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Heineken Champions Cup Predictor: Big Jim vs the RPI
By Jim Hamilton
Watch all the European Champions Cup action live on RugbyPass in Asia and Australia.
Heineken Champions Cup predictor: It's another big European weekend, with most of the teams running out across the continent still with a lot to play for.
Here are my predictions for the 10 Round 5 matches and we've compared them to how the RugbyPass Index (RPI) is predicting each game.
Pool 1
Leinster vs Lyon
Lyon are now out and Leinster will top the group. I predict a bonus-point win for Leinster who are the form team in Europe right now, with Exeter the only other side on 19 points going into these matches.
Leinster by 15
The RPI:
Northampton vs Benneton
As much as I like Benneton Treviso, Europe is too much of an ask for them. Northampton are one of the form teams in the Premiership (which they will focus on now).
Northampton by 10
The RPI:
Pool 2
La Rochelle vs Sale
Both teams are effectively down and out. France is always a tough place to play. Glasgow had a good win down there earlier in the group. Sale had a big win in the Premiership last week and all their focus is probably on the Premiership and resting front line players.
La Rochelle by 8
The RPI says:
Glasgow vs Exeter
Difficult one to call. What team will Glasgow put out at Scotstoun? Exeter are the joint form team in Europe on 19 points with Leinster who are on 19 points in pool 1. The Chiefs are very motivated and want to make a statement.
Exeter by 5.
The RPI says:
Pool 3
Bath vs Quins
A complete dead rubber.
Quins by 5
The RPI says:
Clermont vs Ulster
Game of the weekend. The Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin is one of the toughest places to play in Europe. One point separates them. Ulster won the match between them at Ravenhill and are flying at the minute on all fronts.
Clermont by 6.
Pool 4
Ospreys vs Saracens
Poor Ospreys. AWJ is back which will help. This is a defining match for Saracens. If they win this with a bonus point they will be in a position to qualify - and in the knock-out stages they have the squad to go all they way. Can you imagine?
Saracans by 15
The RPI says:
Racing vs Munster
Racing top the pool and Munster still have a chance so this will be a good one. Simon Zebo and Donnacha Ryan are up against their old club again. Finn Russell is playing so well and if you remember that ridiculous nut-meg to score in the game between them earlier in the group, I’m telling you: he will try that again.
Racing by 10
The RPI says:
Pool 5
Connacht vs Toulouse
Toulouse are unbeaten in Europe. We will see what they are made of this weekend. Connacht have giant killer performances in them and I would not be surprised if they beat Toulouse.
Tough one... f*** it:
Connacht by 5
The RPI says:
Gloucester vs Montpellier
Not much to say here. Disappointed with Montpellier. Love Gloucester but Europe’s gone.
Gloucester by 8
The RPI says:
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Latest Comments
If Pollock is in the squad, who gets left out?
"I think the Eddie Jones style development player approach is whats called for"
(i) Why?
(ii) The churn of players under Eddie Jones was generally considered to be quite a bad thing. Do you want Guy Pepper, Ted Hill, Ben Curry, etc. to give up and go to France like Marchant did?
(iii) England already have a really young squad, and especially a young back row. If they do badly in the six nations Borthwick will probably lose his job, so shouldn't they prioritise winning in the short term and developing the players already in the squad, rather than bringing in newer, younger, guys?
(iv) England have a development tour in June. If you really want Pollock to be in the squad prior to graduating the u20s, why not wait until the summer?
Go to commentsWhen England's defence was able to get into shape it could be dominant though (especially in the game against NZ). Is the number of tackles really the main issue?
I get that making loads of tackles is tiring, but so is building multi-phase attacks. I'm just worried England would get tired out from attacking, then struggle to get set when they're subjected to counter attacks.
Go to comments