Champions Cup 2020/2021 General Thread

Interested Observer · 18-12-2020 9:34pm

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?

lawrencesummers · 18-12-2020 9:34pm

One of the worst French teams away from home a man down and wasps making hard work of it.

Yet the BT commentators would have you believe wasps are contenders to win the competition.

Podge_irl · 18-12-2020 9:34pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

8 pools of 3 was the most obvious way of doing 24 teams on a meritocracy basis.

It would take 6 game weeks for the pools instead of 4. It wasn't possible.

lawrencesummers · 18-12-2020 9:36pm

Interested Observer 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?

Video not conclusive.

Player looked clearly offside as well.

Burkie1203 · 18-12-2020 9:36pm

lawrencesummers wrote: »

It is essentially 8 groups of 3, but the ‘convoluted’ format plays down the advantage of some teams having a simple group. It means there will be something to play for for more teams come the last round.

Convoluted format.
Some teams already giving up going by team selections
A rake of games called off also affecting domestic games
Toulon travel to Wales then decide they ain't playing.

Its a shambles. Its not 8 groups of 3.

Dog Botherer · 18-12-2020 9:37pm

lawrencesummers wrote: »

One of the worst French teams away from home a man down and wasps making hard work of it.

Yet the BT commentators would have you believe wasps are contenders to win the competition.

i would fancy Connacht against Wasps and we’re supposed to believe that the GP is a massively superior league to the Pro14.

Burkie1203 · 18-12-2020 9:38pm

Podge_irl wrote: »

It would take 6 game weeks for the pools instead of 4. It wasn't possible.

Week 1 England v France (pro14 round happens)
Week 2 England v pro14 (T14 round happens)
Week 3 France v Pro14 (GP round happens)

Multiply x 2. It was possible.

lawrencesummers · 18-12-2020 9:41pm

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Convoluted format.
Some teams already giving up going by team selections
A rake of games called off also affecting domestic games
Toulon travel to Wales then decide they ain't playing.

Its a shambles. Its not 8 groups of 3.

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

Akrasia · 18-12-2020 9:41pm

Is the ref not going to do anything about the Wasps player taking out the supporting runner there? That's a yellow card in my book

lawrencesummers · 18-12-2020 9:42pm

Dog Botherer wrote: »

i would fancy Connacht against Wasps and we’re supposed to believe that the GP is a massively superior league to the Pro14.

That try was coming. Montpellier have been making yards down the middle for the last while.

Dog Botherer · 18-12-2020 9:42pm

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

razorblunt · 18-12-2020 9:44pm

Interested Observer 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.

Interested Observer · 18-12-2020 9:44pm

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 · 18-12-2020 9:46pm

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 · 18-12-2020 9:48pm

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.

Interested Observer · 18-12-2020 9:58pm

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 · 18-12-2020 10:01pm

Interested Observer 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 · 18-12-2020 10:07pm

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 · 18-12-2020 10:10pm

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 · 18-12-2020 10:14pm

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

lawrencesummers · 18-12-2020 10:15pm

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 · 18-12-2020 10:26pm

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 · 18-12-2020 10:40pm

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 · 18-12-2020 11:00pm

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 · 18-12-2020 11:33pm

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 · 19-12-2020 12:04am

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

Zzippy · 19-12-2020 12:15am

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 · 19-12-2020 9:11am

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 · 19-12-2020 9:21am

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 · 19-12-2020 10:16am

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?

Champions Cup 2020/2021 General Thread

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