By smoothhound
December 8 2004

European competions continue this week with the second weekend of the second batch of games. While Sale have their sights set on taking the Challenge Cup for the second time, smoothhound muses on the games in the primary competition and why it is so important for us to qualify this year.

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I wasn’t able to follow the lads out to what has become a happy hunting ground at Narbonne this weekend. The win keeps the stated object of their visit in view, winning the European Challenge Cup, which will give us entry to the Heineken Cup, the Holy Grail of northern hemisphere club rugby. Although with Sky access now to the NPC and the Currie Cup, and the opportunity to judge for yourself, there is a strong argument that the HC is the best club competition in world rugby. Unable to watch Sale, my addiction had to be serviced somehow (can’t count the school and club games I also saw this weekend, just an hors d’ouevre). I therefore decided it was my bounden duty to watch all six broadcast Heineken Cup games to remind myself of what it is the team is fighting for in three competitions. First up on Friday night was Castres v Munster.

ALLEZ say-oh, allez say-oh, allez, allez, allez, say-oh!! The song of the Castres Olympique faithful rang out over their ground, taking me back to the visit to Biarritz Olympique last year. Castres has yet to fulfil its potential outside France, but they recruited strongly over the summer, signing four players with winners’ medals, all of whom showed well. Munster has been labelled by the press as the nearly men, one of those teams that should have won the Heine by now. Why that should be when they haven’t ever competed for entry into Europe, don’t even have to compete or succeed in their domestic league is beyond me. Plus the small matter of course that you have to be good enough to win it! In this game Munster competed robustly up front but didn’t offer much behind. Cullen was unable to display much attacking flair, and his poor tackle on David Bory failed to prevent a Castres score. When you watch French teams on TV, you always come across players you have never heard of before, but who could easily wear the blue of France. Such a one was Albouy, the scrum-half, who sparked their attack, particularly the move that led to the try, outshone Peter Stringer to win Man of the Match and kept prop Galasso in line when he threatened to explode. In fact Castres kept their discipline sufficiently well to allow O’Gara just four successful kicks at goal, and ran out winners 19-12.

ON Saturday, Ulster, still winless in France, travelled in hope to the shadow of the Parc des Princes for their tie with Stade Francais. The home side blew several opportunities to score before Stade’s dominant pack rolling-mauled their way to two tries with a neat handling movement for the third, completing a routine 30-10 victory over the Red Hand fifteen.

THE second broadcast game of the day featured Bourgouin’s visit to Lansdowne Road for their tie with Leinster. Bourgouin are currently in turmoil - having lost PSA during last season, Seigne has announced a parting of the ways at the end of this season. Add to that the recent home loss (0-34) to Treviso meant that a weakened team, with nine first choice left at home, was perhaps unsurprising. Bourgouin, like many French teams, are concentrating on the French Championship, which is being reduced from Top16 to Top14 for next season. That means that three teams will be relegated and a fourth will face a play-off with the team second-placed in the Second Tier (ProD2). Which means that teams have to be in the top twelve in the league to ensure survival, with all its financial and recruitment ramifications, into next season. Thus for many, the Euro competitions are just a distraction. Paul Volley’s (of Castres) comment that they were scheduled for forty-one games this season is also bound to affect attitudes.

BOURGOIN not only put out an under-strength team, they failed to perform, seeming to give up half way through the game. Leinster, perhaps remembering last year’s home game in December (where a certain north-west team gained a first away win in the competition), were up for this one and no mistake, cantering out 92-17 winners. Honourable exceptions in Bourgouin’s spineless display were French squad members Bonnaire at openside (though he played like an eight) and Pape, who put himself about throughout, and if PSA still has his numero, would be an excellent addition to the Shark squad – when he finishes playing at international level.

AN evening west country fog blurred the outlines of the Gloucester-Cardiff tie. Cardiff are reputedly the Chelsea of Wales, bags of money, which means bags of talent. Unfortunately they seem unable to translate resources into results. Fanolua, the centre that Glos kept, scored twice, but their wings were clipped, as both Sinbad and Garvey picked up injuries to add to their long toll. Nevertheless the pride and passion from Kingsholm’s long tradition came through, with Glos winning 23-19.

SUNDAY'S first televised game was Glasgow against Llanelli. The crowd of 2,281 probably says it all about this game between two teams in the middle reaches of the Celtic League, kept uncompetitive by Irish choice. Llanelli led at halftime, but Mayhem penalised them consistently after the break for the Scots to kick their way back into it. Glasgow fell a penalty short and lost 26-29. The Scarlets are another team who the press luvvies love to love, a team worthy of HC success, deserving of a quarter final place. Why is that when their results, particularly the losses, say otherwise? On that game’s evidence, their star is beginning to fade, too much reliance placed on ageing players such as one-time Lions great Scott Quinnell.

I should admit here that Glasgow’s game was sufficiently interesting for me to fall victim to a Sunday post-prandial nap, but I did tape it. Saw it on the highlights too, in which Sky, with rather too much samey analysis, provided us with the best bits of all the games, plus a warp 9 run-through of the ECC. The five games described so far were high standard, tense and full of endeavour (except for les Berjalliens). But only the Castres-Munster game smelled of high-octane, and there were no surprises. They showed up in the highlights. Treviso, having blown Bourgouin away in the last round, had given fair warning to Bath. The west country nabobs chose to ignore the signals, and joined the scalps on Treviso’s belt. Former Sale prop Duncan Bell was cast as villain, when Treviso fullback Brendan Williams kicked ahead. Bath counter-attacked but their “try” was disallowed by the touch judge’s flag – Bell had taken out Williams – “But all I did was turn me back ref!” And what was that arm and elbow doing then, Dunc?! Treviso tackled hard, and despite a late Bath comeback, ran out 29-23.

GRANDEES of the HC, two-time winners Toulouse, visited Franklin’s Gardens for what seemed an easy run-out against the disarrayed, glued-to-the-bottom-of-the-ZP Saints. That well-known firm of administrators, Pountney and Grayson, had injected a little backbone into Northampton, and they scrapped like terriers. Grayson kicked his goals, Sharky (should be a Sale boy with a nickname like that!) Robinson, sniped into the corner. Toulouse replied with a flowing move for Fritz to score, and took the lead in the 68th minute with a more prosaic effort from Jauzion. Strine Shane, put on for the last ten minutes, Drahm-atised the crisis, dropping a goal within sixty seconds of his arrival to win 23-21. Despite their lowly ranking in the ZP, they top their group in Europe!

CELTIC League toppers Ospreys’ Gavin Henson kicked Harlequins to a 24-7 defeat, scoring all the points with 8 penalties and spilling the ball that led to Quins’ try. Gwent Dragons pulled off a bonus point 27-14 win over poor travellers Perpignan, where another Strine flyhalf Manny Edmonds notched up a remarkable score. His kick ahead was touched in flight by Percy Montgomery, was fielded by Perpignan’s scrum half, looking offside for all money to the unobservant spectator. He fed Edmonds, who was following up his own kick, and who outstripped the defence to score in the corner. Old friends (and very impressive) Biarritz beat up Calvisano 41-10 at Parc des Sports Aguilera, scoring seven tries (Bidabe with two). And the Falcons took their third win from Edinburgh, four tries giving them a bonus point, and they top their group (which any good Albanian will tell you is the softest in the competition!)

AND so to the piece de resistance, the reason why English clubs fight tooth and nail in the ZP, PGC and ECC to gain entry to the HC. Wasps v Leicester didn’t just smell of high octane, the fixture was drenched in it. And it took just seconds for sparks to fly when Ellis shoved Dawson (current and former England internationals) who shoved back. General mayhem ensued. Mere minutes later, Corry and Dallaglio (current and former England internationals) were at it. Martin played “I’m going to strangle you Lawrence”, while Lawrence played “My neck is stronger than your wimpish grip, Martin”. Referee Nigel Williams played stern but disregarded lectures. Leicester had the audacity to embarrass Wasps by scoring the first try. England’s No 6 showed England’s No 7 the outside, and it was promptly taken. Leicester scored the second try, and the third, all within 20 minutes – game over? No – Wasps came back. Ellis struck sparks once too often, and saw yellow. Wasps benefitted and Lewsey powered over for a try. Leicester took a 25-19 advantage into the break.

WASPS dominated possession in the second period, and Leicester cheated or infringed, depending on your point of view, with metronomic regularity, and equally metronomically, Van Gisbergen booted the points for Wasps. Leicester’s pack kept them in it though, with their front row forcing penalties out of a bedraggled Wasps unit. Goode’s drop took Leicester out to 37-31, Wasps forced Leicester to cheat (or infringe) four times in a last-minute goal-line stand, referee Williams penalised Tigers four times, but refused any severer sanction, even politely moving Back off the ball he was killing to release it. Slow ball, when quick ball was needed – the ref bottled it. Leicester won and Williams avoided a push in the Back.

PLAYERS accepted the result after the game. Johnson said “we got on the wrong side of the ref” – a certainty when Van Gis kicked 8 penalties, but not unusual for the Cheetahs, surely. White admitted to slowing the ball down – careful Jules, refs with more courage than Nige might be listening. And Lol had the front to accuse the Tigers of slowing the ball down all game (not unusual surely), but also the grace to admit that he and his cohort did the same thing. More of the same next week please.

THIS game, out of all twelve, displayed most clearly the reasons that players and spectators want their club to be involved in the Heineken Cup (perhaps to be rechristened the Fiat Cup next term). A tie that was prideful, passionate, explosive and edgy. A game of big hits, moments of sublime skill, technical excellence, with personal duels and scores to settle. A match of blinding intensity, huge pressure, vociferous crowd and a nerve-wracking finale. Even the bean-counters would have been happy.

AND that’s a good part of the reason why I will be at EP on Friday cheering the boys on in the second leg of the ECC, and the following Sunday, to watch Dawesy’s lot in the Powergen, and the 27th, to see our first choice remind Bath why we are above them in the ZP. Because I want HC rugby back at EP. Can’t wait!