We are well into the business end of the European Rugby Challenge Cup with some big name teams set to square off in the quarter-finals in the coming days.
Friday 6 May
Gloucester 18/10 | Draw 23/1 | Saracens 46/100 (21:00)
We kick things off with a Gallagher Premiership affair that will see Gloucester take on Saracens.
The visitors survived a rather dicey affair with the Cardiff Blues in the Round of 16 as they managed to hold on for a 40-33 victory in a thriller in North London, while Gloucester put in an impressive performance beating Northampton 31-21 at the Kingsholm.
In terms of recent results, Saracens made short work of the Worcester Warriors in the Gallagher Premiership last weekend as they ran out 16-38 vectors away from home while Gloucester hammered Bath 64-0 in arguably their best attacking display of the season.
I’m going for the North Londoners this weekend. They have a host of players who have played a load of high-pressure games and I reckon that experience will see them through to the semi-finals.
Saturday 7 May
Edinburgh | Draw | Wasps (13:30) *betting tba
We head to Scotland for our second fixture of the weekend which will see URC outfit Edinburgh play host to Gallagher Premiership sides Wasps.
Edinburgh cantered to a win in the Round of 16 as they beat Wasps’ fellow English side, Bath, 41-19. Wasps were slightly less impressive in the first round of knockout fixtures as they huffed and puffed their way to a 29-39 victory over Top 14 whipping boys, Biarritz.
Both sides were in action last weekend with Wasps playing out an epic 42-42 Premiership draw with London Irish, while Edinburgh went down 10-16 at home to Ulster in the URC.
Again I’m backing the away side here. Wasps are virtually out of the running for a spot in the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals so they’ll be going all out to keep their season alive this weekend.
Saturday 7 May
Lyon | Draw | Glasgow (22:00) *betting tba
Over to France now and our next instalment sees Lyon take on the Glasgow Warriors.
The hosts had no issues in the Round of 16 as they beat the Worcester Warriors by a tidy scoreline of 31-17. Glasgow also had a rather easy time of it as their short trip across the border to Newcastle saw them beat the Falcons 17-27.
In terms of their most recent results, Lyon come into this one having secured an impressive and vital 43-20 win over Top 14 leaders Montpellier, while the Warriors brought their tour of South Africa to a close with a 29-17 URC loss against the Bulls.
Lyon are at home and should have no problems making it to the semi-finals.
Sunday 8 May
Toulon | Draw | Irish (14:30) *betting tba
We remain in France for the last of the quarter-finals which sees Toulon take on a free-running and dangerous London Irish side.
The French outfit avoided a potential banana peel in the Round of 16 as they beat Treviso 36-17. Irish were at their free-flowing best in the last round as they hammered Castres 64-27.
Toulon has a great time of it during last week’s Top 14 round as they beat a very good Bordeaux side 16-29 away from home. While London Irish didn’t manage a win, they did claim a respectable 42-42 draw against Gallagher Premiership rivals, Wasps.
Toulon have found some real form near the tail end of the season and I can see them winning this one by between seven and ten points.
