European Champions Cup Preview: Pool 5

Qualification to the knockout stages is still on the cards for three sides in Pool 5 with Northampton Saints, Racing Metro and Ospreys still in contention for a place in the last eight. There is nothing to separate The Saints and Racing at the top with 10 points each with Ospreys behind them with 7 points. Treviso complete the group as they still go in search of their first points in the pool.

Treviso continue to be the whipping boys of pool 5 as they endured another tough afternoon in Europe’s elite competition with Northampton Saints picking up maximum points in a 38-15 win. It doesn’t get much easier for the Italian side who now make the journey to Franklin Gardens on Saturday where they are expected to experience another difficult 80 minutes of Rugby. Saints fans will expect nothing less than a four-try bonus point win as the Saints look to make it through to the knockout stages of the competition having missed out last season.

Racing Metro will wonder how they didn’t leave the Liberty Stadium with a win last Saturday after dominating most parts of the game. They looked to be on their way to their second away win in the pool only for Matavesi to go over the whitewash late on and secure a draw for the Welsh side. The Ospreys go into this game with a poor record in their recent visits to  France and that will need to change this Saturday with defeat in Paris putting them on the brink of elimination.