This weekend could see Irish hopes revived for the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup, or it could be the end of the road for at least two of them.
By Declan Whooley
With Connacht already eliminated and chasing an Amlin Challenge spot, here are three things to look forward to for the weekend. And bonus points are the order of the day.
Leinster hope to take the fight to the last day
In all likelihood, the reigning champions will not make it out of their group no matter what they do in their final two games. Back-to-back defeats to Clermont sees Leinster on ten points and the way things are shaping up in the other groups, a maximum haul in their final two outings will not suffice.
Joe Schmidt’s side host the Scarlets in the RDS on Saturday and they will need to score more tries in one game then they have in their previous four (3). A loss is almost unthinkable. The Welsh side have been thumped by the Ospreys and Ulster in their last two league outings and have not offered a great attacking threat in Europe. Coupled with the fact that George North is doubtful, expect a Leinster win and their first winning bonus point
Munster look to get away Scot free with a bonus point win
For Munster, the plan is pretty simple. Two games left, they need two wins and at least one bonus point, but possibly requiring two.
Rob Penney’s men were pretty awful in their loss to the Cardiff Blues in Cork at the weekend and a similar showing will mean an early elimination from the competition. Only Doug Howlett looked threatening with ball in hand, but the only comfort is that as bad as Munster were, Edinburgh have been like that all season.
They lost to Leinster last weekend and have failed to even score a single try in Europe. To put that in context, even Zebre have managed five so far. A Munster win is expected and with the glass half-full we will tentatively back Penney’s men to bring home the bacon. Five points worth of bacon.
Ulster need to get back on the wagon
It seems absurd to say that Ulster need to get back to winning ways, but their narrow defeat to Northampton means their progress isn’t as secure as they would have hoped.
A win over Glasgow on Friday night would be just the tonic, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Mark Anscombe’s men could fail to qualify. Should they win without a bonus point and suffer a defeat away to Castres in the final game, that would leave them in a precarious position with 20 points.
That is all hypothetical and as the saying goes, if our auntie had balls she would be our uncle. First up Ulster must guarantee the win, but even without Tommy Bowe, the backline has been sparkling and we expect them to send the supporters home happy.
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