European Champions Cup Predictions – Round 2

After finding their feet in their debut week of ground-breaking action, the South African sides will look to pick up the pace and pip their respective opponents to the post to finish the opening two-lap race of the writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

The Sharks and Bulls have headed abroad for their first away assignments while the Stormers are back home. The Durbanites kick off the round against French club Bordeaux on Friday night.

The pride of Pretoria are up first on Saturday against the Chiefs in Exeter before the Capetonians collide with London Irish in their maiden home fixture.

As the final round before the blockbuster competition breaks until 13 January, teams will be hell-bent on getting the desired result.

Bordeaux v Sharks

Friday, 16 December – 22:00

The Sharks showed great skill and character to start the South African invasion of the European showpiece on a successive note against Harlequins at home last weekend. 

Having scored stunning tries and held on while being down to 14 men in the final 30 minutes to seal a 39-31 win in just their second match under Neil Powell following Sean Everitt’s sacking, the Durban side have started to lay a strong foundation and suggested they’re capable of continuing down that path in France.

Their scrum is the best in the United Rugby Championship this season but with Ox Nche joining Thomas du Toit on the suspended list, they won’t have the sustained power they usually have. However, in fellow Springbok Ntuthuko Mchunu, they have a world-class replacement to stand up to the powerful Bordeaux pack.

The hosts are well-coached but holes in their defence saw them squander a healthy halftime lead and go down 22-17 away to Gloucester. The Sharks should be able to find those holes on a clear and cold night to come away with the win 

Leinster v Gloucester

Friday, 16 December – 22:00

Perennial champions Leinster made an emphatic statement with their 42-10 rout of Racing 92 on the road. Last season’s beaten finalists made it clear they plan on going one better this year, which they’re favoured to do at 2.80, and they’ll collect another maximum haul here.

Gloucester, whose outright odds are 67.00 for comparison, won’t lie down. They showed their resolve in scoring 17 unanswered points to turn a 12-point deficit into a five-point win over Bordeaux but they’ll be mauled by Leinster.

Exeter Chiefs v Bulls

Saturday, 17 December – 15:00

After phase one of Jake White’s plan paid off handsomely with the Bulls ‘B’ team beating Lyon 42-36 at Loftus Versfeld, it was expected that the first-choice side would be tasked with completing the far tougher phase two in Exeter.

Instead, White opted to stick with the understrength squad of fringe players for the excursion, making for a foregone conclusion.

The Chiefs got off to an even better start than the Bulls with a 24-12 bonus-point win away from home against Castres. The 2020 European and domestic champions have been hit and miss in the Gallagher Premiership this season, going 4-5 to sit seventh among the 11 teams.

However, they have more than enough class to breeze past a spirited but outmatched Bulls outfit.

Edinburgh v Castres

Saturday, 17 December – 15:00

Both of these teams will be out to bounce back from opening-round defeats when they square off in the Scottish capital.

Edinburgh gave a much better account of themselves, pushing a strong Saracens side close (30-26) despite conceding two late yellow cards.

Castres, meanwhile, weren’t competitive against the Exeter Chiefs (27-12) and Edinburgh’s physicality will be too much for them to withstand.

Lyon v Saracens

Saturday, 17 December – 17:15

These sides struggled in varying degrees to acclimate to the rarefied air of returning to the big league. While they did extremely well to fight from 28 points down to give themselves a sniff at Loftus, the 42-36 defeat to the Bulls second-stringers is a serious cause for concern for last year’s European Challenge Cup winners.

Saracens were made to work hard but were able to see off Edinburgh 30-26. Owen Farrell and company, who top the Gallagher Premiership table with a perfect 9-0 record, will seek to improve on last weekend’s comeback appearance and should secure a double-digit win.

Leicester Tigers v Clermont

Saturday, 17 December – 17:15

The Tigers’ 23-17 triumph over the Ospreys might not seem very impressive on the face of it considering the current flailing state of Welsh rugby but indeed it was as Steve Borthwick backed an inexperienced bunch who repaid his faith in them to win away from home.

Clermont showed composure, class, and intelligence in their come-from-behind win over the Stormers and those qualities will see them push Leicester hard. The Gallagher Premiership champions, however, are set to be bolstered and will successfully defend their turf.

Stormers v London Irish

Saturday, 17 December – 19:30

The Stormers have returned to Cape Town with a chip on their shoulder following their disappointing 24-14 defeat to Clermont in France. It was just their second loss in 20 matches and the URC champions are primed for a backlash.

One can’t judge London Irish on their 32-27 away loss to Montpellier with them having lost Agustin Creevy to a red card in the 33rd minute. To get a better read on them one needs to look at their Gallagher Premiership record this season. It’s not a pretty picture.

They find themselves second from the bottom having won just two of their nine games and while they have some spice, they’ll be no match for a seething and strengthened Stormers side.

Ulster v La Rochelle

Saturday, 17 December – 19:30

This will be a hard, uncompromising banger in Belfast, where rain will seemingly play a part. Like Leinster, the team they toppled to seize the throne last season, La Rochelle laid down a marker with a dominant 46-12 victory over the Northampton Saints.

The defending champions are coming up against an Ulster team whose coach Dan McFarland admits is low on confidence after they got off to the worst possible start against the Sale Sharks.

They’ve shown in the URC that they’re much better than the humiliating 39-0 shutout they endured and it’s important to remember they only arrived in Salford on the morning of the match due to travel disruptions.

They won’t completely turn things around in the space of a week, but they’ll give the reigning kings a tough fight.

Montpellier v Ospreys

Saturday, 17 December – 22:00

The Ospreys were gallant in their 23-17 loss to Leicester but there’s only one winner here. Montpellier were stuck in second gear in their 32-27 win over 14-man London Irish and the TOP 14 champions will step on the gas to leave embattled Welsh rugby’s only representatives in the top flight in their dirt.  

Toulouse v Sale Sharks

Sunday, 18 December – 15:00

Sale are frothing to launch a full-scale attack on their hosts following their 39-0 whitewash of Ulster. Toulouse also triumphed over Irish opposition, beating Munster 18-13 away to set up a mouth-watering showdown.

This will be a cracker. Both teams are at or near the top of their respective domestic leagues – Toulouse leading the TOP 14 and the Sharks sitting second in the Gallagher Premiership – and are well-rounded.

This is a classic case of teams that appear so evenly matched that home-ground advantage looks set to prove decisive.

Northampton Saints v Munster

Sunday, 18 December – 15:00

As emphatically as they lost to La Rochelle (46-12), the French club are champions for a reason and I expect the underdog Northampton Saints to rebound on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

They have the pack and pace out wide along with the home crowd and knowledge of the conditions and surface to stave off a Munster side whose uptick took a knock with an 18-13 home loss to Toulouse.

Harlequins v Racing 92

Sunday, 18 December – 19:30

It’ll be a wet-weather affair at Twickenham Stoop as well. There was a character built and lessons learned by Harlequins in their eight-point defeat to the Sharks in Durban.

The same can’t be said for Racing 92, who have to take out the microscope to possibly find positives from their 32-point drubbing by Leinster at home.

The rain will dampen the dynamism of Finn Russell, which should allow Quins to join the winners’ circle.