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Tournament favourites: Stade
Toulousain after their victory
Photo: Colin Spiro |
Toulon flanker and FRC columnist Joe El Abd
this week talks about European rugby and varying fortunes of
Stade Toulousain, Stade Francais, Clermont Auvergne,
Biarritz and his very own Toulon.
For anyone
who loves rugby the weekend couldn’t have been better. What
an advert for rugby!
It all
started on Friday with
the game between Leinster and Clermont
in what turned out to be a classic. I thought Clermont were
outstanding in every facet of the game apart from arguably
the most important part – goal-kicking. I think Clermont had
enough chances to win the game three times over but it
wasn’t to be as Brock James had one of those nights he will
want to forget. In total, including two drop goals, he
missed a potential 23 points in kicks which in the end
decided the result.
I am not
sure how Clermont are going to react after a result like
that but I am sure this loss will make them even more
determined to finally lift the Top 14 title.
While I feel
the game was Clermont's to lose you can’t take anything away
from a great Leinster side who were ruthless when they got
into Clermont's territory, and had without a doubt the
outstanding player of the night in Jamie Heaslip. After
winning the competition last year they know what it takes
and will be very confident going into the semi finals.
Heineken Cup Pools & Fixtures
The second
game of the weekend was equally dramatic as
Biarritz eventually managed to beat
The Ospreys 29-28 in controversial circumstances.
Seeing Takudzwa Ngwenya take off from his own 22 and outpace
two world class players in Mike Phillips and Shane Williams
was a sight to behold. When you have a player like that in
your team anything can happen and he also showed that he has
the vision in setting up Ian Balshaw's late try with a deft
chip over the top.
The Ospreys
will be bitterly disappointed with the loss as I know they
had high hopes of lifting the trophy this season. They came
off the pitch feeling like they should have had a penalty at
the end as it looked like Dimitri Yachvili had blatantly
come into an offside position before blocking a Mike
Phillips pass. However, looking back at the replays I think
the referee got it spot on and its not often I say that!
Munster again demonstrated how strong they are at Thomond
Park with a convincing victory over Northampton. Munster are
not renowned for their running rugby but in scoring four
tries against an in-form Northampton side it’s clear they
have threats all over the pitch. Northampton on the other
hand will be disappointed but will be pleased in how far
they have come as a team. They have a young and exciting
squad, and will be a side to watch over the coming seasons.
There was
only ever going to be one winner in the battle of the two
Stades as
Stade Toulousian brushed aside Stade
Francais and lived up to their tag of tournament
favourites. Toulouse were a class apart and it’s difficult
to see who is going to stop them if they can play like that
for the remainder of the tournament. Stade Francais have had
a season to forget both on and off the field and I bet they
can’t wait for the nightmare to be over. Next season starts
with a clean slate and with the arrival of Michael Cheika I
am sure they will once again be a force to be reckoned with.
So, four
matches and four home wins leaves the two form nations in
the Northern Hemisphere - France and Ireland - to battle it
out for the H-Cup. Will a French team be able to emulate the
national team’s success in the Six Nations and end French
clubs' five year wait for the trophy? I quite fancy Toulouse
for the title although with the quality that’s left in the
competition it is going to go down to the wire.
Amlin Challenge Cup - Pool results
and tables
All this and
I haven’t even mentioned Toulon's success in the Amlin
Challenge Cup against The Scarlets. The win sets up a
semi-final against Connacht in Galway and continues to build
the confidence within our squad. It also sets us up nicely
for our encounter against Perpignan at the weekend. There is
going to be over 60,000 once again at the Velodrome in
Marseille to watch the top two fight it out in what promises
to be a great encounter. Bring on the weekend!
A bientot
Previous columns:
18.03.10 -
'The possibility of Tana Umaga
playing again is an exciting prospect'
01.03.10 -
'Boudjellal is chasing Williams hard, and he usually gets his man'
11.02.10 -
Siege mentality will help England, but France are still my
favourites
08.12.09 -
'I see the Top 14 play-off race going all the way down the
last game'
24.11.09 -
'Gym-monkeys, IPGs and the pain of being sidelined by injury'
04.11.09 -
Star turns and the glamour play - how to judge a performance
27.10.09 -
Why I relish the role of 'gratteur', and the key to back row success
21.10.09 -
'My brothers think I'm mad when they see all my rugby scars'
07.10.09 -
'I keep telling them Rovigo is not Rome, but they're still excited'
28.09.09 -
'The three-part conundrum of winning
away in France'
22.09.09 -
'There's more to Jonny than just kicking'
14.09.09 -
Lesson number 1 - 'Pas de melée,
pas de victoire'
08.09.09 -
'The money's good, but so is the
weather, the rugby and the
crowds'
