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This weekend hails the Fourteenth Heineken Cup tournament, so here is a group-by-group rundown on the action. The French and Italian websites aren’t all up-to-date, and given that I speak a little French, I thought it would be helpful if I could bridge some gaps.
Pool 1
Munster
Champions 2006 and 2008
Current league position – Magners League – 1st
Southern Hemisphere players – Justin Melck, Nick White, Paul Warwick, Jeremy Manning, Lifeimi Mafi, Rua Tipoki, Doug Howlett
Key men – Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara, Rua Tipoki
Sale Sharks
Quarter-finals 2006
Current league position – Guinness Premiership – 3rd
Southern Hemisphere players –Kristian Ormsby, Juan Martin Fernandez-Lobbe, Luke McAlister, Rudi Keil, Anitelea Tuilagi
Key men – Andrew Sheridan, Sebastien Chabal, Charlie Hodgson
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Quarter-finals 2002
Current league position – Top 14 – 4th
Southern Hemisphere players – Mario Ledesma, Martin Scelzo, John Senio, Brock James, Seremi Bai, Marius Joubert, Grant Esterhuizen, Napolioni Nalaga
Key men – Elvis Vermeulen, Pierre Mignoni, Brock James
US Montauban
N/A
Current league position – Top 14 – 10th
Southern Hemisphere players – Benjamin Sa, Matthew Clarkin, Vili Delesau, Shannon Paku
Key men – Scott Murray, Ibrahima Diarra, Vili Delesau
Munster have the pedigree, a new stadium and a new coach. Clermont have a history of glorious failures. Sale have a history of inglorious failures and Montauban barely have a history.
Given their Top 14 position, it is unlikely that Montauban will take their place in Europe seriously.
Clermont may or may not – who knows?
Their home form is normally pretty outstanding, as is Munster’s. Therefore, the winner of this group will have to win away.
Sale are rather static, fuelled by kicking and territory based. They often rely on McAlister, whereas Munster have far more mid0field direction.
The Sale defence is excellent but Saint-Andre isn’t Eisenstein.
I would expect Munster to progress and Sale to flop at the last hurdle, as is their tendency.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.