An intriguing South African derby, an Anglo-French clash between two struggling sides and a possible belter of a fixture at Emirates Airline Park are the highlights of Round 2 of the Challenge Cup.
Please note that betting wasn’t available at the time of publishing.
Friday 15 December
Gloucester v Clermont (22:00)
We kick things off at the Kingsholm Stadium where Gloucester will be looking for a better showing than they produced last week when they take on French outfit Clermont.
The hosts for Saturday’s encounter were involved in a bruising old affair last weekend travelling to Georgia to take on an extremely physical Black Lion outfit. Despite the fireworks as the teams ran out of the tunnels indicating glitz and glam, this was far from a Hollywood rugby affair as the set-piece and close quarters stuff were the main themes of this script. Gloucester managed to take the game 10-15 with all their points coming from the boot of fly-half George Barton.
While Gloucester were involved in a war of attrition out in Eastern Europe, Clemront were making light work of Edinburgh in France. The Top 14 outfit looked good value for their 31-18 win as they ran in four tries to Edinburgh’s two.
Verdict: Clermont
Gloucester’s horrid domestic form seems to have carried over to Europe and I think they will struggle against this Clermont side on Friday evening. Small stakes on the way win here.
Saturday 16 December
Lions v Newcastle Falcons (17:15)
Onto our next featured fixture which sees South Africa’s Lions play host to the Newcastle Falcons. The visitors will not only have to face up to an in-form young Lions outfit here but also some very different conditions to those they have played their recent rugby as they head from freezing cold Newcastle to the hotter climes of Johannesburg.
The hosts enjoyed a very promising start to the Challenge Cup run as they registered a 12-28 away win over Top 14 outfit Perpignan. The star of the show for Joburg’s finest was young fly-half Jordan Hendrikse, who scored 23 of the Lions’ 28 points. The young pivot is likely to play a crucial role for the Lions again this weekend.
Newcastle didn’t fare as well as their opponents for Saturday in the opening round as they went down 19-24 at the Kingsholm to a Montpellier outfit that has had an appalling start to their Top 14 campaign. The Falcons had a very slow start to the game and were 0-17 two minutes into the second half. And while they would fight back to claim what could be a crucial losing bonus point, they will deeply regret how slowly they started the fixture.
Verdict: Lions
While there’s actually a bit of rain floating around Johannesburg this weekend which will cool things down, I can still see the conditions taking their toll on the visitors. My money is on a late second half surge from the hosts seeing them past the handicap.
Sunday 17 December
Cheetahs v Hollywoodbets Sharks (15:00)
Our final selected preview fixture should be a cracker with the Cheetahs and Sharks going head-to-head in Bloemfontein. While the two sides still meet in the Currie Cup, the Sharks are hardly ever at full strength for these fixtures due to URC commitments, so it will be interesting to see how the Cheetahs fare against a strong KZN side.
Both sides enjoyed solid starts to their Challenge Cup campaigns with the Cheetahs registering a very impressive 15-33 away victory over Italian outfit Zebre, while the Sharks hammered French side Pau 45-5.
There were some notable performances by current and former Springboks for both sides last weekend with Ruan Pienaar rolling back the years yet again with a man of the match performance showing for the Cheetahs, while Eben Etezebeth, who has been at the forefront of the Sharks mini-revival, starring once again.
Verdict: Sharks
I’d fancy a couple total points lines to be cleared here as the current weather forecast (*article was written on Thursday 14 December at 11:41) is looking really good for some running rugby. I’d also be inclined to take the Sharks on the minus handicap as I feel their pack will overpower the Cheetahs.
Quick-Fire Tips
Scarlets to beat Black Lion
Oyonnax to beat Zebre
Castres to beat Edinburgh
Benetton to beat Perpignan
Pau to beat Dragons
Montpellier to beat Ospreys
