Sad to hear about 30yr old Anthony Watson's early retirement, will retire as ENG's #8 All-Time Try-Scorer despite his numerous injuries & switching between WG & FB esp early on in his career, would otherwise have been pushing for the #1 spot by now w/o those injuries & playing as an out-and-out WG :( Pls give me a more simple & more exclusive 16-Team Tournament instead (4 Groups of 4; Top 6 from Top 14, Top 6 from URC & Top 4 from Prem) with Top 2 from each group going through to the QF Stage! Munster @Franklin's Gardens will be interesting as Saints should be a different animal from the 2nd string side that narrowly lost away to Stade Francais with the likes of West, Langdon, Mayanavanua, Coles, Pearson, Augustus, Finn Smith, Dingwall, Sleightholme, Hendy etc back in the team.
Excellent preview, thanks Tim. Quins were incredible in their victory over Glasgow last year. We're going to need that same energy and desire tomorrow against a Warriors team that look very settled and confident. I know the format takes some stick but I like that there is so much riding on this last round. There are still a number of teams fighting to qualify and a number who want that huge home advantage.
Tim , great overview but you are very generous to Leinster. I’m off to match tomorrow and looks like a nearly fully loaded Bath team. I do believe Leinster will win but, bonus point?. I think Leinster with 4 points. Then you have Toulon against Sale . Can Toulon win and get bonus point in Sale ? Possible. Thing is , if Leinster only get 4 points against Bath on Saturday then Toulon on Sunday will know what they have to do to be second overall in rankings . Of course , if Bath beat Leinster then we have different scenario .
Great stuff Tim dont know how you worked it out, half way through I launched my abacus against the wall. Lets hope the Munster of old show up. Should be a great game.
Interesting to note how the current format makes it so much easier or harder for teams to seed well. Munster had it to play Castres at home while both English opponents got them away. They both also got to pick up easy points against a pretty checked out Bulls team. Those are 2 really massive advantages
This competition format is absolutely nuts. For instance it is absurd it is to see Toulouse listed 5th having won all its games behind less performant sides !? Nonsense !
I dunno, I have a sneaky feeling Stormers are gonna pull a rabbit out the hat. They mixed their squad well, and both Dweba and Roos are starting. 9-10 kinda weak, and dunno why Engelbrecht is there at all, but their direct replacements on the bench are all top notch. Let’s see!
Really looking forward to a lot of these games. Leinster v Bath and Quins v Glasgow to name two. Do Glasgow go full on to try and get top spot? I hope they do. Do Leinster rotate the squad a bit(loose head) against Bath. So many permutations you could go a bit mental just think about it. Thanks again Tim I hope you enjoy the weekend.😊
Ah Tim, never underestimate the ability of the Sharks to disappoint their supporters. They love underperforming, despite the talent in their ranks. In fact, if you listen carefully you can already hear Plum lament depth/season/talent/injuries/how he wasn't hugged as a child.
I think the Sharks are going to get absolutely hammered at Bordeaux. They probably want to end 5th in the pool anyway, to get into the Challenge Cup, where they have a better chance of progressing, because they have no hope of getting past the last 16 in the Champions Cup.
Sharks may have looked like sardines so far but if they make 4th and get a rematch against Bordeaux in spring, it could be a different one if their injured boks are back.
Great video Tim. This stage of the tournament just highlights how poor the current pool setup is. Toulouse having to travel to SA, Bordeaux not having to despite being in the same pool. Teams currently on 0 points with a mathematical chance of qualifying. Possibility of yet another Leinster LaR game. We don’t ask for much in life; all we want is the older format. 6 pools, 4 teams per pool. Home and away. Top 8 go through. Go back and look at the older tables. You were getting nowhere near the knockouts unless you had 4 wins. Even 3 would only land you in the Challenge cup. One win is not enough to qualify for the knockouts of any tournament, never mind the best club rugby tournament around
If Leinster beat Quins hopefully Munster can pull off a famous win against LAR. Leinster then put 80 points on Munster in the 1/4, this would put a smile on my face.
@@markeasey469 the competition has been shite since the format change APART from some semi finals and finals. Last year's final was stupendous quality off the charts although Leinster now I doubt they could play a fast game. All hail Dupont 🎉
Difference between 2nd and 3rd is a QF home tie to La Rochelle if you finish 2nd. For me, Toulon v La Rochelle is an away win... therefore Leinster still get their home SF and it makes no difference to them!! 😂
Bulls don't care 1 bit about the Champions Cup, never mind the Challenge Cup. They showed it last season when they sent a B team for a knockout game against Northampton and they showed it again this season...it's just an exercise to build depth for them and some SA sides. Seems the URC is what matters to them
@michaelmoynihan9591 I'm not even a Bulls supporter...I don't care how they do. I just miss our classic classes with Kiwi teams...half the games in this European competition would put even the most energetic child to sleep 😂😂😂
If bulĺ had won their first couple of matches you would be singing a different tune kid.bulls good team but don't have depth for both competitions. No point in denial. Grow a pair kid.😂😂😂😂😂
@michaelmoynihan9591 nope with this new insane format that your "smart" rugby bosses have come up with, you can just win ONE game and make it to the playoffs...that's how screwed up this farce of a tournament is 😂😂😂
I'm expecting Bordeaux to put at least 50 points on the Sharks and Ulster to beat Exeter by at least 10, so I had Bordeaux vs Ulster in that R16 fixture - other than that, I have pretty much the same prediction 🤙 La Rochelle vs Munster would be hilarious! Toulon are quietly going about their business, they're dark horses for me... saying that, I'm expecting another Toulouse vs Leinster final.
Top Prem team v top URC team. Think it might be closer. Irish squad named so I’d fear more that some might be protecting themselves over going full tilt.
I really hope Bath got all out - I was disappointed to see them see a B side to Benetton. In theory they should be decent competition for Leinster! And a win at the Aviva would be tremendous.
When you look at the table like this, its so clear they need to change the format. Basically every team goes through anyway so why bother with these pool stages? Either make the pools harder or straight to knockout
I can't understand this system... I'm a Bordeaux supporter and when you look at 3:06, Bordeaux could potentially play only teams from its pool up to the final ? Sharks - Leicester - Toulouse ? On 24 teams in total (23 without them), 16 (15 without them) in the playoffs, you can reach the final by playing only 5 teams that was in your pool .. what a joke
Looking at that potential line-up, I agree with the UBB/Stade Toulousain for the 1st semi, and for the second I think it'll be Leinster/Glasgow Warriors (between Glasgow and La Rochelle, I think Glasgow has the best momentum). For the final I think it'll be a rematch from last year with Stade Toulousain/Leinster: no way that Leinster does not go to the final, and between Bordeau and Toulouse I think that Toulouse will have the edge. As for who will win the Cup, I won't make any predictions. I'm just looking forward to see that match because these are just the 2 best club rugby teams and as always, a clash between these 2 is a delight for any rugby fan. We are really blessed with good rugby competition in 2025 between the knock-off stages in the Champions Cup for club rugby and the 6 Nations for international rugby!
With the current format ,Irish teams can't have to play in SA, this is so unfair when you know how important finishing 1st/2nd seed overall is to have home soil advantage. This is the reason Leinster can easily finish top of their pool. Absolute non sense
Lol, you're the one talking nonsense. You're focusing on 1 out of 4 matches, and there's a 50% chance that any given team will host a South African team anyway, and a 25% chance that they won't have a South African team in their pool. This means that even if the format was as you desire, only 0.375 matches out of 4 would be away to a South African team, on average. And Leinster would be favourites to win that 0.375 of a match anyway.
I'm sorry but this is totally biased. The URC teams are the only ones not travelling to SA. Would Leinster win all their games in SA if they had to go there ? Maybe or maybe not. Even if they Did, would they win the bonus point ? Toulouse didn't, That's the reason they're going to finish 2nd of their pool with 19 points. A bonus point could also cost you 1st or 2nd seed overall. This is actually very relevant. It's a fact and already happened in the past.
If you cut the round of 16, you just go back to the old problem (which people have seemingly totally forgotten) of many games at the end of the pools being totally pointless because one (and sometimes both) teams have absolutely nothing to play for. In the current format, almost every game matters to at least some meaningful extent, which is great. Things like Toulouse potentially having to fight through away games to the final might suck a bit for them, but they will be tremendously exciting to watch.
No, it's different. In the old format, some of the round 6 matches were pointless but three quarters were extremely tense, tight affairs, and the previous rounds were always excellent. In the current format loads of teams are sending second-string squads to away matches, giving up when they are against much better opponents, all because with two and potentially even one win you get through to the knockout stages, so there's not much of an incentive to take it more seriously.
Good idea to change pool groups. Why call it the European Champions Cup when it's not Europe? Teams from only three leagues play and the UK are not even in the EU. The bottom 2 teams in each pool get smashed every week, not good for rugby, then the last games mean nothing. Over 50 Rugby Unions throughout Europe. So drop the bottom teams replace them with.......maybe a Portugal side, Georgia, Spain, Germany, Romania sides etc, etc, etc. Then RUGBY UNION really does become the winner and then you really can say "European Champions".
Hey Tim - what a feast of rugby to watch all the games over the weekend - can you pass on to the commentators you may know - can they commentate on the game they are calling and stfu about results of other games? Just a thought - or at least give spoiler alerts when they feel they need to blurt out to unsuspecting fans just in case they may want to watch those other results - it is no use avoiding social media just to have it ruined by some idiot commentator who think that finding out the results is a couple of clicks away.
I think the Bulls will fully target the Challenge Cup spot. They put their strongest team out for the first 2 Champions Cup games, but obviously, they lost both. Then they sent a very weak team to Castres which implied they gave up on the Champions Cup, but Honestly, as soon as I saw the Bulls send that team to Castres I thought they were targeting a Challenge Cup spot. For my sake I hope they do 😭Cause 6th is embarrassing. Also, Nortje is back which is a tremendous boost for that team
What nonsense. They want to beat the best.are you that silly to say they want to play the b side challenge cup. Bull consider top side not a second rate challenge cup contender.stick to table tennis kid.clueless.😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@michaelmoynihan9591 If they wanted to advance to the Round of 16 they would’ve played their A team against Castres. The Bulls aren’t good enough to win the champions cup. That’s a fact. Stop acting like a teenager by hurling insults, grow the hell up
As a bath fan I would actually like this as champions cup we would only get out in the round of 16 of the champions cup but to rotate a few players whilst getting some knockout experience in the challenge cup could be class
Ridiculous format, behind a extra paywall (premier sports which even fewer have) and you have a competition that has lost its sparkle. Need to go back to pools of 4 h&a. Brilliant content as always
Not at all. The old format was mostly dead rubbers by this stage. Love the fact that almost every game here is important and will have a huge impact on people’s chances of getting anywhere in the knockouts. Much more exciting that the old format. And delighted we no longer need to waste money on awful TNT. The best club rugby - URC, Top 14 and Champ Cup, all in one place, for £70 a year. Total bargain.
@@Zveeboyes yes absolutely fine with one sided pumpings and losing teams progressing. A competition for champions the pinnacle of rugby. Oh the drama🙃
I don’t know Tim, Bath could conceivably sneak a close away win. That would keep them up there in the fight for second place and a home draw. And Benetton could conceivably get a home win in this game. It’s all kind of up in the air until we see the state of play as the games progress. Both of these games are on at the same time and if Benetton are going well, then Bath will keep playing!
Yet again, screams of a flawed structure. Progress back to the Heineken Cup please. Very little upside for 7th & 8th English teams (and URC, Pro 14) in the Champions Cup since the Gal Prem problems, especially after EPCR botched the TV/sponsorships deals. Completely uneven conditions for French giants at top of Pool 1. Remiss
The 7th and 8th (and 6th) English teams shouldn’t be in the Champions Cup in the first place tbh. They should be straight into the Challenge Cup like their bottom half colleagues in the Top 14 and URC.
I personally think the group stage has lost its prestige and is a bit boring, but I disagree with you about the Round of 16. Take this format for example. 24 teams 8 groups of 4 teams teams play other teams in group twice (home and away) the top 2 of each group make it to the Round of 16
The sharks could get spanked and have a very negative points differential and qualify. Teams on 0 can still qualify. And this is the champions cup. Joke cup.
Munster vs La Rochelle R16 would be class, given the ROG elelement
Would be a welcome break from the Leinster/La Rochelle rivalry, this coming from a Leinster fan😅
Leinster fans will have their ROG masks on 😂😂
@ Haha! I'm a Leinster supporter myself, but always cheer on Munster (except when playing Leinster oc). I have a lot of love for them.
Munster are shocking , they’d get 50 points put on them away to La Rochelle
I don't expect Munster would win that match, but I would love to see it!
Sad to hear about 30yr old Anthony Watson's early retirement, will retire as ENG's #8 All-Time Try-Scorer despite his numerous injuries & switching between WG & FB esp early on in his career, would otherwise have been pushing for the #1 spot by now w/o those injuries & playing as an out-and-out WG :(
Pls give me a more simple & more exclusive 16-Team Tournament instead (4 Groups of 4; Top 6 from Top 14, Top 6 from URC & Top 4 from Prem) with Top 2 from each group going through to the QF Stage! Munster @Franklin's Gardens will be interesting as Saints should be a different animal from the 2nd string side that narrowly lost away to Stade Francais with the likes of West, Langdon, Mayanavanua, Coles, Pearson, Augustus, Finn Smith, Dingwall, Sleightholme, Hendy etc back in the team.
Excellent preview, thanks Tim.
Quins were incredible in their victory over Glasgow last year. We're going to need that same energy and desire tomorrow against a Warriors team that look very settled and confident.
I know the format takes some stick but I like that there is so much riding on this last round. There are still a number of teams fighting to qualify and a number who want that huge home advantage.
Love from France ❤ your videos are always great and British banter is the cherry on top
Tim, brilliant video and analysis as always. Your one of my go too for proper rugby breakdown. Keep up the fantastic work my good man. 👏👏👏🏉🏉
Thank you for your effort on these videos Tim, you save me a lot of time doing my research :)
A Leinster Glasgow semi final in Croke park would be pretty nice
Prob would be in the aviva
They did it at Croke Park last year and it sold out in a couple of hours. The advantage of the Aviva is that the team probably play better there
That would be class
Tim , great overview but you are very generous to Leinster. I’m off to match tomorrow and looks like a nearly fully loaded Bath team. I do believe Leinster will win but, bonus point?. I think Leinster with 4 points. Then you have Toulon against Sale . Can Toulon win and get bonus point in Sale ? Possible. Thing is , if Leinster only get 4 points against Bath on Saturday then Toulon on Sunday will know what they have to do to be second overall in rankings . Of course , if Bath beat Leinster then we have different scenario .
Brilliant vid Tim, very clear layout with the predictions. Great to hear you'll be on Premier Sports.
great Video! love seeing the permutations
Great stuff Tim dont know how you worked it out, half way through I launched my abacus against the wall.
Lets hope the Munster of old show up. Should be a great game.
as always - top video Tim - BRING IT ONNNN!!!!!
great video again Tim👍
Interesting to note how the current format makes it so much easier or harder for teams to seed well. Munster had it to play Castres at home while both English opponents got them away. They both also got to pick up easy points against a pretty checked out Bulls team. Those are 2 really massive advantages
However we relish the challenge
This competition format is absolutely nuts. For instance it is absurd it is to see Toulouse listed 5th having won all its games behind less performant sides !? Nonsense !
It's tough being an Ulster fan this season. We need to start a gofundme for the therapy.
Great win last night mate! Jeopardy for the Sharks, I could see them lose by 30! You never know!! 🤞🏻
Great video and analysis
I dunno, I have a sneaky feeling Stormers are gonna pull a rabbit out the hat. They mixed their squad well, and both Dweba and Roos are starting. 9-10 kinda weak, and dunno why Engelbrecht is there at all, but their direct replacements on the bench are all top notch. Let’s see!
Yes this will be an interesting game. The winner of this game should get through. I think Racing at home are due a big performance. Let's see
Really looking forward to a lot of these games. Leinster v Bath and Quins v Glasgow to name two. Do Glasgow go full on to try and get top spot? I hope they do. Do Leinster rotate the squad a bit(loose head) against Bath. So many permutations you could go a bit mental just think about it.
Thanks again Tim I hope you enjoy the weekend.😊
Glasgow will, why wouldn't they?
Leinster will go as strong as possible obviously as they need that bonus point and a high score
Ah Tim, never underestimate the ability of the Sharks to disappoint their supporters. They love underperforming, despite the talent in their ranks. In fact, if you listen carefully you can already hear Plum lament depth/season/talent/injuries/how he wasn't hugged as a child.
I think the Sharks are going to get absolutely hammered at Bordeaux. They probably want to end 5th in the pool anyway, to get into the Challenge Cup, where they have a better chance of progressing, because they have no hope of getting past the last 16 in the Champions Cup.
They have the full squad in Europe, so they should in theory put in a decent performance.
Sharks may have looked like sardines so far but if they make 4th and get a rematch against Bordeaux in spring, it could be a different one if their injured boks are back.
great one mate !
Hi tim ,im just wondering what score must the bulle put on
Great video Tim. This stage of the tournament just highlights how poor the current pool setup is. Toulouse having to travel to SA, Bordeaux not having to despite being in the same pool. Teams currently on 0 points with a mathematical chance of qualifying. Possibility of yet another Leinster LaR game. We don’t ask for much in life; all we want is the older format. 6 pools, 4 teams per pool. Home and away. Top 8 go through. Go back and look at the older tables. You were getting nowhere near the knockouts unless you had 4 wins. Even 3 would only land you in the Challenge cup. One win is not enough to qualify for the knockouts of any tournament, never mind the best club rugby tournament around
Tim, do you under stand why some temas use uniforms that you can't recognize them? As Exeter with a pink uniform looking like Stade Francais
Are we (Leinster) going to have to play La Rochelle again in another bloody QF?
If Leinster beat Quins hopefully Munster can pull off a famous win against LAR. Leinster then put 80 points on Munster in the 1/4, this would put a smile on my face.
@@Snags-sy8is Yeah but keep dreaming I think Munster get fairly battered by La Roch if that's what happens
Yet another (potential) Lein v LAR 1/4 away in Dublin. This format is redundant!
@@markeasey469 the competition has been shite since the format change APART from some semi finals and finals.
Last year's final was stupendous quality off the charts although Leinster now I doubt they could play a fast game.
All hail Dupont 🎉
For the Algorithm Gods.
Toulon can overtake Leinster in the 2nd spot. Big difference between 2nd and 3rd! They play on Sunday, so they'll know exactly what they need.
Difference between 2nd and 3rd is a QF home tie to La Rochelle if you finish 2nd. For me, Toulon v La Rochelle is an away win... therefore Leinster still get their home SF and it makes no difference to them!! 😂
Bulls don't care 1 bit about the Champions Cup, never mind the Challenge Cup. They showed it last season when they sent a B team for a knockout game against Northampton and they showed it again this season...it's just an exercise to build depth for them and some SA sides. Seems the URC is what matters to them
Keep telling yourself that they don't care.soften the heartache. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@michaelmoynihan9591 I'm not even a Bulls supporter...I don't care how they do. I just miss our classic classes with Kiwi teams...half the games in this European competition would put even the most energetic child to sleep 😂😂😂
If bulĺ had won their first couple of matches you would be singing a different tune kid.bulls good team but don't have depth for both competitions. No point in denial. Grow a pair kid.😂😂😂😂😂
@michaelmoynihan9591 nope with this new insane format that your "smart" rugby bosses have come up with, you can just win ONE game and make it to the playoffs...that's how screwed up this farce of a tournament is 😂😂😂
Well bulls fail to qualify 😂😂😂😂 bye kid your clueless. 😂😂😂😂
What if the Sharks get 7 of the springboks back from injury and cause an upset?
I'm expecting Bordeaux to put at least 50 points on the Sharks and Ulster to beat Exeter by at least 10, so I had Bordeaux vs Ulster in that R16 fixture - other than that, I have pretty much the same prediction 🤙 La Rochelle vs Munster would be hilarious! Toulon are quietly going about their business, they're dark horses for me... saying that, I'm expecting another Toulouse vs Leinster final.
50 on sharks is unlikely they aren't great but they'll send there best team as they can still qualify for the knockouts
50-0?🤯
More than a few have touted Toulon
Top Prem team v top URC team. Think it might be closer. Irish squad named so I’d fear more that some might be protecting themselves over going full tilt.
I really hope Bath got all out - I was disappointed to see them see a B side to Benetton. In theory they should be decent competition for Leinster! And a win at the Aviva would be tremendous.
Jaysus tim you're flat out today
What’s the point of not playing one team in a group ?
You don’t play the team from your home league
I'll take a 60 point swing and Ulster qualifying 16th seed and scudding Leinster in the Ro16 and taking half the gate money while we're at it. 😂
If your bordeaux/sharks prediction comes through. Then ulster make last 16
When you look at the table like this, its so clear they need to change the format. Basically every team goes through anyway so why bother with these pool stages? Either make the pools harder or straight to knockout
I can't understand this system... I'm a Bordeaux supporter and when you look at 3:06, Bordeaux could potentially play only teams from its pool up to the final ? Sharks - Leicester - Toulouse ?
On 24 teams in total (23 without them), 16 (15 without them) in the playoffs, you can reach the final by playing only 5 teams that was in your pool .. what a joke
Looking at that potential line-up, I agree with the UBB/Stade Toulousain for the 1st semi, and for the second I think it'll be Leinster/Glasgow Warriors (between Glasgow and La Rochelle, I think Glasgow has the best momentum).
For the final I think it'll be a rematch from last year with Stade Toulousain/Leinster: no way that Leinster does not go to the final, and between Bordeau and Toulouse I think that Toulouse will have the edge.
As for who will win the Cup, I won't make any predictions. I'm just looking forward to see that match because these are just the 2 best club rugby teams and as always, a clash between these 2 is a delight for any rugby fan.
We are really blessed with good rugby competition in 2025 between the knock-off stages in the Champions Cup for club rugby and the 6 Nations for international rugby!
With the current format ,Irish teams can't have to play in SA, this is so unfair when you know how important finishing 1st/2nd seed overall is to have home soil advantage. This is the reason Leinster can easily finish top of their pool. Absolute non sense
Lol, you're the one talking nonsense.
You're focusing on 1 out of 4 matches, and there's a 50% chance that any given team will host a South African team anyway, and a 25% chance that they won't have a South African team in their pool.
This means that even if the format was as you desire, only 0.375 matches out of 4 would be away to a South African team, on average.
And Leinster would be favourites to win that 0.375 of a match anyway.
I'm sorry but this is totally biased. The URC teams are the only ones not travelling to SA. Would Leinster win all their games in SA if they had to go there ? Maybe or maybe not. Even if they Did, would they win the bonus point ? Toulouse didn't, That's the reason they're going to finish 2nd of their pool with 19 points. A bonus point could also cost you 1st or 2nd seed overall. This is actually very relevant. It's a fact and already happened in the past.
Yes, let's change the format again. It worked so well the last time.
@@burncarlow Of course it should be changed, current format is a non sense and completely confusing for the fans
@alceus1306 I vote English clubs only play SA clubs. Home and away. Job done.
If you cut the round of 16, you just go back to the old problem (which people have seemingly totally forgotten) of many games at the end of the pools being totally pointless because one (and sometimes both) teams have absolutely nothing to play for. In the current format, almost every game matters to at least some meaningful extent, which is great.
Things like Toulouse potentially having to fight through away games to the final might suck a bit for them, but they will be tremendously exciting to watch.
No, it's different. In the old format, some of the round 6 matches were pointless but three quarters were extremely tense, tight affairs, and the previous rounds were always excellent. In the current format loads of teams are sending second-string squads to away matches, giving up when they are against much better opponents, all because with two and potentially even one win you get through to the knockout stages, so there's not much of an incentive to take it more seriously.
Good idea to change pool groups.
Why call it the European Champions Cup when it's not Europe? Teams from only three leagues play and the UK are not even in the EU.
The bottom 2 teams in each pool get smashed every week, not good for rugby, then the last games mean nothing. Over 50 Rugby Unions throughout Europe. So drop the bottom teams replace them with.......maybe a Portugal side, Georgia, Spain, Germany, Romania sides etc, etc, etc. Then RUGBY UNION really does become the winner and then you really can say "European Champions".
Brexit doesn’t change the fact that geographically the UK is part of Europe!
Bulls have underperformed based on players etc
I can see Munster beat Northampton
How long can this format continue Tim. That is thanks to the English clubs mostly the ruined Heineken Cup.
Sad
Bordeaux by 32 🙈
Hey Tim - what a feast of rugby to watch all the games over the weekend - can you pass on to the commentators you may know - can they commentate on the game they are calling and stfu about results of other games? Just a thought - or at least give spoiler alerts when they feel they need to blurt out to unsuspecting fans just in case they may want to watch those other results - it is no use avoiding social media just to have it ruined by some idiot commentator who think that finding out the results is a couple of clicks away.
I think the Bulls will fully target the Challenge Cup spot. They put their strongest team out for the first 2 Champions Cup games, but obviously, they lost both. Then they sent a very weak team to Castres which implied they gave up on the Champions Cup, but Honestly, as soon as I saw the Bulls send that team to Castres I thought they were targeting a Challenge Cup spot. For my sake I hope they do 😭Cause 6th is embarrassing. Also, Nortje is back which is a tremendous boost for that team
Yeah you’re right they’re 100% targeting it. Just saw the Bulls team, absolutely stacked.
What nonsense. They want to beat the best.are you that silly to say they want to play the b side challenge cup. Bull consider top side not a second rate challenge cup contender.stick to table tennis kid.clueless.😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@michaelmoynihan9591 If they wanted to advance to the Round of 16 they would’ve played their A team against Castres. The Bulls aren’t good enough to win the champions cup. That’s a fact. Stop acting like a teenager by hurling insults, grow the hell up
I'd say Benetton will get one or two losing bonus points, therefore edging out Bath for fourth place.
As a bath fan I would actually like this as champions cup we would only get out in the round of 16 of the champions cup but to rotate a few players whilst getting some knockout experience in the challenge cup could be class
Ridiculous format, behind a extra paywall (premier sports which even fewer have) and you have a competition that has lost its sparkle. Need to go back to pools of 4 h&a. Brilliant content as always
Not at all. The old format was mostly dead rubbers by this stage. Love the fact that almost every game here is important and will have a huge impact on people’s chances of getting anywhere in the knockouts. Much more exciting that the old format.
And delighted we no longer need to waste money on awful TNT. The best club rugby - URC, Top 14 and Champ Cup, all in one place, for £70 a year. Total bargain.
@@Zveeboyes yes absolutely fine with one sided pumpings and losing teams progressing.
A competition for champions the pinnacle of rugby.
Oh the drama🙃
I don’t know Tim, Bath could conceivably sneak a close away win. That would keep them up there in the fight for second place and a home draw. And Benetton could conceivably get a home win in this game. It’s all kind of up in the air until we see the state of play as the games progress. Both of these games are on at the same time and if Benetton are going well, then Bath will keep playing!
Die bra Hou regttig fokol van die Stormers Nie. I'm done with you if the Stormers win
Yet again, screams of a flawed structure. Progress back to the Heineken Cup please.
Very little upside for 7th & 8th English teams (and URC, Pro 14) in the Champions Cup since the Gal Prem problems, especially after EPCR botched the TV/sponsorships deals.
Completely uneven conditions for French giants at top of Pool 1. Remiss
The 7th and 8th (and 6th) English teams shouldn’t be in the Champions Cup in the first place tbh. They should be straight into the Challenge Cup like their bottom half colleagues in the Top 14 and URC.
I personally think the group stage has lost its prestige and is a bit boring, but I disagree with you about the Round of 16.
Take this format for example.
24 teams
8 groups of 4 teams
teams play other teams in group twice (home and away)
the top 2 of each group make it to the Round of 16
8x4=32 pal
@@daveh2344 I realised that as soon as I edited the comment lol
The sharks could get spanked and have a very negative points differential and qualify. Teams on 0 can still qualify. And this is the champions cup. Joke cup.
Do you really not think Bath stand a chance against Glagow or Toulon Tim? 🥲