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How do the Heineken Champions Cup pools stack up on the RugbyPass Index?
By Alex Shaw
According to the RugbyPass Index (RPI), Pool 2 of the Heineken Champions Cup, is set to be the ‘Pool of Death’ this season.
With a combined score between the four clubs of 266, the quartet of Castres, Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester and Munster make the pool, on paper, the strongest in the competition.
Exeter and Munster lead the way with scores of 72, with reigning Top 14 champions Castres sitting on 63. Unfortunately for Gloucester, their score of 49 doesn’t leave them too much hope of emerging from the pool, but they are set to welcome Franco Mostert and Jaco Kriel to XV, which should help boost their chances.
As for the most competitive pool, that accolade falls to Pool 4, which consists of Leicester Tigers, Racing 92, Scarlets and Ulster.
Leicester, the lowliest ranked team, and Racing, the highest ranked team, are separated by just 13 points on the RPI. Racing (65) are closely followed by Scarlets, who are at 62, whilst Leicester’s 52 is not far behind Ulster’s 54. With so little separating all four teams, every penalty, try and tackle could matter in Pool 4.
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The pool with the least quality, per the RPI, is Pool 5.
Montpellier lead the way with 63, followed by Toulon at 57, Edinburgh at 55 and finally Newcastle Falcons on 42. It is the only pool in the competition without multiple teams rated at 60 or above and its combined total of 217 is 17 points less than the next worst pool, Pool 5.
Pool 3 sits in second spot to Pool 2 in terms of overall quality, with Cardiff Blues (56), Glasgow Warriors (61), Lyon (69) and Saracens (72) boasting a combined total of 258, just eight points off of Pool 2’s total.
If you’re looking for a team to dominate a group, then look no further than Pool 1, where Leinster, the highest ranked team in the competition at 75, have a 16-point advantage over their nearest rivals Toulouse (59). The two other sides in Pool 1, Bath and Wasps, sit at 45 and 57 respectively.
Check out all the latest movements on the RPI by clicking here.
In other news: Connacht set for €30m redevelopment for the Sportsground.
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Latest Comments
I didn't mean to sound down on Dmac. Just looking hard at the bench sub's role of providing impact. I don't think he can do that at 15, and the bench is not really about injury cover anymore (you need to maximise it's use more than that).
He's my first choice of any New Zealander for the 10 jersey with the All Blacks.
Go to commentsAgreed. And I don't have much more to say on it, but I had been having one thought that sprang to mind at the tail of this discussion, and that is that it's not all about Razor.
It's not about any coach being "right". I think a lot of selections can become defense and while it doesn't really apply here I really enjoyed that Andy Farrell just gave into the public demands and changed out his team for the change that had been asked for. Like why not? This is the countries team, keep them engaged. The whole reason i've only just finished watching the game was because I wasn't interested in watching any of the selected players against a team like Italy (still actually enjoyed the first half with the contest Italy made of it).
Faz leap frogs a younger half back into start. He hands the golden child the game over July's golden child. He gives an old winger a go, a new flanker and hooker. None of them really did any good, certainly not enough to suggest they should have been promoted above others, but who cares? You won, and you gave the country what they wanted, that's all that matters after all. It's for the country, not the one in charge who thinks they have to have their own pied piper tune playing.
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