Official EPCR Champions Cup Preview Thread - A New Hope

sydneybound · 17-10-2014 7:23pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

I'm enjoying the BT production so far, lively, a bit cartoony .... even if the chatting is a bit inane

Running around the pitch interviewing players in the warm up is a new touch!

All the kids round the pundits and Craig Doyle looks a bit awkward.

bennyl10 · 17-10-2014 7:30pm

twitter account poking a bitta fun at itself,..

or maybe hacked..

"@EPCRugby 5m minutes ago
Tonight, we introduce you to the new and not so improved "Heineken Cup". We hope you enjoy. We are sure the English and French clubs will"

Buer · 17-10-2014 7:32pm

Glasgow

thomond2006 wrote: »

Delon should get used to collecting splinters.

There's too many quality wingers for Halfpenny to be moved there to accommodate Armitage.

I know I could be roasted for this but LH is there for his goalkicking. I would take DA over him in most facets of the game between them, certainly as an attacking threat and he also possesses a better kicking game. LH is probably a better tackler but DA isn't bad in that area.

If Toulon had another person who could kick 80%+ in their back line, I wouldn't have bothered signing LH at all.

bilston · 17-10-2014 7:39pm

Ulster

bennyl10 wrote: »

twitter account poking a bitta fun at itself,..

or maybe hacked..

"@EPCRugby 5m minutes ago
Tonight, we introduce you to the new and not so improved "Heineken Cup". We hope you enjoy. We are sure the English and French clubs will"

Maybe a disgruntled ERC employee who is getting "moved on" soon

irishbucsfan · 17-10-2014 7:44pm

Leinster

bennyl10 wrote: »

twitter account poking a bitta fun at itself,..

or maybe hacked..

"@EPCRugby 5m minutes ago
Tonight, we introduce you to the new and not so improved "Heineken Cup". We hope you enjoy. We are sure the English and French clubs will"

Has it been deleted now?

Swan Curry · 17-10-2014 7:45pm

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Has it been deleted now?

It was just deleted.

Hagz · 17-10-2014 7:51pm

Saracens

The score graphic is doing my head in. Should be white and linear. Not a dark box in the corner of the screen. It's simple things but it makes a difference.

bilston · 17-10-2014 7:53pm

Ulster

Fast and frenetic start anyway.

I would have suffered a heart attack after 2 minutes!

Buer · 17-10-2014 7:54pm

Glasgow

Awful decision and execution from Nick Evans. Line break, quick ball, men over and kicks it away for a mark to be called.

Lets hope for a Quins win with no bonus points for anyone.

sydthebeat · 17-10-2014 8:00pm

Clermont

6 - 3 to quins would be acceptable

Frenetic so far, and the French could be out on their feet in the last 15

bilston · 17-10-2014 8:07pm

Ulster

Buer wrote: »

Awful decision and execution from Nick Evans. Line break, quick ball, men over and kicks it away for a mark to be called.

Lets hope for a Quins win with no bonus points for anyone.

Not a great kicking performance from Evans so far and Care is mentally still changing nappies by the looks of things.

Castres are there to play.

Lowe looks a handful in the Quins midfield though.

Buer · 17-10-2014 8:08pm

Glasgow

sydthebeat wrote: »

6 - 3 to quins would be acceptable

Frenetic so far, and the French could be out on their feet in the last 15

I'd rather Castres go home empty handed rather than a point in the bag and their interest heightened ahead of next week.

JacquesDeLad · 17-10-2014 8:13pm

I don't care who wins this bastardised tournament.

For the first time since it's earliest years I'm more interested in the Pro 12.

Buer · 17-10-2014 8:15pm

Glasgow

JacquesDeLad wrote: »

I don't care who wins this bastardised tournament.

I bet you do.

Buer · 17-10-2014 8:16pm

Glasgow

Quins are really lacking the killer instinct that made them a good side. They're getting into positions repeatedly and blowing it through their own unforced errors. On the balance of play, they should their noses well in front on the scoreboard.

I wouldn't rule out a smash and grab yet.

bilston · 17-10-2014 8:17pm

Ulster

JacquesDeLad wrote: »

I don't care who wins this bastardised tournament.

For the first time since it's earliest years I'm more interested in the Pro 12.

Your nose must be pretty p****d off with your face...:)

JacquesDeLad · 17-10-2014 8:21pm

Buer wrote: »

I bet you do.

Yeah you're right.

But I'll try pretend I don't for as long as I can.

Buer · 17-10-2014 8:22pm

Glasgow

The longer this game goes on, the more I believe Castres might actually pinch it. Quins are muck with the ball. Just let them have it and they'll mess up eventually.

Swan Curry · 17-10-2014 8:24pm

Buer wrote: »

The longer this game goes on, the more I believe Castres might actually pinch it. Quins are muck with the ball. Just let them have it and they'll mess up eventually.

Castres' inability to complete a lineout certainly isn't helping them.

ssaye2 · 17-10-2014 8:27pm

Shocking line outs

ssaye2 · 17-10-2014 8:30pm

Castres better overall

Buer · 17-10-2014 8:32pm

Glasgow

This game is utter piss. Quins must have had 4 or 5 unforced errors in the opposition 22. Knock ons, intercept, flopping over attacking ruck, kicking away aimlessly.

It's almost like watching Leinster.

sydthebeat · 17-10-2014 8:34pm

Clermont

If castres had a set piece they would be pissing this.

Neither teams performance would be worrying me so far from a Leinster point of view (provided we're not as useless ourselves)

Swan Curry · 17-10-2014 8:37pm

I would rather listen to George Hook than Craig Doyle.

bilston · 17-10-2014 8:41pm

Ulster

Buer wrote: »

This game is utter piss. Quins must have had 4 or 5 unforced errors in the opposition 22. Knock ons, intercept, flopping over attacking ruck, kicking away aimlessly.

It's almost like watching Leinster.

You might get your 6-3 after all

Taco Corp · 17-10-2014 8:44pm

Buer wrote: »

This game is utter piss. Quins must have had 4 or 5 unforced errors in the opposition 22. Knock ons, intercept, flopping over attacking ruck, kicking away aimlessly.

It's almost like watching Leinster.

wait a second, haven't you been listening to Craig? it's the best game ever by his account

Taco Corp · 17-10-2014 8:45pm

I'd love to hear an honest direct pundit

bilston · 17-10-2014 8:46pm

Ulster

Captain_Hindsight wrote: »

I'd love to hear an honest direct pundit

Has BOD already turned to the dark side?

Edit - actually in the build up BOD was questioning Robshaw not being captain of Quins and Doyle piped up to say something in defence of Robshaw which made it seem a bit like BOD wasn't towing the party line on that particular issue anyway.

Buer · 17-10-2014 8:52pm

Glasgow

One try for Quins now and 11-3 final score would be perfect.

Buer · 17-10-2014 8:55pm

Glasgow

That was a try for Castres if they held their lines and put it through hands rather than the prop looking for glory.

Rightwing · 17-10-2014 9:06pm

And this is suppossed to be a more exciting competition? Absolute muck FFS

Buer · 17-10-2014 9:07pm

Glasgow

Rightwing wrote: »

And this is suppossed to be a more exciting competition? Absolute muck FFS

It's no different FFS.

Hagz · 17-10-2014 9:09pm

Saracens

Rightwing wrote: »

And this is suppossed to be a more exciting competition? Absolute muck FFS

In fairness, the re-structuring of the competition hasn't affected the rules of rugby or the quality of players in both squads. If you aren't finding it exciting, it has nothing to do with the new format, it has to do with the quality of rugby being played.

.ak · 17-10-2014 9:10pm

I'm actually really enjoying the game. Sure a bit of sloppy plays but both teams really going at it. Thought it was going to be an easy game for quins.

Buer · 17-10-2014 9:11pm

Glasgow

Hagz wrote: »

In fairness, the re-structuring of the competition hasn't affected the rules of rugby or the quality of players in both squads. If you aren't finding it exciting, it has nothing to do with the new format, it has to do with the quality of rugby being played.

Absolutely. Somehow blaming the quality of a game between two sides that would be in the tournament regardless of the format on the new tournament is laughable.

Buer · 17-10-2014 9:12pm

Glasgow

.ak wrote: »

I'm actually really enjoying the game. Sure a bit of sloppy plays but both teams really going at it. Thought it was going to be an easy game for quins.

Jayzus. I think it's dirge. Could count moments of interest on one hand. Massive error count too.

Buer · 17-10-2014 9:15pm

Glasgow

Yes! Perfect for Leinster! Evans has a bit of luck and magic. Hasn't been great tonight but he'll take that.

Quins scoring a single try and denying Castres anything would be grand for us going into next week.

.ak · 17-10-2014 9:17pm

Beautiful bit of footwork from Evans there

Dravokivich · 17-10-2014 9:26pm

I was expecting more from castre tbh.

Buer · 17-10-2014 9:32pm

Glasgow

Edinburgh with a huge win away to Bordeaux, 15-13 after scoring 10 points in the last 10 minutes.

If Edinburgh can win their home games, that should almost be enough for them to top the pool now.

bilston · 17-10-2014 9:44pm

Ulster

Just out of interest do Quins normally sell out the Stoop?

Buer · 17-10-2014 9:47pm

Glasgow

bilston wrote: »

Just out of interest do Quins normally sell out the Stoop?

Not normally but sometimes. It's just shy of 15k. Generally get crowds of 12k - 14k.

bilston · 17-10-2014 9:50pm

Ulster

Buer wrote: »

Not normally but sometimes. It's just shy of 15k. Generally get crowds of 12k - 14k.

It certainly seemed a bit shy of capacity this evening, not a bad crowd by any means but not full either.

Apparently there are still tickets available for Leicester v Ulster tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how the attendances stack up this season compared to the ERC tournament.

Leinstertomas · 17-10-2014 10:04pm

Leinster

According to Craig Doyle the Harlequins bar is the hottest place on earth after that win.

thomond2006 · 17-10-2014 10:06pm

Leinster

Buer wrote: »

I know I could be roasted for this but LH is there for his goalkicking. I would take DA over him in most facets of the game between them, certainly as an attacking threat and he also possesses a better kicking game. LH is probably a better tackler but DA isn't bad in that area.

If Toulon had another person who could kick 80%+ in their back line, I wouldn't have bothered signing LH at all.

I agree. Delon is a ....... but he's a great rugby player.

Clegg · 17-10-2014 10:49pm

Harlequins have declined worse than Leinster. That was an absolutely awful game to watch.

JacquesDeLad · 17-10-2014 11:47pm

Leinstertomas wrote: »

According to Craig Doyle the Harlequins bar is the hottest place on earth after that win.

#CraigDoylesFanClub

How do I join?:)

Winters · 18-10-2014 1:22am

Swan Curry wrote: »

I would rather listen to George Hook than Craig Doyle.

Careful what you wish for.

iroced · 18-10-2014 2:13am

Dravokivich wrote: »

I was expecting more from castre tbh.

In fairness don't expect anything from Castres in Europe this year. Their main goal is to save their future in top14. They'll just try and use the ERCC to regain a bit of confidence in their game. Tonight was crap but they held on for 1h away to the Quins. That'll do for now.

sydneybound · 18-10-2014 6:05am

bilston wrote: »

It certainly seemed a bit shy of capacity this evening, not a bad crowd by any means but not full either.

Apparently there are still tickets available for Leicester v Ulster tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how the attendances stack up this season compared to the ERC tournament.

They had 13,700 there last night which is their highest home attendance of the season. Your right though it seemed a bit shy behind the posts which are probably the worst seats in the house.

Thy had 13,100 for the scarries game and 12,000 odd for Wasps at home. You would generally think that they two London clubs would bring some more away support then Castres so to put in that content it was a decent crowd for Quinns.

In England Sale will have a bumper crowd while you can still get scarries tickets for £25. The issue is French home support not travelling.

Official EPCR Champions Cup Preview Thread - A New Hope

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