Spare a thought for Clermont and Bayonne. Out of the 24 teams heading into next weekend’s final round of Champions Cup pool games, they’re the only two who can’t qualify for the knockout stages of the competition. Gerry Thornley takes you through the permutations ahead of those ties, seven teams already assured of their spot in the round of 16, with 15 more still battling to join them.
Falling in to the latter category are Munster who face a must-win game against Castres at Thomond Park. But as Johnny Watterson reminds us, they’re no strangers to these do-or-die challenges. “We don’t make it easy for ourselves,” admits Munster captain Tadhg Beirne.
Leinster are already through and can top their pool if they beat Bayonne. Their confidence should be up after their performances against Connacht and La Rochelle in the last fortnight, their attack, writes Gerry, “sharper and more varied”. “Much improved,” Tyler Bleyendaal agrees.
But were Leinster a touch fortunate to be awarded the penalty that decided their game against La Rochelle? “It was both a marginal and a questionable decision,” Owen Doyle reckons. But Munster, he believes, are entitled to feel even more aggrieved by the “terribly harsh call” that gave Toulon their late winning kick.
READ MORE
In Gaelic games, Kerry are having a whale of a time in this season’s club competitions, Ballymacelligott and An Ghaeltacht already crowned junior and intermediate champions, with Dingle looking to make it a hat-trick for the county in Sunday’s senior final. Gordon Manning explains why there’s no stopping the Kingdom.
Gavin Cummiskey, meanwhile, takes a look at how Heimir Hallgrímsson’s players are faring in the build-up to that World Cup qualifying trip to Prague in March. For now, they’re “breaking even when it comes to injury and form”, the biggest loss that of midfielder Josh Cullen who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury last month.
In golf, Philip Reid has news on a quartet of Irish players who will be in action at this week’s Dubai Invitational, among them Shane Lowry who is aiming to be in top form for the Masters in April.
And in racing, Brian O’Connor looks ahead to Saturday’s Clarence House Chase, which will feature Willie Mullins’ Il Etait Temps, and he also has news of “a new superpower partnership”, JP McManus confirming that ‘Hollywood Harry’ Cobden will be his new number one jockey in Ireland and Britain.
TV Watch: Newcastle host Manchester City in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final tonight (UTV and Sky Football, 8pm), and at the same time, Roma play Torino in the Coppa Italia (Premier Sports 1) - Evan Ferguson has, alas, been ruled out of the game with the back injury he picked up on Saturday.
