Champions Cup 2020/2021 General Thread

Dog Botherer

lol Wasps drop the ball on the Montpelier 10 metre and the Monty 13 runs in unopposed.

razorblunt

Rudy Gentle Ringleader wrote: »

I have the match on now without sound, I don't think that was a penalty but he was staring at a clear knock on and didn't give it? What? What was his reasoning?

Seems to think and said 3 or 4 times that there’s no touch. Used the worst of the angles and called it the best.

razorblunt

razorblunt wrote: »

Seems to think and said 3 or 4 times that there’s no touch. Used the worst of the angles and called it the best.

That is absolutely mad. I can't believe that tbh.

lawrencesummers

That’s 5 breakdowns in the last while wasps have clearly had a player in at the side.

Brace isn’t doing a great job here at all.

sydthebeat

lawrencesummers wrote: »

How would a different format have not stopped those games getting cancelled?

Well for one, teams from the same county would have the same covid rules.

Just saw the red. For me that's harsh. I just don't really know what purpose a red card like that serves.

Dog Botherer

Rudy Gentle Ringleader wrote: »

Just saw the red. For me that's harsh. I just don't really know what purpose a red card like that serves.

clear contact with the shoulder to the head with force. always high.

https://www.espn.com.ar/video/clip/_/id/7925265?ex_cid=TW_Scrum

link for those who haven’t seen it.

lawrencesummers

sydthebeat wrote: »

Well for one, teams from the same county would have the same covid rules.

It’s a European competition.

The idea is that you don’t play teams from your own country.

sydthebeat

lawrencesummers wrote: »

It’s a European competition.

The idea is that you don’t play teams from your own country.

Until the knockouts.... Which is the real start of the competition anyway, especially with 24 teams

In this particular year keeping that rule was just stupid. Much more chance of games falling foul of covid with teams travelling and having different gov regs

Dog Botherer

how the **** do you leave that much space when you’re a man up. Wasps defense is laughable.

lawrencesummers

sydthebeat wrote: »

Until the knockouts.... Which is the real start of the competition anyway, especially with 24 teams

In this particular year keeping that rule was just stupid. Much more chance of games falling foul of covid with teams travelling and having different gov regs

Complete bull**** saying the knockouts are the start.
Connacht and Racing was an excellent game.
As was Clermont vs Bristol.


So if Exeter weren’t unable to fulfill a fixture this weekend because of covid it would have made a difference how? The game against another English team would still have to be cancelled.

sydthebeat

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Complete bull**** saying the knockouts are the start.
Connacht and Racing was an excellent game.
As was Clermont vs Bristol.


So if Exeter weren’t unable to fulfill a fixture this weekend because of covid it would have made a difference how? The game against another English team would still have to be cancelled.

You really don't understand so you.

First off, you asked what other format could have worked. When give an alternative you dismiss it.

If connacht lose on Sunday they are out, regardless of how entertaining their games are.

24 teams out of a possible 36 is in no way an "elite" European competition.... We would have been better off with 16 teams in a straight shootout, but the French whinged.

lawrencesummers

sydthebeat wrote: »

You really don't understand so you.

First off, you asked what other format could have worked. When give an alternative you dismiss it.

If connacht lose on Sunday they are out, regardless of how entertaining their games are.

24 teams out of a possible 36 is in no way an "elite" European competition.... We would have been better off with 16 teams in a straight shootout, but the French whinged.

So you think it’s not an elite competition.

Impossible to take anything you say seriously after that statement.

Yes I dismiss an alternative to European rugby that doesn’t have teams playing against other European competition.

The organizers have done very well with the hand they have been dealt. Teams from 6 different countries have had the chance to put their wits against each other and offered up excellent entertaining rugby.

In any competition you get mismatches and dead rubbers, but you also get upsets and a chance of a fixture that seldom happens.

Treviso got a chance to topple a famous French rugby side in France. scarlets scored a historic win in Bath. Leinster played missing many from line players and had a very convincing win away in France. Quins got the chance to win in one of Europe’s most famous stadiums, the most exciting French team for a long time came to ravenhill and put on a show.

Thats what European rugby has always been about. If you fail to see the attractiveness of that then it’s you that doesn’t understand.

Rigor Mortis

Burkie1203 wrote: »

They expanded it to suit the French agenda when logic said run something that wasn't across two thirds of the clubs in Europe

I'm pretty sure it was to avoid the Connacht fans marching on lausanne or wherever they moved to.

sydthebeat

lawrencesummers wrote: »

So you think it’s not an elite competition.

Impossible to take anything you say seriously after that statement.

.

Its clearly not an elite competition if 66% of the team that can qualify for it, qualify for it.

When it gets to the last 8, and theyre the top 1/5th of all European teams... Then at least you could argue at that point its a elite competition.

Burkie1203

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/55367563

Zzippy

bilston wrote: »

There might be a rather bright asterix beside whoever wins the 2021 Heineken Cup!

Connacht*

Just need the 6 Covid walkovers but we'll take it

lawrencesummers

sydthebeat wrote: »

Its clearly not an elite competition if 66% of the team that can qualify for it, qualify for it.

When it gets to the last 8, and theyre the top 1/5th of all European teams... Then at least you could argue at that point its a elite competition.

You can say the same about the Rugby World Cup, the champions league, the Soccer World Cup, the World Darts, Snooker and a million other competitions. Sure the cream rises to the top in the closing stages, but that doesn’t make the other other games pointless.

Have Uruguay no business being in Japan last year? Have Dundalk no business playing Arsenal.

Your missing one of the primary points of sport if you can’t understand this.

Burkie1203

lawrencesummers wrote: »

You can say the same about the Rugby World Cup, the champions league, the Soccer World Cup, the World Darts, Snooker and a million other competitions. Sure the cream rises to the top in the closing stages, but that doesn’t make the other other games pointless.

Have Uruguay no business being in Japan last year? Have Dundalk no business playing Arsenal.

Your missing one of the primary points of sport if you can’t understand this.

Uruguay etc give it everything they have even if its not good enough.

Last week Saints were talking about sending the kids. After 1 week of games.

sydthebeat

lawrencesummers wrote: »

You can say the same about the Rugby World Cup, the champions league, the Soccer World Cup, the World Darts, Snooker and a million other competitions. Sure the cream rises to the top in the closing stages, but that doesn’t make the other other games pointless.

Have Uruguay no business being in Japan last year? Have Dundalk no business playing Arsenal.

Your missing one of the primary points of sport if you can’t understand this.

If you don't see the difference between an international representative competition and a professional club competition then there's no point continuing this argument.

By the way, dundalk succeeded to get into the champions league by winning their league and coming through the qualifiers.

The champions league is 32 teams from a possible 79....(40%) So easier to see that even the champions league is more "elite" than the champions Cup

What exactly did dragons, saints or montpellier win to qualify for the HC?
What did they succeed at?

Jump_In_Jack

sydthebeat wrote: »

If you don't see the difference between an international representative competition and a professional club competition then there's no point continuing this argument.

By the way, dundalk succeeded to get into the champions league by winning their league and coming through the qualifiers.

The champions league is 32 teams from a possible 79....(40%) So easier to see that even the champions league is more "elite" than the champions Cup

What exactly did dragons, saints or montpellier win to qualify for the HC?
What did they succeed at?

If you include all the professional teams playing division 2 in England and France and the semi-professional teams in other countries it’d be the same argument.
Clearly it’s the top 8 teams in the 3 top leagues in europe, therefore by definition it is the European elite.
You could argue it’s not elite enough for you personally, but that’s your opinion isn’t it, not a fact really worth arguing about.

sydthebeat

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

If you include all the teams playing division 2 in England and France it’s be the same argument.

And if my aunt had balls.....

Jump_In_Jack

sydthebeat wrote: »

And if my aunt had balls.....

The point is it is you who have not included those teams by your own thought process, whereas in fact those are teams that are not included because they are not the elite teams.
Sigh

Benetton vs Agen cancelled now due to covid in Benetton

sydthebeat

Jump_In_Jack wrote: »

The point is it is you who have not included those teams by your own thought process, whereas in fact those are teams that are not included because they are not the elite teams.
Sigh

No I haven't

a team in the championship or pro d2 can't qualify for the champions Cup, so your point is dead from the outset.

Taking that same logic I could add another 100 teams to the champions league argument to make it even more "elite" in comparison, but the logic is flawed so I don't.

The HC, especially this year, is a pan European rugby competition.... But its certainly not "elite" at this 24 team pool stage

Jump_In_Jack

sydthebeat wrote: »

No I haven't

a team in the championship or pro d2 can't qualify for the champions Cup, so your point is dead from the outset.

Taking that same logic I could add another 100 teams to the champions league argument to make it even more "elite" in comparison, but the logic is flawed so I don't.

The HC, especially this year, is a pan European rugby competition.... But its certainly not "elite" at this 24 team pool stage

Elite means the top teams.
The teams playing are the top teams.

Who are these other teams that are better?

MaddChris

Some come down now with Sale v Edinburgh, no offence to them.

lawrencesummers

Munster winning away to Clermont.

A team that isn’t considered Elite anymore beating a team that is elite from start to finish. Sport and entertainment at its finest.

The underdog coming out on top. Wall to wall superstar versus some homegrown west cork dog pulling.

Being down a man and down on the scoreboard and somehow finding a way.

And some people say we shouldn’t have games like this because it’s not elite or because we should bow down to a virus.

aloooof

lawrencesummers wrote: »

And some people say we shouldn’t have games like this because it’s not elite or because we should bow down to a virus.

I didn't see anyone say Munster and Clermont aren't amongst the elite, or that this game shouldn't go ahead; there were no cases within either camp.

Burkie1203

https://twitter.com/CardiffRugbyWeb/status/1340394706048606210?s=19

Thrashssacre

Edinburgh gone from 12-0 down to lead 12-13

realhorrorshow

What a bizarre day of referee-TMO interactions.

realhorrorshow

Strangest ending to a game I've seen in a while. Edinburgh going side to side, borderline sealing off at each ruck, all within kickable penalty range. Sale not jackaling at all when they know exactly where each breakdown is going to be and the game is on the line. Braindead stuff.

Leinstertomas

Felt like watching a challenge cup game

lawrencesummers

aloooof wrote: »

I didn't see anyone say Munster and Clermont aren't amongst the elite, or that this game shouldn't go ahead; there were no cases within either camp.

In all fairness it’s pretty difficult for the organisers to factor in future covid outbreaks into their thinking when deciding what to do this season.

They made the decision to run a European competition between European teams by removing the fixtures that pitted teams against teams from their own league, thereby ensuring no repeat of domestic fixtures.

Imagine if quins were playing tonight against Bristol in a European competition and they play against again next weekend, or the same for Clermont and Toulon.

What’s taking place this year in European rugby isn’t ideal, but is pretty ****ing entertaining.

realhorrorshow

Leinstertomas wrote: »

Felt like watching a challenge cup game

Hopefully the 24 team comp is a once-off.

irishguy1983

For the quarter finals I presume you can play someone from your own country yeah? No issues there?

Burkie1203

irishguy1983 wrote: »

For the quarter finals I presume you can play someone from your own country yeah? No issues there?

Yup

Burkie1203

Anyone got a link to quins v racing

Dog Botherer

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Anyone got a link to quins v racing

have heard tell of many people looking for a Stream2Watch

Synode

Quins are brutal

realhorrorshow

Synode wrote: »

Quins are brutal

Phenomenally stupid team.

razorblunt

Ashton is such a gowl.

Laughing at the end as a Quins consolation try is ruled out for him dragging Thomas down by the neck, off the ball.

Burkie1203

How many teams already out might have a heap of players self isolating in mid January leaving them unable to fulfil fixtures

bennyl10

42 saying racing win eliminates Clermont?
I can’t see it

Burkie1203

bennyl10 wrote: »

42 saying racing win eliminates Clermont?
I can’t see it

Clermont win last 2 games they are above Munster although BPs could make that tricky. Munster denying them a LBP could be crucial

Their 2 games are against the two teams either side of them so they are definitely not out

Burkie1203

Exeter used to be a likeable club.

But they seem to be a club full of crackpot now


https://twitter.com/IssieAtch/status/1340569564967542785?s=19

Burkie1203

Some Exeter Chiefs players making bizarre statements on social media and now their coach

Had huge respect for them for what they achieved but thats gone.

https://twitter.com/LinebreakRugby/status/1340585312897134593?s=19

sydthebeat

Apophenia is a real thing

thomond2006

Time to relegate Exeter and bring Saracens back. All is forgiven.