The pick of this weekend’s European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-finals will see Racing 92 and Toulouse go head-to-head in Paris on Sunday the 30th of March.
There’s a cracking set of European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-finals taking place this weekend with the pick of the bunch being the French derby between Racing 92 and Toulouse. Both teams have a fine history in the tournament with Toulouse having won the title four times and Racing having been involved in two of the four finals since the tournament changed names from the Heineken Cup to the Champions Cup.
Racing Metro 92 v Toulouse
Sunday 30 March
Paris La Defense Arena
17:15
To Win Outright
Racing 9/20
Draw 20/1
Toulouse 18/10
Handicap
Racing
Toulouse
*Handicap to be added upon release
Racing
The Parisians enjoyed a fantastic Champions Cup pool phase that saw them win top Pool 4 – which featured Ulster, the Leicester Tigers and the Scarlets – with five wins from their six fixtures.
Racing have been in tidy for domestically of late winning their last three games by margins in excess of 15 points. They haven’t had the best of results against Toulouse in the Top 14 this season though with Toulouse winning their home tie 30-17 and the reverse tie in Paris 29-34.
The hosts will need Scottish pivot Finn Russel to be at his best here. If the blonde wizard can get this exciting backline firing then they may just be able to get the better of a Toulouse side that are dominating the Top 14 at present.
Toulouse
The visitors will be looking to keep their dreams of claiming a double alive when they travel to the French capital.
Like Saturday’s opponents, Toulouse managed to claim five wins from their six pool phase fixtures. While this number of victories was enough to see Racing top their pool it wasn’t enough for Toulouse who finished four points off Pool 1 winners Leinster.
Toulouse have been in great touch in the Top 14 winning their last eight games. A lot of these victories came against Top 14 big guns such as Stade and Racing, with their most recent being a 19-23 away win over La Rochelle.
Verdict: Toulouse 18/10
I’m on the away side here. They have already proved they know how to beat Racing this season and I can see them making it their consecutive wins over their domestic rivals.
Written by Darry Worthington for @Hollywoodbets.net
