European quarterfinal line-up shows URC's strength
REVIEW: There were of course disappointed teams who failed to make the cut, but the line-ups for the quarterfinal round of both the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup provide a good advertisement for the strength of the United Rugby Championship.
Edinburgh, Munster, Ulster, the Bulls and the Ospreys failed to make it through to the next round of the premier European competition, but two of those fell to fellow URC teams. Munster were outplayed by the Sharks in Durban, while Ulster, as most would have anticipated, couldn’t match URC log leaders in the big Irish derby in Dublin.
Two South African teams, the Sharks and the Stormers, join Leinster as the URC representatives among the eight remaining teams in the Champions Cup. There are three teams from the Premiership (England) in the last eight, and two from the France Top 14.
When you get to the Challenge Cup the URC success rate is more remarkable, with the Lions being joined in the last eight by Scarlets, Benetton, Cardiff and Glasgow Warriors.
That makes it a more than 50 percent URC representation in the last eight of that competition, and if you put the quarterfinals of the two competitions together, then eight of the 16 (50 percent) of the remaining participants are URC teams.
Looking at the spread across the two competitions, there are three English Premiership teams still alive with three rounds to go, and five teams from the French competition. One of the most remarkable results from the round of 16 was the Lions’ 50 pointer against Racing 92.
Looking at the past weekend’s action, it appears that home ground advantage was more important in the Champions Cup than the Challenge Cup. There was one draw among the eight Champions Cup games, with the home teams victorious in every other game. One of the most interesting results was how close Gloucester came to upsetting the competition champions, La Rochelle. They lost by just three points.
In the Challenge Cup, there was a more equal spread of home and away victories, with Clermont Auvergne and Lyon winning on the road against Bristol and Stade Francais respectively.
In the main event, Leinster will continue their search for their fifth European title by hosting Leicester Tigers in the first Champions Cup quarterfinal on Friday, while the two South African teams have tough away fixtures on Saturday against Toulouse (the Sharks) and Exeter Chiefs (Stormers).
Exeter advanced courtesy of a superior try count in their exciting draw with Montpellier, thus denying the Stormers the opportunity to host a home quarterfinal by the narrowest of margins.
Given how closely they were pushed by Gloucester, La Rochelle’s home game against the English powerhouse club Saracens should be one to watch on Sunday. When it comes to playing style and form, the Lions’ visit to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun could also be worth watching as both teams play an exciting brand of rugby. While the Warriors will start as favourites, they did lose to the Lions in South Africa a few weeks ago.
Weekend Champions Cup results (Round of 16):
Leicester Tigers 16-6 Edinburgh
Sharks 50-35 Munster
Stormers 32-28 Harlequins
Leinster 30-15 Ulster
La Rochelle 29-26 Gloucester
Exeter 33-33 Montpellier
Toulouse 33-9 Bulls
Saracens 35-20 Ospreys
Champions Cup quarterfinals:
Leinster v Leicester
Toulouse v Sharks
Exeter v Stormers
La Rochelle v Saracens
Challenge Cup round of 16
Bristol 26-33 Clermont Auvergne
Scarlets 19-7 Brive
Toulon 36-21 Cheetahs
Stade Francais 24-41 Lyon
Benetton 41-19 Connacht
Lions 51-28 Racing 92
Glasgow Warriors 73-33 Dragons
Cardiff Rugby 28-27 Sale
Challenge Cup quarterfinals:
Scarlets v Clermont Auvergne
Toulon v Lyon
Benetton v Cardiff
Glasgow Warriors v Lions