Heineken Cup Betting Preview - Round One
By Wellsaint
October 10 2002
Wellsaint's back with this week's previews of all the matches in the Heineken Cup. The pool format is the same as before - six groups of four teams, all chasing a place in the Final, to be held this year in Dublin. The road to the Emerald Isle starts here.....
PREVUS SPECULATIFS DU H-CUP, LE WEEKEND 11-12-13 OCTOBRE
LES PROGNOSTICS DE WELLSAINT
Bonjour, my betting chums, je suis back to make you some more euro for your trip to Beer Writs. (Guess who didn’t do French ‘O’ level?!) Twelve matches, twice as many opportunities to make it pay (or just pay, depending on the results!) Where better to start than with another stuffing for the stripey cats from up the road?
NEATH v PCP (BBC2 Wales, SKY 961, k/o 7.30 FRI; also highlights, Grandstand Saturday before Gloucester game)
W-e-e-e-l-l-l-l-l…… it’s from Tipping the Velvet to Tipping the All Blacks here. The PCP haven’t won on the road for an age, and they have never won a European Cup game against Welsh opposition in the Principality (well, not to my GNOLLedge, anyway!) Neath are having a fair season, and I take them to win this one by eight points. (And apologies for the pun and nicking Joe’s script.)
SALE v BOURGOIN
Bourgoin are third in Pool 1 of the French Championship and travel to Sale, currently third in the ZP. Home advantage would suggest a Sale win by around twelve points.
LEINSTER v BRISTOL (Eurosport, SKY 412, k/o 7.35 FRI)
Bristol, currently bottom of the pile in the ZP, travel to Donnybrook, where Leinster are not having the best of seasons. But there can surely be only one winner here – Leinster by fifteen points.
EDINBURGH v NEWPORT
Top of Pool A of the Celtic League plays bottom of Pool B. No upset here, as Edinburgh beat Newport by eighteen.
CALVISANO v BEZIERS
French teams don’t travel well in the Cup usually, and Beziers are bottom of Pool 2 of the French championship, having only won one game. Could this be an Italian victory? Most probably not – I would take Beziers to win narrowly.
GLOUCESTER v MUNSTER (Grandstand, BBC1, k/o 3.00 SAT)
The leaders of the ZP are up against the men of Munster – will “Fortress Grim” be cheering another victory on Saturday? In all probability, yes – although I don’t think it will be the kind of margins they have been posting at home in the ZP! Gloucester by ten.
PERPIGNAN v VIADANA
Perpignan are third in Pool 2 of the French Championship and should be too strong for Viadana – points margin, um, lots!
LLANELLI v GLASGOW
Llanelli are not hitting the heights of last season as yet, and may miss qualification for the later stages of the Celtic Cup. They should be good enough for the Weegies, though. Llanelli by twelve.
MONTFERRAND v SWANSEA
Swansea are having a terrible season, and their disciplinary problems don’t appear to be improving any (two reds inside the first half hour last week.) Montferrand are having an indifferent season; three wins, three losses; that will be four wins by Saturday night as they beat Swansea convincingly – fifteen points, maybe more.
TOULOUSE v LONDON IRISH (Eurosport, SKY 412 – delayed coverage – airs 6.30 SAT)
Irish have had a terrible start to the season with only one win to their name against Saracens, and are trying to get that nice Dr Venter to play for them again. Dr Venter and all the prayers in the world won’t save Irish from a good going over – Toulouse by twenty.
CARDIFF v BIARRITZ (S4C, SKY 184, k/o 5.15ish SAT – commentary in Welsh, English subtitles available)
Cardiff are third in their pool of the Celtic league, Biarritz top of their pool in the French league in this game that is of great interest to all Saints fans. Gut feeling – home advantage swings it for Cardiff, probably only five points in it.
SAINTS v ULSTER (BBC2 Northern Ireland and Eurosport, k/o 4.30 pm, BOO, HISS)
In the words of the song “save the best for last”. The 2000 champions meet the 1999 champions in this game on…. SUNDAY?! WHAT’S GOING ON?! Ah, well. Saints stepped up a gear last week in beating Wasps and Spreaders by 34-20, whilst Ulster crushed Caerphilly 67-15 (ow!) If we are to progress from this group, it is vital that all home games are won – we are unbeaten at home this season, and I fully expect that to continue, but probably by the smallest victory margin this season – eight points.
Bon chance with your “investments speculatifs” this weekend, and….
COME ON YOU SAINTS!!!!!