I had not been paying close attention to the European Cup(s), which was probably a good thing for my mental health. Because, while doing the deep and arduous research for this post, I discovered that Ulster’s pool-mates are Bath, Cardiff, Harlequins, Toulouse and Racing 92. (Six in the pool? What’s happened?*)
Well, we’ll probably beat Cardiff.* We might beat Bath and/or Harlequins, but I’d be happier if we weren’t away to them both. Given our form so far this season, I’m not too optimistic. Can only see two French sides going through.
*Apparently what’s happened is that you don’t play all the teams in your pool. We’re not playing Cardiff. Boo! And naturellement, the two French clubs are not playing each other, so won’t have a loss. Who the hell designed this?
If you’d like to frighten yourself about your own favoured side, the pools are here.
Or go here if the Challenge Cup’s your thing.
Onna telly this week
Showing matches that are televised in the UK and Ireland or on popular subscription services. Bold indicates free-to-view. Times are in the UK zone, so adjust as necessary.
Friday 8th December
| Glasgow v Northampton | 20:00 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Connacht v Bordeaux | 20:00 | TNT Sports 2 |
| Clermont v Edinburgh | 20:00 | Viaplay Sports 1 |
Saturday 9th December
| Toulon v Exeter | 13:00 | TNT Sports 3 |
| Black Lion (who they?) v Gloucester | 13:00 | Viaplay Sports 1 |
| Zebre v Cheetahs | 13:00 | epcrugby.com |
| Bath v Ulster | 15:15 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Toulouse v Cardiff | 15:15 | S4C / iPlayer / TNT Sports 3 |
| Castres v Scarlets | 15:15 | epcrugby.com |
| Bulls v Saracens | 17:30 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Munster v Bayonne | 17:30 | RTÉ2 / TNT Sports 3 |
| Ospreys v Treviso | 17:30 | Viaplay Sports 1 |
| Bristol v Lyon | 20:00 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Dragons v Oyonnax | 20:00 | S4C / iPlayer |
Sunday 10th December
| Sale v Stade Français | 13:00 | ITV1 / STV / TNT Sports 1 |
| La Rochelle v Leinster | 15:15 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Leicester v Stormers | 15:15 | TNT Sports 2 |
| Newcastle v Montpellier | 15:15 | Viaplay Sports 1 |
| Racing 92 v Harlequins | 17:30 | TNT Sports 1 |
Ovally Balls 
Claw says hello back….
LikeLike
Our Slade will be slightly pleased with that…!
LikeLike
stone me!!!!
LikeLike
Shame about the injuries for both teams and some slightly wonky reffing. Good work by Exeter in the end.
LikeLike
zero points for Toulon (currently 2nd in the Top14) in the 2nd half.
LikeLike
Thaum – I will now loudly support Ulster for this evening!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting score between Black Lion and Glos., BL got the only try but Glos scored the only penalties (5)
LikeLike
hold on – BL got 1 penalty – I need to go and lie down somewhere dark
LikeLike
Good drama in Toulon (except the nasty injury to Serin of course). The ref left me bemused more than once, but for/against both sides. Toulon went to sleep but the young Exeter boys should sure be proud of themselves.
LikeLike
Slade
It’s now!
LikeLike
Little drama in Toulouse but wonderful handling.
LikeLike
Toulouse play some lovely rugby
LikeLike
It was all going well at Bath – we were in their 22 – then Kitshoff knocked on and then got mullered at the scrum. Now we’re madly defending. Or rather, now Finn has just missed a fairly easy penalty!
LikeLike
They just had a shot of MacFarland, and I thought he’d taken out a hip flask. But it turned out to be some sort of electronic device.
LikeLike
Bath score. Bah.
LikeLike
Kinghorn gets a try for his new team.
Ramos splits Cardiff open, Dupont carries it on and Kinghorn’s ridiculous pace got him into the right place to the take the pass
LikeLike
Kitshoff gives away another penalty in our own 22.
LikeLike
And Bath take the penalty (kicked by Spencer, not Finn, who’s missed two). 8-0, 32 mins.
LikeLike
TRY Burns!
LikeLike
TRY Doak! Some nice passing in the run-up to that.
LikeLike
8-14 at HT. Whew!
Scrum is improving.
LikeLike
Burns gets away with a clear deliberate knock on.
LikeLike
Bath out-Ulster Ulster and maul over the line!
LikeLike
Burns off with a hurt arm, and Hume having his ankle strapped. And Bath have slotted a dodgy penalty.
LikeLike
BB – I was hoping no-one would notice that.
LikeLike
Our scrum is splintered again and Bath win a penalty.
LikeLike
Missed! Phew!
LikeLike
Matty Rea goes to the bin after a team warning.
LikeLike
And Bath inevitably score. Fuck.
LikeLike
Then Flannery puts the restart out on the full. *headdesk*
LikeLike
And Bath score again for the BP. Double, triple and quadruple fuck.
LikeLike
Bloody hell. Bath score again in the 78th minute. Second half has been a disaster.
LikeLike
37-14 is the final score.
We played well in the first half except for the scrum, which is seriously letting us down.
LikeLike
Could be worse Thaum, you could be a Cardiff supporter. They’ve been humped 52-7 by Toulouse.
LikeLike
Refit – ‘at least we weren’t nilled’.
LikeLike
Somehow don’t think the Thaum household is going to be a cheery place tonight.
LikeLike
It’s fair to say neither of us is dancing with joy.
LikeLike
Even the dug is subdued.
LikeLike
Don’t worry, Saracens will be along soon to cheer everyone up.
*ducks & runs*
LikeLike
Think we’ll watch the Munster match!
LikeLike
That Finn has a funny accent. Stirling, apparently!
LikeLike
If Bath maintain their trajectory they could be Premiership winners in 2024
LikeLike
1st H cup game ever for Bayonne. Facinf Munster!
2 years ago they were still in ProD2. Needless to say, their main concern is to remain in the T14, so expect a drubbing. Too bad there isn’t a return leg, as Bayonne is one of the best places to attend a game in France.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Commentators are driving me mad. The main one (the bloke who sounds like BOD) is pronouncing it ‘Beyon’. DOC is doing only slightly better with ‘Beyonne’. FFS, how hard is it to learn how to pronounce a team’s name, never mind the players’ names?
LikeLike
Yay! McCarthy scores.
LikeLike
Bulls are playing some lovely rugby. 2 tries up on Sarries after 12 mins…wait, there was a forward pass in the build up to the second. Still some great play.
LikeLike
And Bayonne also score! Although I’m sure there was a knock-on a fair few plays back.
LikeLike
Indeed, there was a knock-on.
LikeLike
Billy V gets a red for launching himself shoulder first over a ruck, into the head of a Bulls player.
LikeLike
One of BV’s stock moves, that one………………….berk!
LikeLike