Scrumbag

Who do you think will win this year's Heineken Cup?

So after a great weekend of action... then there were 16. After much confusion the quarter final draw officially looks like this...

Saracens v Ospreys
London Irish v Perpignan
Gloucester v Munster
Toulouse v Cardiff Blues

But who do you think will win? Let me know by pushing my poll...

Scrumbag predictions: here's how we think British sides will fare in the Heineken Cup this weekend...

It's a massive (MASSIVE) weekend of European rugby, starting from tonight. Here's how I think things will pan out for the Brit sides, let me know how you think things will go...

Bourgoin v Gloucester - Close but, Bourgoin to just win

Ospreys v Ulster - Will Ospreys be able to cope without Henson? I think they might just - Ospreys win

Leinster v Edinburgh - with O'Driscoll reportedly back fit, Leinster will be too much for the Scots.

Treviso v Newport-Gwent D'gons - Colin Charvis, Richard Parks, Kevin Morgan, Rhys Thomas and Martyn Thomas are all back for NGD, but this might be just too much for them right now.

Harlequins v Bristol - almost impossible to call this. But home advantage should do it - Quins to win

Saracens v Viadana - Sarries win at Vic Road.

Clermont Auvergne v Wasps - Wasps to lose unfortunately

Llanelli Scarlets v Munster - Close again, but Munster win

Leicester v Toulouse - home win (honest)

London Irish v Perpignan - London Irish are never easy to predict, but, away win

Stade Francais v Cardiff Blues - the French to win

Glasgow v Biarritz - and win again

Heineken Cup Semi-finals decided

A weekend of surprises has seen the end of all Irish and French involvement in this year's Heineken Cup - with the defending champions knocked out at the quarter-final stage for the second year in a row.

Friday night's game, at Stradey Park, saw group stage pace-setters Llanelli beat a Munster side left rudderless by the absence of captain Paul O'Connell.  A strong forward performance by the hosts, even pushing Munster off their own scrum ball at one point, sent them through by a 24-15 scoreline.  Leinster, also without their captain, took a real battering from a Wasps side who will be desperately hoping they can rescue a poor season  with a decent Heineken run.  35-13 was the final score as Ian McGeechan's men made it to the semi-finals.

Sunday's games were as bad for France as the previous ones had been for Ireland.  Leicester's victory over Stade Francais, secured by a late Tom Varndell try (crucially scored under the posts enabling Andy Goode to hit a simple conversion that gave the Tigers a 21-20 win) knocked out Stade Francais and secured Pat Howard's men a Walkers' Stadium semi-final against Llanelli.  More surprisingly, Northampton Saints helped their fans forget their side's bottom-of-the-table status at home - for 80 minutes at least - with a late Robbie Kydd try knocking out last season's runners-up Biarritz (7-6).  Saints will now face Wasps at Coventry's Ricoh Arena for a place in the final.

Munster boss Declan Kidney tips Llanelli Scarlets for the Heineken crown

First in the queue to congratulate and talk up Llanelli Scarlets was Munster fly half Ronan O'Gara, now Munster head coach Declan Kidney has stepped forward to tip Llanelli for the Heineken Cup title. "Llanelli have won seven out of seven in Europe this season. They have momentum and they are brimming with confidence," he said.

"They are a skilful side, and while there are still six other good teams left in the tournament, I wouldn't put them too far down the betting list. They have the ability to win it."

 

As the first side to qualify for the semi finals of the Heineken Cup, Llanelli can sit back and watch this weekend's action and see who they'll come up against in the penultimate round of games. Llanelli will play the winner of tomorrow's Leicester Tigers vs. Stade Francais game. Considering Llanelli have something of a dark history concerning Leicester in this competition, I'd expect fireworks if the East Midlands side can beat the Paris fancies on Sunday.

Munster's Ronan O'Gara says Scarlets deserved their win

Munster's fly half Ronan O'Gara has admitted that Heineken Cup champions Munster couldn't quite match the desire of the Llanelli Scarlets in last night's Heineken Cup quarter final at Stradey Park. He told the BBC: "Llanelli brought a great intensity to the game, and they had a hunger we couldn't match. There were also crucial scores before half-time," he added, referring to Munster going 17 points down before the break.

"We tried hard, but our execution was poor at times. We turned over the ball, and we weren't as sharp as we could have been. It is going to be a long few days now.The great thing about this team is we win and lose together. We will have to reassess now, and if we are made of stern stuff we will come back. If we are not, then we won't."

It is understandable that Munster didn't quite have the desire of Llanelli, what with them being perhaps the last of the great European teams not to win the title. The smart money is on Llanelli right now...

Llanelli Scarlets 24 Munster 15: Match Reports

Unfortunately, due to Virgin Media being not very good, we here at Scrumbag Towers are without the Heineken Cup quarter finals on the TV. Sob! So we can't live blog, do proper match reports or anything. Thanks, Virgin, thanks a bunch. As it is, we know thanks to a very slow live blog that Llanelli beat Munster last night, and here's where you can find match reports (from people clearly not with Virgin Media):

Scarlets Official Website
ERC Report
Planet Rugby Report
BBC Rugby Report

Leicester Tigers continue to build squad for next season

They may be top of the premiership pile, but the Leicester Tigers are already planning for next season with several intelligent signings. The first announced was that of New Zealander Aaron Mauger, and he will now be joined by Ayoola Erinle, who has signed from Wasps. Interestingly, both are centres, so one would imagine current Tigers midfielders Ollie Smith, Dan Hipkiss and Daryl Gibson are feeling a tad uncomfortable at the moment.

With new squad members in the bag, the Tigers are still searching for a new head coach, as Australian Pat Howard leaves Welford Road at the end of the current season. The latest man tipped for the top job is current Argentina coach Marcelo Loffreda. He said: "I told them I was surprised and that I would prefer to go back to Argentina to see what my family feel about this and also because I had to look at my current job. I had to evaluate if I could do it.Up to now, it's just an approach, a simple informal discussion in which they let me know their interest to go there and help the team as head coach."

Loffreda has an excellent record with Argentina and may wish to take the Tigers top job, but he must also consider the World Cup. I, however, would welcome him gladly to Welford Road.

Six Nations squads hit by injury

Wales and Ireland have had their preparations for the opening Six Nations fixture at the Millennium Stadium disrupted by injuries.  Last season's Triple Crown winners will be without Shane Horgan for the opening two fixtures, while Munster's John Kelly and young Leinster back Rob Kearney will miss the pre-tournament training camps with niggling knocks.

Wales, on the other hand, are without first-choice wings Mark Jones and Shane Williams.  They have asked curiously orange centre Gavin Henson to play at full-back for the Ospreys in their Magners League clash with Ulster, meaning that we can expect Gareth Williams and Kevin Morgan may start on the wings.

Trevor Brennan faces lengthy ban

Toulouse's Irish forward Trevor Brennan may have played his last professional game after a particularly savage case of the red mist in yesterday's Heineken Cup pool game against Ulster.  In a case which has left European rugby mystified, Brennan took it upon himself to remonstrate with a fan who, according to witnesses, was doling out some good-natured ribbing about De Danu, Brennan's Irish bar which had been visited by numerous travelling Ulster fans the previous night. 

The lock forward, according to BBC Northern Ireland's Julian Fowler, proceeded to physically attack the Ulster fan:  "A number of the Ulster supporters started to chant, 'Your pub's a load of rubbish'. 'Rubbish' wasn't exactly the word they used but it wasn't that much more offensive that that.  He (Brennan) turned towards the crowd and climbed over a barrier and walked up the steps towards the eighth row where this fan was sitting.  There was a sustained, repeated attack and I saw at least half a dozen if not more punches using both fists, being rained down on this Ulster supporter.  The supporter was just a young fellow with a group of friends and I wouldn't have said that he was in any way drunk or aggressive."

Toulouse police have described the incident as "a private matter between two people" adding that they "don't know what all the fuss is about".  Brennan, who is thirty-three years of age, will now have to await the outcome of the ERC enquiry into the incident, which must be a lengthy ban.  Should this ban be more than a year long, the chances are that the player, who has failed to make Eddie O'Sullivan's Irish squads in recent times, will call time on a career that up until now had been notable for his brilliant, versatile if aggressive forward play.

Heineken quarter-finals drawn

  Northampton's punishment for losing to Biarritz at the weekend may be considered a little harsh - they have to play the Basque side again.  A trip to the Anoeta, where Biarritz have downed Munster, Bath and Sale in seasons past, will give Saints little hope of repeating their 2000 tournament win.

For beating Munster, Pat Howard's Leicester Tigers are rewarded with a home quarter-final againsrt Stade Francais, an opponent they will know something about having played them in the pool stages last season and in 2003/04.  Last time they met, some late heroics saw Leicester emerge victorious.  Expect to see Dan Hipkiss in the 22 just in case.

Munster's last-day stumble means they must go to Llanelli to play a Scarlets side with a perfect record in this season's pool stages.  Having had to find a new coach with the departure of Gareth Jenkins to take over the national side, the Welsh club will be patting themselves on the back, with the new man Phil Davies having made a tidy start to his tenure.  However, it's not about to get easier for them, as Declan Kidney's men know this stage of the tournament as well as any other team.

Completing the last-eight line-up is a very interesting clash between Wasps and Leinster.  The chilling forward power of the Wycombe-based side or the back-dominated flair of Brian O'Driscoll and co.?  Michael Cheika's men know how to win on the road in this tournament, having done just that in Toulouse at this stage last year.  Wasps' performances this season have improved the more Phil Vickery has bedded in up front, so they'll be hoping he stays fit for the first weekend in April.  Leinster may be missing the always-impressive Shane Horgan through injury, and how they deal with his prospective absence may be key.  With the likes of Rob Kearney and Keiran Lewis ready to step up though, it may just mean that by May we're all talking about another exciting new Leinster midfielder.

Heineken Cup Semi-finals decided

A weekend of surprises has seen the end of all Irish and French involvement in this year's Heineken Cup - with the defending champions knocked out at the quarter-final stage for the second year in a row.

Friday night's game, at Stradey Park, saw group stage pace-setters Llanelli beat a Munster side left rudderless by the absence of captain Paul O'Connell.  A strong forward performance by the hosts, even pushing Munster off their own scrum ball at one point, sent them through by a 24-15 scoreline.  Leinster, also without their captain, took a real battering from a Wasps side who will be desperately hoping they can rescue a poor season  with a decent Heineken run.  35-13 was the final score as Ian McGeechan's men made it to the semi-finals.

Sunday's games were as bad for France as the previous ones had been for Ireland.  Leicester's victory over Stade Francais, secured by a late Tom Varndell try (crucially scored under the posts enabling Andy Goode to hit a simple conversion that gave the Tigers a 21-20 win) knocked out Stade Francais and secured Pat Howard's men a Walkers' Stadium semi-final against Llanelli.  More surprisingly, Northampton Saints helped their fans forget their side's bottom-of-the-table status at home - for 80 minutes at least - with a late Robbie Kydd try knocking out last season's runners-up Biarritz (7-6).  Saints will now face Wasps at Coventry's Ricoh Arena for a place in the final.

Munster boss Declan Kidney tips Llanelli Scarlets for the Heineken crown

First in the queue to congratulate and talk up Llanelli Scarlets was Munster fly half Ronan O'Gara, now Munster head coach Declan Kidney has stepped forward to tip Llanelli for the Heineken Cup title. "Llanelli have won seven out of seven in Europe this season. They have momentum and they are brimming with confidence," he said.

"They are a skilful side, and while there are still six other good teams left in the tournament, I wouldn't put them too far down the betting list. They have the ability to win it."

 

As the first side to qualify for the semi finals of the Heineken Cup, Llanelli can sit back and watch this weekend's action and see who they'll come up against in the penultimate round of games. Llanelli will play the winner of tomorrow's Leicester Tigers vs. Stade Francais game. Considering Llanelli have something of a dark history concerning Leicester in this competition, I'd expect fireworks if the East Midlands side can beat the Paris fancies on Sunday.

Munster's Ronan O'Gara says Scarlets deserved their win

Munster's fly half Ronan O'Gara has admitted that Heineken Cup champions Munster couldn't quite match the desire of the Llanelli Scarlets in last night's Heineken Cup quarter final at Stradey Park. He told the BBC: "Llanelli brought a great intensity to the game, and they had a hunger we couldn't match. There were also crucial scores before half-time," he added, referring to Munster going 17 points down before the break.

"We tried hard, but our execution was poor at times. We turned over the ball, and we weren't as sharp as we could have been. It is going to be a long few days now.The great thing about this team is we win and lose together. We will have to reassess now, and if we are made of stern stuff we will come back. If we are not, then we won't."

It is understandable that Munster didn't quite have the desire of Llanelli, what with them being perhaps the last of the great European teams not to win the title. The smart money is on Llanelli right now...

Llanelli Scarlets 24 Munster 15: Match Reports

Unfortunately, due to Virgin Media being not very good, we here at Scrumbag Towers are without the Heineken Cup quarter finals on the TV. Sob! So we can't live blog, do proper match reports or anything. Thanks, Virgin, thanks a bunch. As it is, we know thanks to a very slow live blog that Llanelli beat Munster last night, and here's where you can find match reports (from people clearly not with Virgin Media):

Scarlets Official Website
ERC Report
Planet Rugby Report
BBC Rugby Report

Leicester Tigers continue to build squad for next season

They may be top of the premiership pile, but the Leicester Tigers are already planning for next season with several intelligent signings. The first announced was that of New Zealander Aaron Mauger, and he will now be joined by Ayoola Erinle, who has signed from Wasps. Interestingly, both are centres, so one would imagine current Tigers midfielders Ollie Smith, Dan Hipkiss and Daryl Gibson are feeling a tad uncomfortable at the moment.

With new squad members in the bag, the Tigers are still searching for a new head coach, as Australian Pat Howard leaves Welford Road at the end of the current season. The latest man tipped for the top job is current Argentina coach Marcelo Loffreda. He said: "I told them I was surprised and that I would prefer to go back to Argentina to see what my family feel about this and also because I had to look at my current job. I had to evaluate if I could do it.Up to now, it's just an approach, a simple informal discussion in which they let me know their interest to go there and help the team as head coach."

Loffreda has an excellent record with Argentina and may wish to take the Tigers top job, but he must also consider the World Cup. I, however, would welcome him gladly to Welford Road.

Six Nations squads hit by injury

Wales and Ireland have had their preparations for the opening Six Nations fixture at the Millennium Stadium disrupted by injuries.  Last season's Triple Crown winners will be without Shane Horgan for the opening two fixtures, while Munster's John Kelly and young Leinster back Rob Kearney will miss the pre-tournament training camps with niggling knocks.

Wales, on the other hand, are without first-choice wings Mark Jones and Shane Williams.  They have asked curiously orange centre Gavin Henson to play at full-back for the Ospreys in their Magners League clash with Ulster, meaning that we can expect Gareth Williams and Kevin Morgan may start on the wings.

Trevor Brennan faces lengthy ban

Toulouse's Irish forward Trevor Brennan may have played his last professional game after a particularly savage case of the red mist in yesterday's Heineken Cup pool game against Ulster.  In a case which has left European rugby mystified, Brennan took it upon himself to remonstrate with a fan who, according to witnesses, was doling out some good-natured ribbing about De Danu, Brennan's Irish bar which had been visited by numerous travelling Ulster fans the previous night. 

The lock forward, according to BBC Northern Ireland's Julian Fowler, proceeded to physically attack the Ulster fan:  "A number of the Ulster supporters started to chant, 'Your pub's a load of rubbish'. 'Rubbish' wasn't exactly the word they used but it wasn't that much more offensive that that.  He (Brennan) turned towards the crowd and climbed over a barrier and walked up the steps towards the eighth row where this fan was sitting.  There was a sustained, repeated attack and I saw at least half a dozen if not more punches using both fists, being rained down on this Ulster supporter.  The supporter was just a young fellow with a group of friends and I wouldn't have said that he was in any way drunk or aggressive."

Toulouse police have described the incident as "a private matter between two people" adding that they "don't know what all the fuss is about".  Brennan, who is thirty-three years of age, will now have to await the outcome of the ERC enquiry into the incident, which must be a lengthy ban.  Should this ban be more than a year long, the chances are that the player, who has failed to make Eddie O'Sullivan's Irish squads in recent times, will call time on a career that up until now had been notable for his brilliant, versatile if aggressive forward play.

Heineken quarter-finals drawn

  Northampton's punishment for losing to Biarritz at the weekend may be considered a little harsh - they have to play the Basque side again.  A trip to the Anoeta, where Biarritz have downed Munster, Bath and Sale in seasons past, will give Saints little hope of repeating their 2000 tournament win.

For beating Munster, Pat Howard's Leicester Tigers are rewarded with a home quarter-final againsrt Stade Francais, an opponent they will know something about having played them in the pool stages last season and in 2003/04.  Last time they met, some late heroics saw Leicester emerge victorious.  Expect to see Dan Hipkiss in the 22 just in case.

Munster's last-day stumble means they must go to Llanelli to play a Scarlets side with a perfect record in this season's pool stages.  Having had to find a new coach with the departure of Gareth Jenkins to take over the national side, the Welsh club will be patting themselves on the back, with the new man Phil Davies having made a tidy start to his tenure.  However, it's not about to get easier for them, as Declan Kidney's men know this stage of the tournament as well as any other team.

Completing the last-eight line-up is a very interesting clash between Wasps and Leinster.  The chilling forward power of the Wycombe-based side or the back-dominated flair of Brian O'Driscoll and co.?  Michael Cheika's men know how to win on the road in this tournament, having done just that in Toulouse at this stage last year.  Wasps' performances this season have improved the more Phil Vickery has bedded in up front, so they'll be hoping he stays fit for the first weekend in April.  Leinster may be missing the always-impressive Shane Horgan through injury, and how they deal with his prospective absence may be key.  With the likes of Rob Kearney and Keiran Lewis ready to step up though, it may just mean that by May we're all talking about another exciting new Leinster midfielder.

Thomond Park record ended by fierce Tigers pack

The long-standing invincibility of Thomond Park in the Heineken Cup has finally been punctured by a Leicester Tigers team with a strong sense of purpose.  Pat Howard's men, knowing that defeat could well end their interest in this season's tournament, were fully aware of the task that awaited them, and rose to it brilliantly.  Tries from Geordan Murphy and Ollie Smith gave the visitors a 13-6 win and top spot in the group, meaning they won't have to travel for their quarter-final.

Munster will be left cursing a rare unwise decision by talismanic captain Paul O'Connell when, trailing 8-6 in the second half, he chose to take on the Leicester scrum five yards from the line.  With the English side having had the upper-hand in the scrum all day, it seemed like an effort from the Munster captain to take back the trenches and turn on its head a match that had been going against his side.  As Tigers again repelled the much-vaunted Munster pack, the guaranteed three points that would have been taken by Ronan O'Gara looked all the more valuable.

The upshot of this first-ever Heineken Cup home defeat is that the defending champions will have to go to Llanelli for their quarter-final.  Facing a Scarlets side who won all their pool games, including a double over Toulouse, will not be easy for Declan Kidney's men, but with a history in this tournament that has seen them triumph over adversity they will look to draw on their vast experience at this stage.  Leicester will host Stade Francais in a game which may well be moved to the nearby Walkers' Stadium.  Having overcome the Parisians in last year's pool stages, Howard's men will be confident of ending a run of consecutive defeats at the football ground.

Peter Stringer sends Limerick crazy

More Heineken Cup goodies, courtesy of YouTube, and I make no apology for it being another Munster video.  This try from Peter Stringer was perhaps the sporting moment of 2006 for yours truly, bringing as it did an end to Munster's many years of heroic failure in European rugby's premier tournament.  Watch!  As Serge Betsen takes a few steps towards the open-side, confident that Stringer will never try a dart for the line.  Laugh!  As Stringer does just that.  Cheer!  As did the entire population of Limerick on seeing possibly the most likeable man in Irish rugby score a crucial, memorable try.