2018-2019 Champions Cup

Bridge93 · 17-12-2018 12:53am

There’s an entire spectrum of cynical things you can do between rolling over and eye gouging. It’s never ever ok and I’d be disgusted if anybody on a team I supported did such a thing.

razorblunt · 17-12-2018 10:35am

Burkie1203 wrote: »

At the end of the Munster v Glasgow game Stander did this

https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/1056265684320182273?s=19

Totally cynical. Munster can't have it both ways

Ok, so that and the slide tackle on Conway would even out.
You're still left with:

* contact with the eye area
* dangerous tackle
* late hit with the shoulder to the head of a player on the ground
* knee to the ribs of a player on the ground

I dare say but if Conway "milked" the late hit by their replacement backrow (I think) more action would have come. Chavancy did this against Leicester.

Is that what players are going to have to do?

Sirius Boner · 17-12-2018 10:58am

razorblunt wrote: »

Ok, so that and the slide tackle on Conway would even out.
You're still left with:

* contact with the eye area
* dangerous tackle
* late hit with the shoulder to the head of a player on the ground
* knee to the ribs of a player on the ground

I dare say but if Conway "milked" the late hit by their replacement backrow (I think) more action would have come. Chavancy did this against Leicester.

Is that what players are going to have to do?

It is starting to look that way...refs are being told to look for high tackles and punish them... But so much else is just either passing them by, or being ignored.... Barnes is normally one of the good ones in my book , but he was poor on Saturday...and he got no help from his AR's

Former Former · 17-12-2018 11:05am

razorblunt wrote: »

Ok, so that and the slide tackle on Conway would even out.
You're still left with:

* contact with the eye area
* dangerous tackle
* late hit with the shoulder to the head of a player on the ground
* knee to the ribs of a player on the ground

I dare say but if Conway "milked" the late hit by their replacement backrow (I think) more action would have come. Chavancy did this against Leicester.

Is that what players are going to have to do?

See, the problem here is you're only looking for one side of the story.

As Conway returned the kick leading up to the non-try, you can hear boos around the stadium because the Castres fans thought Spedding was hit late after the kick. If the try had stood, your equivalent in Castres would be giving out about Barnes not checking the late hit via TMO.

Rugby is the sort of game where if you want to find evidence that the ref screwed you over, you don't have to look too far. Look a little bit harder and you might get a better overall picture but it might not be the picture you want. Munster have plenty of lads who aren't afraid to push the rules to the limit.

Heymans · 17-12-2018 11:38am

troyzer wrote: »

It's just part of the sport. Peter O'Mahony has built a career on constantly getting away with murder and he's brilliant for it.

You have to fight back. Maybe gouge someone in the ruck when the referee is facing the other way, cheeky knee in the ribs during a clear out.

It's awful that it's part of the game but if you're going to be subjected to it and the referee is doing nothing, then fit in or **** off.

Spoken like someone who truly has played the game before. The only way to form this opinion is you have played against cynicism and lost. You never pick up on it by looking at the TV - that is why they are called the Dark Arts. Care to elaborate where you picked up this view point if you have never played the game?

Squidgy Black · 17-12-2018 11:39am

Heymans wrote: »

Spoken like someone who truly has played the game before. The only way to form this opinion is you have played against cynicism and lost. You never pick up on it by looking at the TV - that is why they are called the Dark Arts. Care to elaborate where you picked up this view point if you have never played the game?

Here we go again....

troyzer · 17-12-2018 11:43am

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Here we go again....

I need my regular dose of Heyman madness.

Burkie1203 · 17-12-2018 3:09pm

razorblunt wrote: »

Ok, so that and the slide tackle on Conway would even out.
You're still left with:

* contact with the eye area
* dangerous tackle
* late hit with the shoulder to the head of a player on the ground
* knee to the ribs of a player on the ground

I dare say but if Conway "milked" the late hit by their replacement backrow (I think) more action would have come. Chavancy did this against Leicester.

Is that what players are going to have to do?

If you look hard enough you will find Munster players will have done likewise. Maybe not as obvious but it doesnt change that.

The problem is Twitter accounts like Three Read Kings likes to big up incidents with gifs and slow mo videos which fuels the we were robbed mentality. POM getting involved in a shoving match gets glorified with his "schmozzling" etc.

Not many Munster fans seem to have an issue with Stander's shoulder into the Glasgow player, in fact himself and POM are praised for it. Swings and roundabouts.

Munster fans need to question the coach and the leaders for the poor decisions. Also Niall Scannell gave away a penalty and got a YC for his entry to a maul which was pretty much as dumb as I've seen.

Glaws fans and Glasgow fans think they got properly robbed in TP earlier this season for example

Eod100 · 18-12-2018 11:58am

Got this email back from EPCR on Champions Cup final tickets, for anyone looking to buy some.

Owing to high demand, there are no tickets currently available on general public sale for the Heineken Champions Cup Final on 11 May 2019 at St James’ Park, Newcastle. Allocations are held for supporters of the two clubs who will contest the final and as the demand for those will be constantly assessed throughout the season, a limited number of tickets may become available. Please monitor HeinekenChampionsCup.com and official social media channels of the tournament for the latest information

Burkie1203 · 20-12-2018 9:54pm

https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2018/dec/20/rugby-union-limbo-no-deal-brexit-the-breakdown?__twitter_impression=true

Podge_irl · 20-12-2018 10:12pm

A European player is defined as one who is a citizen of an EU member country.

This bit isn't true though, which makes it hard to take the rest of the article seriously.

Work visas are a legitimate concern, but ultimately a sporting body rules are just that - and can be changed in an EGM or whatever if needs be. It's really not that big a concern.

Sirius Boner · 20-12-2018 10:20pm

Podge_irl wrote: »

This bit isn't true though, which makes it hard to take the rest of the article seriously.

Work visas are a legitimate concern, but ultimately a sporting body rules are just that - and can be changed in an EGM or whatever if needs be. It's really not that big a concern.

But sporting bodies put their rules above those of the government of the land, we've seen instances of that before where governments have gotten involved in football and FIFA banned their national teams..not a direct comparison... but I don't think it's something that can be brushed off either

Former Former · 20-12-2018 10:25pm

If the UK government starts mass deportations of foreigners, then it's an issue.

Otherwise, no, it's not.

Burkie1203 · 22-12-2018 12:11am

3 feet of snow fell. Joke of a decision

https://twitter.com/RugbySaracens/status/1075879080334114816?s=19

Kevski · 22-12-2018 12:37am

Is there something more to this or is it just an incredibly moronic decision?

The videos speak for themselves so I’m not sure what EPCR’s issue is.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BraHhgqAQuF/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1q1jzt8ppakyj

Elvisjuice · 22-12-2018 3:24am

Kevski wrote: »

Is there something more to this or is it just an incredibly moronic decision?

The videos speak for themselves so I’m not sure what EPCR’s issue is.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BraHhgqAQuF/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1q1jzt8ppakyj

i blame the russian drones

irishbucsfan · 22-12-2018 9:41am

Kevski wrote: »

Is there something more to this or is it just an incredibly moronic decision?

They broke the rules of the tournament by not having pitch covers out, not having undersoil heating on in time and then not finding an alternate venue after failing those other two pre-requisites.

They're not getting fined because there was a bunch of snow.

Kevski · 22-12-2018 1:06pm

irishbucsfan wrote: »

They broke the rules of the tournament by not having pitch covers out, not having undersoil heating on in time and then not finding an alternate venue after failing those other two pre-requisites.

They're not getting fined because there was a bunch of snow.

Fair enough.

Out of interest, how does this compare to the Saracens v Clermont game last season? Wasn’t that cancelled on the basis of it being unsafe for supporters to travel to the venue?

Snickers Man · 28-12-2018 7:23pm

P_1 wrote: »

Early days but I can see it ending

1 Saracens 28 points
2 Leinster 25 points
3 Racing 25 points
4 Munster 21 points
5 Edinburgh 20 points
6 Toulouse 22 points
7 Ulster 19 points
8 Glasgow 18 points

Qfs being
Saracens v Glasgow
Leinster v Ulster
Racing v Toulouse
Munster v Edinburgh

I ran my own numbers and came up with something similar. I'm now projecting the q finals as being:

Saracens v Glasgow
Racing v Ulster
Leinster v Toulouse
Edinburgh v Munster

I think Munster will win their group but they will need to be VERY lucky to get a home draw. Could happen though.

Similarly, I can't see Leinster overtaking Racing, so the French side will likely be drawn against Ulster with Leinster meeting their group rivals Toulouse...again.

Heymans · 29-12-2018 11:44am

Snickers Man wrote: »

I ran my own numbers and came up with something similar. I'm now projecting the q finals as being:

Saracens v Glasgow
Racing v Ulster
Leinster v Toulouse
Edinburgh v Munster

I think Munster will win their group but they will need to be VERY lucky to get a home draw. Could happen though.

Similarly, I can't see Leinster overtaking Racing, so the French side will likely be drawn against Ulster with Leinster meeting their group rivals Toulouse...again.

And what’s your predictions for the semis?

troyzer · 29-12-2018 11:45am

Heymans wrote: »

Snickers Man wrote: »

I ran my own numbers and came up with something similar. I'm now projecting the q finals as being:

Saracens v Glasgow
Racing v Ulster
Leinster v Toulouse
Edinburgh v Munster

I think Munster will win their group but they will need to be VERY lucky to get a home draw. Could happen though.

Similarly, I can't see Leinster overtaking Racing, so the French side will likely be drawn against Ulster with Leinster meeting their group rivals Toulouse...again.

And what’s your predictions for the semis?

Something needs to be done with the format if three of the four quarter finals involve group rematches.

molloyjh · 06-01-2019 10:59pm

troyzer wrote: »

Something needs to be done with the format if three of the four quarter finals involve group rematches.

Why? It's unlikely to happen but is a perfectly valid outcome none-the-less.

The Lost Sheep · 06-01-2019 11:01pm

troyzer wrote: »

Something needs to be done with the format if three of the four quarter finals involve group rematches.

What do you change then? It happened a bit in old format when just 2 runners up qualified that one or both runners up ended up playing the team that had won their group.

troyzer · 06-01-2019 11:07pm

molloyjh wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

Something needs to be done with the format if three of the four quarter finals involve group rematches.

Why? It's unlikely to happen but is a perfectly valid outcome none-the-less.

I dunno, just seems to take away from it a bit.

Maybe I'm wrong.

CatFromHue · 07-01-2019 12:04am

you'd have to bring in a specific rule to stop group rematches in the QFs but that would make the seeding a bit unfair.

if you finished 6th and were to play against a team you already played against you can only drop down to 7th with the team who finished 7th moving to 6th.

but if it's team 7th or 8th who is going to need changing than it gets a bit trickier, trickier philosophically speaking.

Riskymove · 07-01-2019 11:13am

troyzer wrote: »

I dunno, just seems to take away from it a bit.

Maybe I'm wrong.

there has only been one pool rematch in all QFs in the new system so it would be a freak outcome to have 3 in one year

Eod100 · 07-01-2019 1:25pm

So here's how things stand going into rounds 5 and 6.

1) Racing, 19 points, 66 PD
2) Saracens, 18 points, 67 PD
3) Toulouse, 17 points, 26 PD
4) Edinburgh, 15 points, 51 PD
5) Munster, 12 points, 38 PD
6) Leinster, 15 points, 82 PD
7) Glasgow, 14 points, 38 PD
8) Ulster, 14 points, - 2 PD

Some big games ahead.

Gloucester v Munster, Leinster v Toulouse and Ulster v Racing look like the most significant ones.

Not sure Munster will have enough for an away win. Would expect Leinster to beat Toulouse at home. Racing should beat Ulster at home

Cookiemunster · 07-01-2019 1:28pm

Eod100 wrote: »

So here's how things stand going into rounds 5 and 6.

1) Racing, 19 points, 66 PD
2) Saracens, 18 points, 67 PD
3) Toulouse, 17 points, 26 PD
4) Edinburgh, 15 points, 51 PD
5) Munster, 12 points, 38 PD
6) Leinster, 15 points, 82 PD
7) Glasgow, 14 points, 38 PD
8) Ulster, 14 points, - 2 PD

Some big games ahead.

Gloucester v Munster, Leinster v Toulouse and Ulster v Racing look like the most significant ones.

Not sure Munster will have enough for an away win. Would expect Leinster to beat Toulouse at home. Racing should beat Ulster at home

After the last two games each side has played, I'm not sure how you can come to that conclusion.

Eod100 · 07-01-2019 1:49pm

Cookiemunster wrote: »

After the last two games each side has played, I'm not sure how you can come to that conclusion.

Was more about managing expectations than a definitive statement on result tbh! Would love if we got the win. And after wins over Leinster and Connacht and return of players to fitness, will definitely have spring in our step alright. Didn't see Sale and Tigers matches but would have thought Glaws would have had enough. Think Cipriani is big loss for them. Tom Savage also out now.

Flipside is they will naturally be hungry for a win after last 2 defeats and in front of home crowd but would be great to get win over them.

troyzer · 07-01-2019 10:26pm

Champions Cup could be downsized in bid to protect player welfare (via @IrishTimes)

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/european-cup/champions-cup-could-be-downsized-in-bid-to-protect-player-welfare-1.3750338

2018-2019 Champions Cup

Comments