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By ERC Rugby
March 30 2006
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP 2005 / 2006 From the ERC, the news of this weekend's quarter final.
FALCONS READY FOR IRISH TEST
Rob Andrew insists Newcastle Falcons will not underestimate Irish visitors Connacht when they clash in front of the Sky Sports cameras at Kingston Park in Friday night’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final.
The Falcons are unbeaten in the competition so far after Pool double wins over Brive, Border Reivers and L’Aquila but Director of Rugby Andrew said: “Connacht are a proud team and if we take our eye off the ball at all we will be punished.”
Andrew and his coaching staff ran the rule over Connacht as they made the Celtic League trip to Borders, and, despite the sides having never met in competitive action, they have crossed swords before.
“We played Connacht over in Galway in a pre-season match the summer before last, and while we won 32-9 on that occasion, we did see that they never roll over and will always play to the final whistle,” said the former England fly-half.
“They’ve beaten Worcester and won in France during the Pool stages, and, while they may be bottom of the Celtic League, they have the ability to do a job if we don’t turn up and play to our best.”
Andrew’s men scored 44 tries in their six Pool matches, averaging more than seven tries per game, and with a major European title on offer and Heineken Cup qualification at stake the European Challenge Cup competition has assumed major importance in his side’s season.
“The European Challenge Cup has seen us play some good rugby this season, particularly our 24-17 win in Brive at the end of the Pool stages,” said Andrew.
“That assured us a home semi-final against London Irish or Bayonne should we get through Friday’s game, and that home advantage could be crucial as we aim to make it in to the final on the back of some good home support at Kingston Park.”
Australian fullback Matthew Burke has scored two tries in his four starts and one bench appearance in the competition so far this season, and said going into the game: “We’re in the knock-out stages of a European competition, and this is the time the boys have to really stand up and be counted.
“We’ve played some good rugby in the group matches, but that doesn’t mean anything unless we can translate it into Friday’s game. This competition is a chance for us to really make a success of our season, and the prospect of a home semi-final is a great incentive.”
The Falcons were beaten 32-13 by Northampton Saints at the weekend and Andrew added: “The Connacht game can’t come quick enough for us and, if I had my way, we would play it tomorrow. But having another home match so soon is absolutely ideal because we have points to prove to a lot of people. I’m pleased it’s at home and the sooner the better.”
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP 2005 / 2006 QUARTER-FINALS
(All kick-offs LOCAL time)
FRIDAY 31 MARCH
19.30 Newcastle Falcons v Connacht Rugby Eric Darriere (F) Sky Sports
SATURDAY 1 APRIL
15.00 Gloucester Rugby v Brive Donal Courtney (I)
15.00 Northampton Saints v Worcester Warriors George Clancy (I)
SUNDAY 2 APRIL
15.00 London Irish v Bayonne Malcolm Changleng (S)
* European Challenge Cup highlights – Sky Sports’ European Rugby Special – Sunday nights
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP SEMI-FINALS
(To be played 22 / 23 April)
Gloucester Rugby or Brive v Northampton Saints or Worcester Warriors
Newcastle Falcons or Connacht Rugby v London Irish or Bayonne
MAGNE THE DANGERMAN - BAYONNE
Bayonne coach Gilbert Doucet is under no illusions as to either the size or significance of the task as his Basque squad prepare to face Premiership high fliers London Irish.
“There is a very high quality of teams participating in the European Challenge Cup,” he said. “I certainly don’t think we can underestimate London Irish as opposition. They have a very full and competitive side with strong players in all positions.
“We know from our trip to Gloucester what the quality of the Guinness Premiership is like and, talking to players there, we know that London Irish are seen as formidable opponents. Let’s face it – any team that can boast players of the quality of Olivier Magne can only be seen as fierce adversaries!”
And although the tournament has not always been the centre of the “Saison Bayonnais,” Doucet is in no doubt that this year’s competition has captured the hearts of the Basque team and supporters alike.
“We have been lucky in terms of injury this season. We are going to be able to field a full-strength squad and we will certainly be looking to continue in this tournament which has now captured our imagination,” he said.
“If I am honest, at the beginning of the season we saw the European Challenge Cup as a secondary priority to the Top 14. There is a lot of pressure on the teams and a very full calendar so we were very concerned about the lack of depth in our squad.
“We initially decided to use the early games as opportunities to rotate the squad and give some of our younger players European experience.
“Having said that, as the tournament progressed we found ourselves getting more and more into it and now we have qualified for the quarter-finals it is a different ball game altogether. We are really proud of what we have achieved and are hungry for more. We are going to London looking for a victory.”
BRIVE FRET OVER FRENCH CONNECTION
Brive will find themselves up against some familiar faces when the 1997 Heineken Cup champions clash with Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm on Saturday – and Brive captain Jerôme Bonvoisin is particularly wary of the French players in the Gloucester squad.
“We know that Gloucester are going to be formidable opponents,” he said. “They have a few French players, Olivier Azam and Patrice Collazo in particular, and they are very high quality players. When they decide to go and play in the competitive arena of the Premiership they chose to go to Gloucester so that speaks volumes about the quality of the team.
“They have a lot of international players in the side and have a very deep squad while we have had a lot of trouble with away games this season. It's true that in France it is very important to win games at home so the teams we have visited were not letting anything go at all.
“That said, we have won a lot of losing bonus points so the games have been pretty tight and, hopefully, we can cross that line at the weekend.
“Although English teams maybe attach less importance to winning home games, as this is a knock-out match I don't expect Gloucester to give us any leeway at all if they can help it.
“The games against English teams are different to those against French sides. The teams tend to be a lot more physical, it's a real combat sport and you can't go into it half-heartedly. I think Gloucester are a stronger side than Newcastle, who beat us in our double-header in the Pool stages, so we are preparing ourselves for a real battle.
“The big worry for us is the kicking game. In Ludovic Mercier, Gloucester have a very reliable kicker, both for positional kicking and goal-kicking. Over the last few weeks, our success rate has dropped to less than 35% and we know that Mercier will exploit any opportunity for points.
“We know how important kicking will be in this game and it is something that our kicker has been working on very hard. It is also important for him to know that the whole team is behind him, as it may well end up being his performance which gets us through to the semi-finals.”
ADDITIONAL PLAYERS FOR KNOCK-OUT STAGES
The following additional players (FRP = Front row player) have been nominated to ERC for registration for the knock-out stages of the European Challenge Cup:
Newcastle Falcons: Shaun Richardson; Jonathan Shaw
Connacht Rugby: Ross Davies (FRP); Gavin Williams; Andrew Mailei
Gloucester Rugby: James Bailey; Ryan Lamb
Brive: Nicolas Couttet
Northampton Saints: Pat Barnard (FRP); Paul Tupai; Robbie Kydd
Worcester Warriors: Callum Black (FRP); Thomas Harding; Aisea Havili
London Irish: Danie Coetzee (FRP); Sailosi Tagicakibau; Gonzalo Tiesi
Bayonne: Hedly Wessels (FRP); Jose Maria Nunez Piossek; Stephane Aussel
SAINTS DETERMINED TO MARCH ON
Northampton Saints coach Paul Grayson goes into the all-England European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Worcester Warriors at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday with 13,500 reasons to see the Saints go marching on into the last four.
The Saints, the Heineken Cup winners in 2000, have seen off Italian, French and English opposition on the way to the quarter-finals and Grayson now wants to reward the club’s loyal fans with some silverware.
“The fact that we are playing another English club is not important – it doesn’t come into the equation,” said the former England fly half. “The big and important things are that we are at home and we are in the quarter-finals. Those are the things that really matter.
“This will be the fourth time we have met Worcester this season as we have already played them twice in the Premiership and once in the Powergen Cup.
“And, strange as it might seem, results have gone with the away team. We have twice beaten them away but lost at home to them so we currently stand 2-1 up.
“As to how important a win on Saturday is, we have got 13,500 reasons every time we play at home to deliver something tangible to those fans – we owe it to them to give it our all and deliver something tangible from the season.
“If we can win the European Challenge Cup that would be fantastic – and qualifying for next season’s Heineken Cup as a result would be the cherry on top of the cake.
“We have had a massive injury list this season but, if we ignore those who are out for the rest of the season, then we are not doing too badly right now.
“The tournament has been a great change from the league and the back-to-back matches against Narbonne provided a good learning curve for the side. We gained confidence from those matches and the European Challenge Cup has been a very positive experience.”
CONNACHT OUT TO CLIP FALCONS’ WINGS
Connacht are through to the business end of the European Challenge Cup for the fourth straight season – and captain Andrew Farley is relishing the challenge of facing Newcastle Falcons’ star-studded side at Kingston Park on Saturday, lifted by their away win at Border Reivers in the Celtic League.
“Newcastle have a side full of internationals from several countries and we are certainly looking forward to coming up against them,” said second row forward Farley.
“We will have to play our own game to the best of our ability because we know that if we make mistakes they will hurt us on the scoreboard. However, if we do the basics correctly then we could come away with a victory.
“We have been in the quarter-finals for the last four seasons and gained a lot of respect for our performances so we will not be over-awed against the Falcons.
“Getting a result is hugely important, not only for us as a team but also for our fantastic supporters in the West of Ireland. The added bonus is that if we can win at Newcastle then we are home in the semi-finals and that would be great for our fans.
“However, their strike force in the back line – two England centres and Matt Burke at full back – compliments an excellent all round team so while we have improved a lot as a team since Christmas, we will need a solid team performance on the day.”
FINAL EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP 2005 / 2006 POOL TABLES
|
Pool 1 | ||||||||||||
|
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
T |
F |
A |
TB |
LB |
Pts | ||
|
Northampton Saints |
6 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
28 |
194 |
96 |
5 |
0 |
25 | ||
|
Narbonne |
6 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
15 |
125 |
113 |
2 |
0 |
18 | ||
|
Bristol Rugby |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
26 |
203 |
150 |
3 |
1 |
16 | ||
|
Viadana |
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
9 |
81 |
244 |
0 |
1 |
1 | ||
|
Northampton 47 Viadana 25; Narbonne 20 Bristol 13; Viadana 14 Narbonne 20; Bristol 36 Northampton 28; Viadana 23 Bristol 39; Northampton 32 Narbonne 20; Narbonne 7 Northampton 22; Bristol 89 Viadana 5; Northampton 45 Bristol 8; Narbonne 29 Viadana 14; Viadana v Northampton – ERC Board ruling: Northampton five match points, four tries (20 points); Bristol 18 Narbonne 29 | ||||||||||||
|
Pool 2 | ||||||||||||
|
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
T |
F |
A |
TB |
LB |
Pts | ||
|
London Irish |
6 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
32 |
239 |
81 |
3 |
0 |
27 | ||
|
Agen |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
22 |
163 |
143 |
2 |
0 |
14 | ||
|
Pau |
6 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
12 |
107 |
153 |
2 |
1 |
11 | ||
|
Rugby Parma |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
74 |
206 |
0 |
0 |
4 | ||
|
Parma 23 Agen 50; Pau 13 Irish 20; Agen 23 Pau 6; Irish 64 Parma 0; Pau 29 Parma 3; Irish 29 Agen 21; Parma 20 Pau 11; Agen 24 Irish 32; Parma 11 Irish 19; Pau 36 Agen 12; Irish 75 Pau 12; Agen 33 Parma 17 | ||||||||||||
|
Pool 3 | ||||||||||||
|
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
T |
F |
A |
TB |
LB |
Pts | ||
|
Gloucester Rugby |
6 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
47 |
331 |
53 |
5 |
0 |
29 | ||
|
Bayonne |
6 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
31 |
202 |
93 |
4 |
0 |
20 | ||
|
Bucuresti |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
71 |
253 |
0 |
1 |
5 | ||
|
Toulon |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
9 |
64 |
269 |
0 |
1 |
5 | ||
|
Bucuresti 16 Toulon 20; Bayonne 10 Gloucester 26; Gloucester 106 Bucuresti 3 ; Toulon 19 Bayonne 28; Bucuresti 10 Bayonne 38; Toulon 3 Gloucester 74; Bayonne 45 Bucuresti 6 ; Gloucester 66 Toulon 5; Bayonne 62 Toulon 0; Bucuresti 13 Gloucester 27; Toulon 17 Bucuresti 23 ; Gloucester 32 Bayonne 19 | ||||||||||||
|
Pool 4 | ||||||||||||
|
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
T |
F |
A |
TB |
LB |
Pts | ||
|
Newcastle Falcons |
6 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
44 |
324 |
81 |
4 |
0 |
28 | ||
|
Brive |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
30 |
203 |
169 |
4 |
2 |
18 | ||
|
Border Reivers |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
19 |
155 |
177 |
2 |
1 |
15 | ||
|
L'Aquila |
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
14 |
103 |
358 |
0 |
1 |
1 | ||
|
L’Aquila 25 Reivers 32; Newcastle 51 Brive 19; Brive 64 L’Aquila 22; Reivers 11 Newcastle 26; L’Aquila 0 Newcastle 86; Reivers 25 Brive 22; Brive 34 Reivers 28; Newcastle 90 L’Aquila 14; L’Aquila 19 Brive 47; Newcastle 47 Reivers 20; Reivers 39 L’Aquila 23; Brive 17 Newcastle 24 | ||||||||||||
|
Pool 5 | ||||||||||||
|
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
T |
F |
A |
TB |
LB |
Pts | ||
|
Worcester Warriors |
6 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
23 |
181 |
103 |
3 |
1 |
24 | ||
|
Connacht |
6 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
25 |
190 |
119 |
3 |
1 |
20 | ||
|
Amatori Catania |
6 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
15 |
116 |
257 |
1 |
1 |
10 | ||
|
Montpellier |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
24 |
170 |
178 |
2 |
2 |
8 | ||
Worcester 36 Montpellier 18; Connacht 62 Catania 17; Montpellier 16 Connacht 19; Catania 14
Worcester 19; Montpellier 74 Catania 12; Worcester 30 Connacht 20; Connacht 22 Worcester 21;
Catania 37 Montpellier 34 ; Connacht 43 Montpellier 10; Worcester 44 Catania 8; Montpellier 21
Worcester 31; Catania 28 Connacht 24
WHO HAS DONE WHAT SO FAR …
ENGLAND
Gloucester - Guinness Premiership (5th) and Powergen Cup
Round 1 Worcester Warriors 15-15 Gloucester Rugby
Round 2 Gloucester Rugby 21-18 Sale Sharks
Round 3 Bristol Rugby 19-16 Gloucester Rugby
Round 4 Gloucester Rugby 28-24 Northampton Saints
PC 1 Gloucester Rugby 23-7 Ospreys
PC 2 Bristol Rugby 6-34 Gloucester Rugby
Round 5 Bath Rugby 18-16 Gloucester Rugby
ECC 1 Bayonne 10-26 Gloucester Rugby
ECC 2 Gloucester Rugby 106-3 Bucuresti
Round 6 Gloucester Rugby 27-20 Newcastle Falcons