Heineken Cup 2021/22

[FLIP]

HT: 24-19. Preceding that Frank Murphy had given a peno against Montpellier five yards out from their line for their scrum half using the F-word not at the ref or any of the officials but at his opposite number. BT commentators full of praise?!!! FFS, I'm all for discipline and respect for the ref, backchat being penalised, ditto play acting and mocking the opposition, but a peno for telling an opposition player to "f%~k off"? Personally I don't agree with that. "f%~k? in 2022 is common parlance among young and old. Apologies by commentators just cos it's on the TV is ridiculous, IMO. Ditto penalising players for directing it at each other.

Was always the case in my career that any foul language around a ref was at a risk of being penalised. Ungentlemanly conduct not in the spirit of the game.

[riocard911]

BT apologies again for "colourful language" - like anybody gives a f%~k? Hypocritical nonsense.

Simmonds bashes over again under the posts! Converted - 24-26, 51 mins gone.

[riocard911]

Only one team in it at the moment and it's Exeter. Montpellier out of sorts and making stupid mistakes.

[Theleinsterlad]

Just turned it on and I’m very amused at how frank Murphy is reffing this game. If Leinster did have the cr@p Exeter is doing at the breakdown he’d be pinging us but here he’s not

[riocard911]

Just turned it on and I’m very amused at how frank Murphy is reffing this game. If Leinster did have the cr@p Exeter is doing at the breakdown he’d be pinging us but here he’s not

He must have heard you; he just did ping Exeter for flopping all over the ruck.

[riocard911]

Turnover peno for Montpellier - 27-26. 66 mins.

[riocard911]

Intercept by Reinach, who runs the length of the pitch and scores the BP try for Montpellier. That's the Weegies gone, regardless of the final result of this match. Garbisi converts - 34-26 - ten mins to go.

[riocard911]

Camara given MOTM by the French broadcaster - one can hear it over the stadium's PA. BT presenters don't even tell their audience.

[riocard911]

Lovely kick by Garbisi to keep Exeter pinned back on their own five metre line with just over 2 mins to go.

[riocard911]

Extra 3 points by Garbisi make the final score 37-26.

[LeinsterLeader]

So Munster get Exeter!

I'd still fancy them to negotiate it home and away but I think its gone from a gimmee (against Sale) to a potential banana skin (against Exeter)

[wixfjord]

Racing 92 v Stade Francais
Ulster v Toulouse
La Rochelle v Bordeaux
Leinster v Connacht
Bristol v Sale
Munster v Exeter
Harlequins v Montpellier
Leicester v Clermont

We play winners of Leicester v Clermont away if we get through.
Winners of Ulster v Toulouse play at home to winner of Munster v Exeter.

[fourthirtythree]

Extra 3 points by Garbisi make the final score 37-26.

Even so Frank Murphy is going to be about as popular in Montpelier as he is here.

[LeinsterLeader]

Racing 92 v Stade Francais
Ulster v Toulouse
La Rochelle v Bordeaux
Leinster v Connacht
Bristol v Sale
Munster v Exeter
Harlequins v Montpellier
Leicester v Clermont

We play winners of Leicester v Clermont away if we get through.
Winners of Ulster v Toulouse play at home to winner of Munster v Exeter.

You sure that's the way it works Wixfjord? Someone on the Radio was Saying Munster (should they advance) would get Toulouse in Thomond (should they advance) due to finishing higher in the table. That wrong?

[Made Of Ale]

Racing 92 v Stade Francais
Ulster v Toulouse
La Rochelle v Bordeaux
Leinster v Connacht
Bristol v Sale
Munster v Exeter
Harlequins v Montpellier
Leicester v Clermont

We play winners of Leicester v Clermont away if we get through.
Winners of Ulster v Toulouse play at home to winner of Munster v Exeter.

Higher ranked team has home advantage though, right? So we'd be home to Clermont if we both got through.

[wixfjord]

Racing 92 v Stade Francais
Ulster v Toulouse
La Rochelle v Bordeaux
Leinster v Connacht
Bristol v Sale
Munster v Exeter
Harlequins v Montpellier
Leicester v Clermont

We play winners of Leicester v Clermont away if we get through.
Winners of Ulster v Toulouse play at home to winner of Munster v Exeter.

You sure that's the way it works Wixfjord? Someone on the Radio was Saying Munster (should they advance) would get Toulouse in Thomond (should they advance) due to finishing higher in the table. That wrong?

I don't believe so, but could be wrong.

If Toulouse beat Ulster they will have beaten a higher seed and earned a home tie I think?

[wixfjord]

Sorry you might be right!

2.7 The quarter-finals will be played over one match and the highest-ranked club from the pool stage will have home venue advantage

[Made Of Ale]

Quarter-finals
2.7 The quarter-finals will be played over one match and the highest-ranked club from the pool stage will have home venue advantage as follows:

Source: https://www.epcrugby.com/champions-cup/format/rules/

[LeinsterLeader]

cool! We'll all be cheering for Clermont against Leicester if we advance so

[Dave Cahill]

Why not?

There are already bordering 15k season ticket holders across both clubs so you're starting with that base.

Sell ticket packages, make them reasonably priced and attract people looking to attend an event who can't get 6N tickets.

We've had plenty of times when Leinster alone have had 50k plus crowds multiple times in HEC knockouts, often with 2-3 week ticket selling periods, not 2 months with the country coming out of a pandemic.

I think we'll certainly moved the second leg to the Aviva, which we should to maximise income.

I don't think this will happen because of the politics & imagination required, but it should be discussed by the provinces and IRFU at least.

Getting those 50K crowds takes a huge amount of work and time especially since the novelty of the Aviva wore off. Even for the glamour teams and Connacht aren't a glamour team. We sold out the game against Ulster a few years ago, but that was one quarter final game, in an untainted competition, without any post-lockdown recitence, against a side with a far larger support, that have a considerably easier journey.

You could fill the ground by giving away half the tickets for half nothing, but you'd make more from playing in the RDS/Sportsground if you did that

And again, let me emphasise, its very very hard to sell tickets once you hit 35 - 40k. I think we'll play our leg in the Aviva and it would be the right call, but I don't think that Connacht will want to. They'll have to be leaned on very, VERY, hard and the Union has very little goodwill to play with