That’s what I get for venturing a rugby opinion on a rugby Notablog: roped into writing about some rugby stuff rather than wittering nonsense. Well, it may still be nonsense, but there we go. Teams haven’t been announced as of this writing, but without further ado some ‘ predictions’:
Leinster vs Saracens
What I said previously: “I can see Sarries giving the Blue Evil a run for their money at the weekend, possibly even sneaking it”.
I’ll stand by this. It’s suitably vague for me to claim a win whichever way it goes. And whichever way it goes, evil wins. Salary cap busters and relegation fodder Sarries, with their strong squad – albeit minus a finally-sanctioned Faz – vs the giant-squad-sized Pro-14 champs-for-life Blue Meanies. Who would bet against Leinster at home? However home advantage may not count for much in a crowdless stadium, and impending relegation doesn’t seem to have dented the Londoners’ squad or resolve significantly so far.
Ones to watch
Leinster: Sexton was relegated to the bench for last week’s ProWoo final in favour of Byrne which seemed to do Leinster no harm whatsoever.
Saracens: Fez is serving his ban but watch him anyway. Very carefully.
ASM Clermont Auvergne vs. Racing 92
What I said previously: “No idea about Racing vs Clermont”.
Still no clue really: not been following the Top 14 at all of late. Finn plays for Racing, though, and he keeps doing funky stuff which hits YouTube highlights when not taking a strop with Scotland management. They’re probably pretty good overall, as *taps in search quickly* they are top of the T14 at the moment! Okay, only two games into the season, but still top – and won both of them.
ASM are third, having won one less game, but are at home (got beaten by Bayonne last time out, however), and they don’t lose at home that often. And they play in yellow. Are crowds allowed in for this one? I don’t even know that.
Ones to watch
Racing 92: Finn! Watch him dance; see him spin!
ASM: err *hastily types in search* Oooh, Damian Penaud! He’s pretty handy.
Toulouse vs. Ulster
What I said previously: “Step too far for Ulster, vs Toulouse”.
Facing Toulouse at their home ground is a hell of a challenge, and while Ulster have made big strides in recent years under Dan McFarland, this may be one a bit too large. Still, should be able to make a fight of it, coming from behind to squeak past Wmbra in the ProWoo QF (boo!) before being pipped by Leinster in the final.
Toulouse are one of the big names in Europe with actual cup wins and stuff, and a squad stuffed with talent, both home-grown (current France half-backs) and foreign (including Cheslin Kolbe). There have been no cup wins since 2010 and I’m sure they’ll be wanting their name on the cup once again.
Ones to watch
Ulster: Marcell Coetzee. Not flashy but very solid.
Toulouse: Romain Ntamack. The silky hair and dreamy eyes.
Exeter Chiefs vs. Northampton Saints
What I said previously: “Exeter will biff Northampton”.
Probably true. The cultural appropriators have been winning a lot even when putting out B teams (yes, I know they got done by Sarries last weekend), whereas Northampton’s form has gone off a cliff a bit. Exeter are a well-known quantity now, but teams still don’t know how to stop them when they get into the oppo 22. They combine a beastly pack with some incisive backs and are a contender for the whole log this year, one suspects. Northampton were riding high in 2019 and early 2020 but their freewheeling style seems to have hit a bumpy patch, and they lost to basement-dwellers Tiggers last outing. Can only see one winner here.
Ones to watch
Exeter: There’s no I in team.
Northampton: The ref needs to heed Big Dan Biggar’s advice.
As predicted by Chimpie
On the telly
Friday 18th September
| Bristol v Dragons | 19:45 | BT Sport 2 |
Saturday 19th September
| Reds v Brumbies | 09:45 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Bordeaux v Edinburgh | 12:30 | BT Sport 3 |
| Leinster v Saracens | 15:00 | BT Sport 3 |
| Clermont v Racing 92 | 17:45 | BT Sport 3 |
| Toulon v Scarlets | 20:15 | S4C / BT Sport 3 |
Sunday 20th September
| Toulouse v Ulster | 12:30 | Channel 4 / BT Sport 3 |
| Leicester v Castres | 15:00 | BT Sport 3 |
| Exeter v Northampton | 17:30 | BT Sport 3 |
Monday 21st September
| Sale v Harlequins | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Ovally Balls 
Yep, BT has chosen to declare in their graphic that the Scarlets are playing in red, but they aren’t.
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The refs are playing in ‘Toulon”s colour, which seems unfair.
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Green?
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BB – yep
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Leigh with a proper bit of technique.
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Yeah, that was a great tackle.
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Parisse scores!
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Very very good try for Parisse.
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Or, well, that’s under review: possible forward pass(es) and then the grounding….
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But he knocked it on.
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No try.
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Forward pass is called. Hmm, not sure about that one. Parisse dropped it, anyway.
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I love Parisse, but I want Scarlets to win this.
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3.5 matches is enough for one day; off to watch the 21:00 mystery in a few mins.
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Serin’s almost Billy Burns level at outside half.
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Serin gets the hook and a proper outside half, Carbonel, is on.
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Lot of mistakes.
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It seems that Orangina comes out of Toulon players’ bums.
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Sergio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a try from Toulon! Hopefully nothing will stop this one being given.
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Carbonel takes a quick tap and some great handling and then Parisse gets his score.
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Stupid penalty to give away in the first place and having done so he could have done with holding on to the ball for a bit longer. Good try though.
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Why not pass it back into the 22 to someone with a really bad angle so they can whack it straight out?
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Big chance for Steff Evans. Once it was gone he really needs to let them have the ball though.
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TMHMIR™!
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Drops it as he’s about to cross the line?
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Expected them to bollocks that up, but not that way.
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Brings some of the Dragons’ magic to the maul.
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Pfffff
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And Pffff again as another magic dragon gets involved.
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“The tension is almost palpable”
It’s not palpable.
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High tackle though?
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I’m tense and indeed palpable.
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polpwbwl
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Glorious cheating by Ollivon.
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Disappointing as Toulon weren’t very good and that was winnable.
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I enjoyed it. It was fun in its incompetence at times.
Am beginning to think that Saracens win was rugby Catenaccio. Except their try was high quality and they conceded two.
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I want to see my credibility graph
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@OT – where’s that from and who is it?
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It’s extracts from the Hask’s autobiography “What a Flanker!” In the Torygraph.
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Stuart was a strange one in that he came across as quite likeable, but you knew he was full of all that kind of shite.
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Bullshit can get you very far within big organisations.
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It can. Then again sometimes the people who are into all that can have other qualities that make them good despite it. The old MD at my former workplace was massively into the Toyota-derived company ‘Way’, but was good at his job, honest, in it for the long term and managed the company successfully for more than a decade. Bit of a Lancaster apart from perhaps the last bit. His replacement wasn’t so bothered about the company’s bullshit, but had his own in spades and was well on his way to destroying the business by the time he was sacked (sadly after closing my bit down). He was more Eddie Jones (only without the GS and WC final).
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Alternatively the old guy was a Sale rugby supporter like Brookter and his useless blustering replacement was a Liverpool fan like Deebee.
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Hard not to like the Hask a bit for the way that story is told.
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Even at the peak of Back To Basics during the Major years we never had a politician issuing a mea culpa as funny as this
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I wouldn’t like to see my own credibility graph, but that story is funny
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This is nerve-wracking.
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Lancaster’s obsession with the business talk/sports coach crossover is funny. Haskell’s story seems to paint him as deeply insecure. But Haskell’s let his David Brent fantasies overcome him at the end. Why would a player want to be coach? And the point of the nonsense credibility graph guff appears to be to make Haskell work a bit harder and not eye gouge people.
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Bit too close that close-up on Dupont’s eye.
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Poor Stockdale, you have to feel for his impossible task here
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