Champions Cup: The English Fixtures

January 14, 2022
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Ultimate Rugby

As far as the English contingent is concerned, Quins find themselves in pole position in Pool B, followed in third by Leicester. In Pool A, they are represented at the top by Sale in third spot. In Round 3, the men from the Premiership will contend with stiff Irish, French, Welsh and Scottish opposition.

Cardiff vs Harlequins

Quins will kick proceedings off with their away fixture against at Cardiff Arms Park in a game the latter will be hoping to approach with much more vigour after the rough treatment they received from the same outfit in Round 2.

Quins are looking strong and unbeaten thus far in the competition as their wealth of effective combinations (such as Danny Care and Marcus Smith) continue to bear fruit. In Round 1, they snuck through with a 2-point victory against Castres:

In Round 2, they thumped Cardiff 43-17:

After the Round 2 result, Quins fans will be licking their lips ahead of this fixture, hoping, or rather expecting, that Dombrandt, Esterhuizen, Care, Smith and co. Will once again turn the screws on their opponents and depart Wales with 5 points in the bag.

Match facts:

Harlequins have faced Cardiff nine times previously in the Heineken Champions Cup (W2 D2 L5). The Premiership side won their Round 2 meeting earlier this season, after being winless in their previous seven encounters with Cardiff (D2 L5).
Harlequins have won their last two matches in the Heineken Champions Cup, their best run since winning four in a row across the 2013/14 and 2014/15 campaigns.
Harlequins have scored the most points of any side in the Heineken Champions Cups so far this season (63), crossing for a joint-high eight tries (level with Connacht Rugby).
Cardiff fly-half Dan Fish has made three passes that have directly led to a linebreak in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, the joint most of any player (level with Racing 92 fly-half Finn Russell). Each of Fish’s three break-assist passes came against Harlequins in Round 2.

Wasps vs Toulouse

Wasps host a battle at the Coventry Building Society Arena against Top 14 Giants and Champions Cup defending champs, Toulouse.

Wasps are currently winless after their first two fixtures of the 2021-22 campaign.

They were dominated 35-14 by Munster in Round 1, before having the misfortune of having their Round 2 match against Toulouse called off due to Covid-19.

Match facts:

This will be the 11th clash in the Heineken Champions Cup between Toulouse and Wasps. The clubs are evenly split in their previous 10 encounters, each winning four games and drawing twice. The Gallagher Premiership club have lost only one of their last five games against Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup (W3 D1), but it came the last time they hosted this fixture, in 2018/19 (16-24).
Wasps have lost four of their last five home games in the Heineken Champions Cup (W1), as many defeats as in their previous 39 games on home soil (W32 D3).
Toulouse have won eight of their last nine away games in the Heineken Champions Cup, including their last four in a row, only once have they enjoyed a longer winning run on the road in the competition – a five-game streak from 1996 to 1998.
Wasps made 10 dominant tackles in their last Heineken Champions Cup match, in Round 1 against Munster – no side has made more in a match in this season’s competition (Cardiff also 10 v Harlequins in Round 2).
Despite playing just one game, Toulouse’s Antoine Dupont is one of just two players to reach double figures for defenders beaten in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (11), along with Munster’s Damian de Allende (12).

Connacht vs Leicester:

After tasting their first defeat in the Premiership last weekend after a brilliant run of victories, Leicester Tigers will look to bounce back when they travel to The Sportsground for another crack at Connacht.

Leicester opened their campaign with a slender, 3-point victory over Bordeaux:

In Round 2, they managed a 6-point victory over Connacht who showed some good fighting spirit:

One can expect the Irish outfit to be more dangerous on their home turf on Saturday but it will also be interesting to see how Leicester’s loss against Wasps last week will have affected the side as often a wake-up call such as that was can work to re-align a team’s focus and re-start their engines, making them even more problematic for opposition than they were before.

Match facts:

The only previous Heineken Champions Cup meeting between Connacht and Leicester took place during Round 2 this season, with the Tigers winning 29-23 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Leicester have won their opening two games in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, the first time they have managed to win consecutive games in the competition since a run of five straight victories during the pool stage in 2015/16.
Leicester have made 106 kicks from hand in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, over 40 more than any other side, gaining the most metres from their kicks in the process (3,723). Meanwhile, Connacht have made the third most kicks (57) and gained the second most kicking metres (2,142).
Connacht’s Jack Carty has assisted three tries in his two Heineken Champions Cup appearances this season, the joint most of any player alongside Racing 92’s Finn Russell.

La Rochelle vs Bath:

Bath have their work cut out for them as they travel to Stade Marcel-Deflandre to tackle Top 14 giants, La Rochelle.

Bath have been having a torrid season overall, having posted their first victory of their Premiership campaign only last weekend when they managed a 3-point win over Worcester Warriors.

In the Champions Cup, things have not gone well after a bruising defeat to Leinster in Round 1 while their Round 2 fixture against La Rochelle was called off due to Covid-19.

It is bound to be a tough evening for Bath on La Rochelle’s home turf, however, they have possibly derived some much-needed confidence from their Premiership victory last weekend which could fuel some improved performances going forward.

Match facts:

The teams were scheduled to play in Round 2 of last season’s competition before the game was cancelled, with the TOP 14 side being awarded a 28-0 win, while their Round 2 meeting this season was postponed.
Stade Rochelais have made 158 tackles and missed just 17 in the Heineken Champions Cup this season. Their 90% tackle success rate is the second best of any side.
Gabriel Hamer-Webb has scored three tries in just five appearances for Bath in the Heineken Champions Cup, including one against Leinster Rugby in Bath’s opening game of this season’s competition.

Exeter vs Glasgow:

The Chiefs will roll up their sleeves and meet the challenge of Glasgow Warriors head-on, this time at Sandy Park. In something of an upset in Round 2, Exeter were put to the sword 22-7 against the Scottish outfit at Scotstoun. Ross Thompson kicked his side to victory in a match played in difficult conditions with thick fog hanging all round the pitch.

Exeter had a much better time of it in Round 1, where they thumped Montpellier 42-6:

It is safe to say that Glasgow can expect a challenge of some higher tempo this time around as Exeter will be hungry for revenge while enjoying the voice of their home crowd.

Match facts:

This will be the ninth encounter between Exeter and Glasgow in the Heineken Champions Cup.
The Chiefs have won their last three home games against the Warriors, including a 42-0 victory in the pool stage last season.
Glasgow have won only three of their 25 away games against Premiership opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup (L22), although each of those three victories came in January, including one against Exeter in 2014, when they triumphed 15-10.
Just two players have made more than 25 carries in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, Glasgow duo Jack Dempsey (31) and Josh McKay (25).
The top tackler in the competition is Exeter’s former Glasgow lock, Jonny Gray, who has made 34 after two rounds.
Exeter fly-half Joe Simmonds has slotted each of his seven kicks at goal in the Heineken Champions Cup this season. No other player has attempted more than three place kicks without missing at least once.

Bristol Bears vs Stade Francais:

Bristol will test their mettle against Stade Francais when they meet at Ashton Gate in Saturday’s final fixture.

Surprisingly, this will be the Bears’ first action in the 2021-22 tournament as both their scheduled Round 1 & 2 games were called off due to Covid.

Bristol have lost their last two home games in the Heineken Champions Cup (excluding cancelled fixtures), after losing only one of their previous five.
Bristol’s last six home games in the competition have all ended with margins of more than 13 points separating the sides.
Bristol have faced TOP 14 opposition on six occasions in the Heineken Champions Cup. They won their initial three such fixtures but have lost their most recent three, including defeats to ASM Clermont Auvergne and Union Bordeaux-Begles in last season’s competition.
Stade’s two heaviest defeats in the competition have come in their most recent two away games, 41-13 against Leicester Tigers in April 2016 and 36-9 against Connacht Rugby in Round 1 this season.
The Parisian club have made 131 tackles in the Heineken Champions Cup this season and missed just seven. Their tackle success rate of 95% is the best of any club in 2021/22.

Northampton vs Ulster:

It has been an unfortunate start to the competition for the Saints who will be throwing all effort and focus behind pulling off a much-needed victory against Ulster on Sunday evening.

In Round 1, the Saints imploded in the face of a rampant Racing 92 display at Franklin’s Gardens:

Round 2 saw Ulster come away with a 5-point victory at Kingspan Stadium:

In light of the Round 2 encounter, it is safe to say that Saints will have focused on their first half performance in training with the aim of hitting the ground running, as Ulster managed to do, instead of leaving things too late.

Clermont vs Sale Sharks:

Looking in fairly decent shape in third spot of Pool A, Sale travel to Stade Marcel Michelin to tackle Clermont in the final fixture of Round 3.

A 8-point victory over Ospreys in Round 1 saw Sharks gear up for Round 2 with some winning momentum behind them. However, Covid-19 intervened and the points were shared in their first fixture with Clermont.

Sharks boss Alex Sanderson seems fully aware of what awaits his side on Sunday.

“I’m expecting the best this weekend.

“On the back of a loss, Clermont will be fresh, wanting to win and wanting to make a statement.

“You underestimate a team like that on their home ground at your peril.

“The lads were frustrated after last Friday, but right now having worked off and sweated off the last game they’re really focussed on Clermont, buoyed up and energised for the weekend ahead.

“I’ve been saying it and saying it, but discipline is the big one for us.

“Clermont are a team that if you allow them to get on the front-foot, they’re juggernaut-ish in terms of their unstoppable momentum.

“You don’t want to give them anything for free, and we have been giving teams a lot of free opportunities even when we’ve been dominant.

“Anyone who knows anything about French rugby knows what the scrum and the maul give to a French pack in terms of mentality.

“If you’re able to get parity or dominate in that area it goes a long way to winning the games down there, away from home.”