Ahead of their second Heineken Cup outing in a week, it’s very much of a case of more of the same please for the Irish provinces in Round 4 this weekend.
Perpignan v Munster
Munster were fairly comfortable victors at Thomond Park on Sunday but Perpignan were a lot better than the 28-point margin of defeat suggested and with their chances of making the knockout stages on the line, you can expect a more defiant showing from the hosts in Catalonia tomorrow afternoon.
Travelling to France is rarely easy for Irish sides but Munster will certainly be stepping into the lion’s den in the Stade Aime Giral, where Perpignan have lost just one of their last 23 games in the Heineken Cup.
Considering the form he was in, Conor Murray’s loss is a big one and while Donnacha Ryan’s return to the second row is a major boost, not having played since October is bound to cause a little rustiness against a side who he openly flirted with over a potential move in the past.
If they can maintain parity up front and if Keith Earls is in the same mood he was in last weekend then Munster have a great chance, but a losing bonus point might not be the worst reward from a match that has ‘potential banana skin’ written all over it.
Treviso v Ulster
With half of their pool games left to play, Ulster are already in cruise control mode in the Heineken Cup and there was nothing – literally nothing as they didn’t even score – in Treviso’s performance at Ravenhill to suggest they can produce one of the upsets they have made a habit of in recent seasons.
Treviso, in fact, have scored only 13 points in three games compared to Ulster’s 95 and Mark Anscombe’s men are on a roll having lost only one of their last ten games. Provided they deal with a potential early onslaught from the hosts this should be plain sailing for the Red Handers and they should be thinking about a bonus point win that would all but seal their progress as pool winners.
Leinster v Northampton
Complacency would appear to be Leinster’s enemy this weekend because if they play nearly as well as they did at Franklin’s Gardens then they’ll be looking at another cakewalk. When Leinster play like that, nobody in Europe can touch them and confidence must be oozing through the camp at present.
That said, Northampton can hardly be as off the pace as they were and, though the standard of the Aviva Premiership could be said to be suspect, the Saints had been on an excellent run before their collapse last week. They did also claim an unexpected victory away at Ravenhill in last season’s competition but it’s hard to see a repeat here.
Leinster fans will come to the Aviva in the mood for a party this weekend and we don’t expect the boys in Blue to disappoint.
Connacht v Toulouse
Obviously motivated by our prediction that they would struggle to get within 25 points of Toulouse last week, Connacht only went and produced one of the all-time great Heineken Cup performances, so we almost feel it’s our duty to act as doom-mongers for the Westerners this weekend.
By becoming the first team to win in Toulouse’s backyard in the Heineken Cup for five years, Connacht may have angered the beast and an outbreak of flu in the camp will hardly have helped preparations.
Good and all as Connacht’s win was last week, there was an element of Toulouse thinking they could win the game on auto-pilot and you would imagine that won’t be the case second time around. After what happened on Sunday, we’re not going to write the hosts off and a rocking Sportsground will only help their cause, but we have a feeling that the Frenchmen will exact a measure of revenge on Pat Lam’s men on Saturday evening.
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.
