neutral about it .... thanks

Former Former

penybont exile wrote: »

That clarifies it .... nothing neutral about it .... thanks

It used to be that you couldn't play in your "home" venue but that the home team could nominate a venue of their choice. But then you ended up with unfair situations where Leinster could say their home venue was Donnybrook (capacity 6,000) was their home ground and Lansdowne was neutral.

Stade de France would be too big for Racing, but why they're going all the way to Bordeaux I'm not sure. I think the FFR have a big say in it and I suspect they have a sweet deal with the owners of the Bordeaux ground. If La Rochelle had beaten Scarlets, both semis would have been there.

OldRio

3 Pro14 teams into the semis. Nice. But let us not rest on our laurels. 4 next year?
Looking forward to the media reaction in the next few days.

razorblunt

Castres

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Leinster played Toulouse in Toulouse in 2010 Semi if I'm not mistaken

Cardiff played Leicester in the Principality in 2009. Didn't hear the Welsh crying about that.

How many games had Cardiff played in the stadium that season as their "home" venue though?

I can see the reason for the complaints, the 50/50 split ticket wise will help and the Scarlets players will be buoyed by the fact that they've won there.

It's also stupid to send Munster and Racing to Bordeaux, London would have been the ideal spot.

prawnsambo

razorblunt wrote: »

How many games had Cardiff played in the stadium that season as their "home" venue though?

I can see the reason for the complaints, the 50/50 split ticket wise will help and the Scarlets players will be buoyed by the fact that they've won there.

It's also stupid to send Munster and Racing to Bordeaux, London would have been the ideal spot.

It's not necessarily being in your home ground that gives the advantage but being able to draw on a large home support.

P_1

Odd that Racing are moving their match to Bordeaux, I'm guessing PSG wouldn't rent their ground out

Peregrine

Castres

razorblunt wrote: »

It's also stupid to send Munster and Racing to Bordeaux, London would have been the ideal spot.

Stupid? I don't think Racing considers London to be in their home country.

This is just silly. They're not neutral venues — nor are they supposed to be.

razorblunt

Castres

Peregrine wrote: »

Stupid? I don't think Racing considers London to be in their home country.

This is just silly. They're not neutral venues — nor are they supposed to be.

prawnsambo wrote: »

It's not necessarily being in your home ground that gives the advantage but being able to draw on a large home support.

Yeah, I've just realised it's neutral from the point of view of not being in the same stadium but as close as possible to draw on the home support. I've incorrectly assumed otherwise since the Toulouse - Munster semi in 99.

I still think using the Aviva is a bit of a fud, but like I said I can't seen the Scarlets players caring too much about it.

prawnsambo

razorblunt wrote: »

Yeah, I've just realised it's neutral from the point of view of not being in the same stadium but as close as possible to draw on the home support. I've incorrectly assumed otherwise since the Toulouse - Munster semi in 99.

I still think using the Aviva is a bit of a fud, but like I said I can't seen the Scarlets players caring too much about it.

It's not suppposed to be neutral though. Home advantage is actually the prize for finishing first or second seeds providing nobody wins an away match.

Stheno

If our semi is the 21st what time might kick off be?

Clegg

In an effort to reduce player workload the English clubs have suggested scaling back the Champions Cup.


https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/02/champions-cup-rugby-premiership-wrangle

CatFromHue

Montpellier

are they still in the mickey mouse anglo welsh cup?

nordydan

Wasps

Clegg wrote: »

In an effort to reduce player workload the English clubs have suggested scaling back the Champions Cup.


https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/02/champions-cup-rugby-premiership-wrangle

So they would prefer to play Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster in place of Leinster and Clermont???

Jack Kanoff

nordydan wrote: »

So they would prefer to play Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster in place of Leinster and Clermont???

All comes down to sponsors and the revenue stream that the PL is worth to the sides....if they get the French on-board... then the European cup will be streamlined....could be horrific for the Pro14

pickarooney

They could give up a couple of spots and let the Saffers play in their place.
Or do like the French and throw all the away games.

Eod100

nordydan wrote: »

So they would prefer to play Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster in place of Leinster and Clermont???

And the bit about Champions Cup losing its "aura". They can feck off!

clsmooth

Anyone looked at flights to Bilbao for the final? Eyewatering doesnt even begin to describe the prices. Direct from Dublin, £849. From London, £450. Thieving bastids

Jack Kanoff

clsmooth wrote: »

Anyone looked at flights to Bilbao for the final? Eyewatering doesnt even begin to describe the prices. Direct from Dublin, £849. From London, £450. Thieving bastids

Don't even bother looking at accomodation so

awec

clsmooth wrote: »

Anyone looked at flights to Bilbao for the final? Eyewatering doesnt even begin to describe the prices. Direct from Dublin, £849. From London, £450. Thieving bastids

Bilbao seems a bit out of the way so I'd guess there's not a huge variety in terms of flight options which will push the price up.

The Lost Sheep

clsmooth wrote: »

Anyone looked at flights to Bilbao for the final? Eyewatering doesnt even begin to describe the prices. Direct from Dublin, £849. From London, £450. Thieving bastids

Its expensive but if you've the time to do it getting the new Cork to Santander ferry could be an option. It would be cheaper than those flights anyway

The Lost Sheep

Exeter Chiefs

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Its expensive but if you've the time to do it getting the new Cork to Santander ferry could be an option. It would be cheaper than those flights anyway

It also takes about 24 hours.

Burkie1203

Exeter Chiefs

Rhea Massive Barrel wrote: »

It also takes about 24 hours.

Booze cruise

Booked flights ages ago. Biarritz on thursday. Train or hire car to Bilbao.

Get to Barcelona by sunday evening to get flight home

The Lost Sheep

Rhea Massive Barrel wrote: »

It also takes about 24 hours.

Thats why i said if you had the time.

Eod100

clsmooth wrote: »

Anyone looked at flights to Bilbao for the final? Eyewatering doesnt even begin to describe the prices. Direct from Dublin, £849. From London, £450. Thieving bastids

Booked back in October but even then prices weren't cheap that weekend. Going outwirh1 Dublin Stansted , Stansted Santander the Friday. Back the Monday Bilbao to Dublin with Aer Lingus . If you have time could try see if Santander from Stansted is an option!

.ak

Yeah was going to book flights a while ago and they were cheap enough.

Accommodation was, and presume still is, the issue.

Zzippy

https://twitter.com/CheekyRuck/status/980852933502947328

Eod100

Zzippy wrote: »

https://twitter.com/CheekyRuck/status/980852933502947328

Would Carter even be starting? Id take Leinster Munster in Bilbao any day!

.ak

Have to say I thought Racing were the team of the weekend. Clermont were brilliant and threw the kitchen sink at them but just couldn't live with Racing, especially when DC came on.

Scary prospect for any team.

awec

I think Leinster vs Racing would be the best final rugby wise. Racing probably the most likely to beat Leinster (who are the favourites now for good reason).

irishbucsfan

Leinster Munster is the final we deserve

Jump_In_Jack

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

There’s this thing call momentum.
Either way, ball leaves the hand backwards. Good call

What momentum?
He slowed down on his last couple of steps before passing, he wasn't moving at speed, the ball went directly forward and then tapered laterally, ending up 2 metres forward.
As a neutral, can't believe that wasn't picked up, not to mind the exultations hailing it as a great pass!

Eod100

Semi finals to be confirmed at 3pm

who_me

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Leinster Munster is the final we deserve

IIRC, this is the 4th time the semi finals have lined up a potential Munster - Leinster final.

And on all 3 previous occasions, both went out in the semis. I'm not saying it's going to happen again..... .....but maybe it's going to happen again....

Eod100

who_me wrote: »

IIRC, this is the 4th time the semi finals have lined up a potential Munster - Leinster final.

And on all 3 previous occasions, both went out in the semis. I'm not saying it's going to happen again..... .....but maybe it's going to happen again....

I'm going to Bilbao so I'd take 1 province at this stage. I think Leinster will, would love if Munster did too..

ScrubsfanChris

Racing 92

who_me wrote: »

IIRC, this is the 4th time the semi finals have lined up a potential Munster - Leinster final.

And on all 3 previous occasions, both went out in the semis. I'm not saying it's going to happen again..... .....but maybe it's going to happen again....

2003
Leinster v Perpignan
Toulouse v Munster

2010
Toulouse v Leinster
Biarritz v Munster

2017
Munster v Saracens
Clermont v Leinster

Had to look up 2010, couldn't remember who Leinster played.

Podge_irl

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Had to look up 2010, couldn't remember who Leinster played.

Pah, that was the game Shuan Berne started at fly half cause Sexton broke his jaw. Could have been in with a shot if Sexton had been fit and made it 4 in a row

who_me

Eod100 wrote: »

I'm going to Bilbao so I'd take 1 province at this stage. I think Leinster will, would love if Munster did too..

Yeah, Leinster are the obvious favourites, but Scarlets have a decent recent record against Leinster; and there's no real pressure on them.

Racing would probably be the pick of the quarter finalists I'd most like to meet away in a semi. It's not that I don't rate them - they were one of the gnarliest teams I've seen play in Thomond - but we have already beaten them once this season and nearly did so in the away game too. (Notable also that it was another Murray intervention that changed that game too!).

I've been to a few finals as a neutral, and tbh I nearly enjoyed them more. The nerves were a bit frayed when Munster were playing.

prawnsambo

who_me wrote: »

Yeah, Leinster are the obvious favourites, but Scarlets have a decent recent record against Leinster; and there's no real pressure on them.

Racing would probably be the pick of the quarter finalists I'd most like to meet away in a semi. It's not that I don't rate them - they were one of the gnarliest teams I've seen play in Thomond - but we have already beaten them once this season and nearly did so in the away game too. (Notable also that it was another Murray intervention that changed that game too!).

I've been to a few finals as a neutral, and tbh I nearly enjoyed them more. The nerves were a bit frayed when Munster were playing.

Trying to get to a final is pressure enough in itself.

Racing get a bit excitable and throw the ball around a bit, so there's chances there for a turnover score. But they look much more solid and assured than when Munster met them in the U Arena. I wouldn't say they're a different team, but there's a bit of swagger about them. They went away to Clermont, went 9-0 down and came back and blew them away.

icdg

Semi final TV picks

Champions Cup
Leinster v Scarlets - Sky
Racing 92 v Munster - BT

European Challenge Cup;
Newcastle v Gloucester - BT
Cardiff Blues v Pau - Sky