Sport

Pool five

A look at pool five

Wed Nov 09 2011 - 00:00

A look at pool five

HEINEKEN CUP PEDIGREE: Saracens have advanced once in five attempts, whereas Serge Blanco and Biarritz (who have struck gold with an Italian team in their group for the seventh time in their last eight campaigns) have reached two finals in progressing seven times in all.

The under-achieving Ospreys should have beaten Biarritz in San Sebastian two seasons ago when losing 29-28, their third quarter-final from eight campaigns. Despite an initial reputation for scalping, surprisingly Treviso have actually only won two games in the last six years.

FORMGUIDE: The stand-out form has come from Saracens, for whom seven successive wins have them second in the Premiership. This is also partly because Biarritz have absolutely none to speak of. Without their World Cup spine of Imanol Harinordoquy (below), Dimitri Yachvili and Damien Traille, the Basques have one win in nine games and sit bottom. This culminated in a 41-0 whipping at Clermont a fortnight ago

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. The jury is out on the Ospreys, sans galacticos, although they sit top of the Pro 12 after six wins during the World Cup, while defeat at home to Edinburgh last week ended Treviso’s four-match winning run.

FORECAST:If ever this was a good time for the Ospreys, or anyone else, to host Biarritz first up then surely it is now, though conceivably their Top 14 plight and the return of Yachvili and co could revive their brand of Cup-winning rugby. Saracens will play their three home games in three venues, as they host the Ospreys at Wembley and Biarritz, in their penultimate game, in Cape Town and, structured, obdurate, tough to beat and able to grind out wins, may ultimately play the best brand of Cup rugby to win out.

The Ospreys could possibly squeeze through as well but Treviso look less of a soft touch this season.

ODDS: Saracens evens, Biarritz 2/1, Ospreys 5/2, Treviso 1,000/1.

FIXTURES: Saturday, Nov 12th: Ospreys v Biarritz; Sunday, Nov 13th: Saracens v Treviso; Saturday, Nov 19th: Biarritz v Saracens, Treviso v Ospreys; Saturday, Dec 10th: Treviso v Biarritz, Saracens v Ospreys; Friday, Dec 16th: Ospreys v Saracens, Biarritz v Treviso; Jan 13th-15th: Ospreys v Treviso, Saracens v Biarritz; Jan 20th-22nd: Treviso v Saracens, Biarritz v Ospreys.