Champions Cup Preview Round 3

After 4 weeks of Autumn Internationals, Round 3 of the European Champions cup is upon us. For Englishmen and Welshmen scheduling seems madness, tired players will return to their respective clubs and regions and play back to back games against the continents best.

The pools are starting to heat up for the unbeaten teams - Munster, Harlequins, Leinster, Toulon, Glasgow, Toulouse and Racing Metro - another win and they can take a big step towards the knockout stages, lose and they’re back in the dogfight. On the flip side, for teams that haven’t won a game dreams of European Cup glory are gone for another year, however a bonus point victory may just about keep some slim hopes alive.

Highlighted Fixtures:

Toulouse v Glasgow

07/12/2014 – 16:15 Live on BT Sport

Glasgow travel to the Stade Ernest Wallon on Sunday afternoon to take on European veterans Toulouse. Gregor Townsend’s men have been in seriously impressive form in the opening 2 rounds. First dispatching of an excellent Bath side and then in possibly the result of the Champions Cup to date, they beat Montpellier 15-13 to record only their second ever win on French soil in the top tier of European competition. Finn Russell was in imperious form with the boot, kicking all 15 points and will need to be on point again on this Sunday. Toulouse have been looking back to their fluent best, with wins over Bath and Montpellier to date. The win at the Rec showed that Guy Novez’s troops will be a major force this year. They will expect to take this tie, but the Glaswegians will, no doubt, push them all the way.

Munster v Clermont

06/12/2014 – 17:30 Live on Sky Sports

The beauty of the Champions Cup is that we get what could very easily be a final played out in the group stages. Clermont have the hefty task of travelling to Thomond Park on Saturday evening. A sloppy loss away to Saracens in the first round was just about forgotten after a comfortable 35-3 victory over Sale the following week. Directed by the impressive half back partnership of Ludovic Radoslavjevic and Camille Lopez, Clermont really need something from this one or they face an up hill battle to qualify for the quarter finals. The Munstermen snuck through against Sale after Ian Keatley’s last minute drop goal (in true Munster fashion!) and then managed to just about see off Sarries 14-3 a week later. Neither team in full swing but expect an almighty collision.

Harlequins v Leinster

07/12/2014 – 15:15 Live on BT Sport

Harlequins Aviva Premiership form as been very up and down but they are fairing a lot better in the Champions Cup. Wins over Castres and Wasps see Conor O’shea’s side at the top of Pool 2, albeit on point’s difference. Leinster have had two relatively close encounters, in the opening round Wasps gave them a huge scare at the RDS before eventually winning 25-20. Ian Madigan kicked seven penalties against Castres in Round 2 to insure the three times European Champions remained unbeaten. Both teams will be back with their international contingent, although most of Leinster’s Irish stars have had a week off potentially giving them the slight advantage. These two sides have only ever met once in the premier European competition, this also happened to be the infamous “Bloodgate” Scandal game. Leinster won 6-5, going on to win the Heineken Cup for the first time.

Other Round 3 Fixtures:

Montpellier v Bath

Sale v Saracens

Treviso v Northampton

Ospreys v Racing Metro

Ulster v Scarlets

Castres v Wasps

Leicester v Toulon