The Heineken Cup is back, possibly for the last time in its current guise, and it isn’t exactly an easy opening for at least three of the four Irish provinces. Here’s how we think they’ll get on.
Ulster v Leicester
Ravenhill plays host to one of the games of the weekend tonight and a game that could end up proving crucial in determining who qualifies from one of the most difficult pools in the competition.
In the week that he committed himself to the province for another three years, Mark Anscombe has omitted Ruan Pienaar from the starting line-up and instead plumped for a half-back pairing of Paul Marshall and Paddy Jackson and even though Pienaar staying on is a good thing for Ulster, Anscombe’s faith in Marshall and Jackson is encouraging from an Irish point of view.
The Ulster faithful would love it if the hosts could reproduce their performance in the same fixture almost two years ago when they tamed the Tigers with a whopping 41-7 victory, but it’s likely to be far closer this time around.
Manu Tuilagi and Tom Croft are two big losses for Leicester but in the likes of the Youngs brothers, Toby Flood and the returning Geoff Parling they still have oodles of experience and it will be interesting to see how Niall Morris gets on at full-back.
With home advantage and with Tommy Bowe back on the wing we still think Ulster will have enough to win, although it may require an intervention from the bench by Pienaar at some stage.
JOE Prediction: Ulster win
Connacht v Saracens
In what is his first Heineken Cup outing with the province, we sincerely hope that the new Connacht boss avoids the ‘Lam to the slaughter’ headlines in tomorrow’s papers but the signs are ominous.
With a raft of injuries not helping matters, Connacht have lost four on the bounce in the Rabo and go up against a side touted as one of the leading contenders to win this competition this season and a side coming off the back of five consecutive wins in the Aviva Premiership.
Connacht normally use the tricky conditions and homely atmosphere to their advantage but if there’s one team likely to be immune to that it’s Saracens, who will try and dictate matters up front and allow Owen Farrell to do his thing with the boot.
Mark McCall has made all the right noises about Connacht’s reputation on home turf and the need to avoid complacency and if Saracens turn up focussed and tuned in, it’s hard to see anything but an away win.
JOE Prediction: Saracens win
Edinburgh v Munster
Munster undoubtedly have the easiest group of all four Irish provinces and they undoubtedly have the easiest opening fixture too. Edinburgh didn’t win any of their pool games last season and their form in the opening stages of the Rabo suggests that they mightn’t win any this season either.
Man of the match against Leinster, Ian Keatley has retained the number 10 jersey with JJ Hanrahan waiting in the wings
In trying to blend their new signings and their returning Lions into the team and in their efforts to find the man to fill Ronan O’Gara’s clown-sized shoes (we mean that purely in a metaphorical sense ROG), Munster are still finding their feet but victory over Leinster last weekend will have done wonders for their confidence.
Even though they’re playing away, Munster could conceivably have the majority of the support at Murrayfield and a bonus-point win should be well within their grasp. We fully expect them to oblige.
JOE Prediction: Munster win
Ospreys v Leinster
This one is probably the toughest to call of all four games involving the Irish provinces, a stance fuelled by some of the ding-dong affairs the sides have played out in the Rabo over the last few years, including this season.
Brian O’Driscoll’s loss is a massive one and while the selection of Jimmy Gopperth is a reward for the form he’s shown so far this season, Ian Madigan hasn’t done an awful lot wrong and is unfortunate to be named on the bench.
With Lote Tuqiri also absent and Zane Kirchner not yet ready, Leinster’s backline looks just a little bit lightweight but the same cannot be said of the forward pack, where Sean Cronin will be looking to put in a big shift now that he knows he’s going to be the main man in the number 2 shirt this season.
We fear that this one has banana skin written all over it and while we wouldn’t be surprised with an away win, the Blues might have to be content with just a losing bonus point.
JOE Prediction: Ospreys win
Don’t forget to get involved with the Heineken Star Predictor ‘Get in The Game’ where you can put your rugby knowledge to the test by predicting the outcome of this weekend’s games. The top prize is a pair of VIP tickets to the 2014 Heineken Cup Final in Cardiff and there are other prizes to be won throughout the season. Click here to start predicting.
