The Challenge Cup reaches its business end this Friday. Darry Worthington has you covered as he runs the rule over the three stand out fixtures and also gives his quick fire tips for the remaining five games.
Friday 15 April
London Irish | Draw | Castres (19:30) *betting tba
This one should be an absolute belter of a game as both sides are capable of producing some decent rugby should the mood capture them.
Neither side was involved in last week’s action as London Irish played their final pool game back in January where they went down 45-24 to Gallagher Premiership rivals, Saracens. Castres, meanwhile, dropped down from the Champions Cup as they after failing to finish inside the top eight of Conference B. They’ve probably found their level here as they lost all four of their Champions Cup Conference phase games.
In terms of recent results, Castres produced a fantastic showing in their last domestic outing as they beat domestic foes Toulouse 19-12. Irish didn’t fare as well in the Gallagher Premiership as they went down 14-41 to Harlequins. To make matters worse, it was the third time in a row that they had conceded 40 points or more.
Irish have shown up some big-name English sides on their home patch and I can see them adding a French scalp to their season haul this weekend.
Newcastle | Draw | Glasgow (20:00) *betting tba
We head from Coventry to Newcastle for our next clash which will see the Glasgow Warriors make the relatively short trip across the border to take on the Newcastle Falcons.
Unlike Irish and Castres, these two sides were involved in action last weekend and Edinburgh put in a very impressive shift as they beat Pau 54-5, while Newcastle limped to a 25-22 win over Italian minnows Zebre. It must be remembered, however, that Newcastle were not at full strength as they had already qualified for the next round prior to the clash against the Italians.
Newcastle will have their big guns back. I reckon this one goes the way of the home side.
Saturday 16 April
Gloucester | Draw | Northampton (21:00) *betting tba
It’s an all Gallagher Premiership affair next up as Gloucester lock horns with domestic foes Northampton.
Gloucester capped off a solid enough round-robin phase showing with a 21-26 away win over URC outfit, the Dragons – it’s worth noting, however, that the Dragons have been dire in the URC. This was their third win from four Challenge Cup outings with their only defeat coming at the hands of Top 14 side, Lyon.
Northampton suffered the ignominy of dropping down a European division as their horrid Champions Cup run, in which they failed to win any of their four games, came to an end a couple weeks ago. They have fared alright on the domestic front of late, however, having beaten Bristol, Newcastle and London Irish in March and April.
I rather fancy the Saints here. They gave Gloucester a real run for their money at the Kingsholm a few months ago and only went down by five points. I reckon they could well take the spoils here.
Quick-Fire Tips
Wasps win V Biarritz
Lyon win v Worcester Warriors
Toulon win v Benetton
Edinburgh win v Bath
Saracens win v Cardiff
