The Exeter Chiefs and Racing Metro 92 will go head-to-head in the 2019/20 European Rugby Champions Cup Final on Saturday the 17th of October.
Will the Chief’s perfect build-up give them the edge this Saturday or will Racing’s horrid lead up galvanize their squad and prime them for European glory?
Exeter Chiefs v Racing Metro 92
Saturday 17 October
Ashton Gate
To Win (80 Mins)
Racing 17/10
Handicap
Exeter
Racing
*Handicap to be added on release
Exeter Chiefs
History beckons for the men from Devonshire who will be looking to claim their first piece of European silverware this Saturday. It has been a meteoric rise for Rob Baxter’s men who were plying their trade in the second tier of English rugby only a decade ago.
While the Chiefs may not have a much European pedigree as Racing, they do know what finals rugby is all about having played in the last four Gallagher Premiership finals – they will make a fifth straight finals appearance this year as well after they beat Bath 35-6 in this past weekend’s semi-finals. They have, however, only won one of the aforementioned finals with that victory coming back in the 2016/17 season.
Exeter have been solid in this season’s Champions Cup topping Pool 2, which featured the Glasgow Warriors, La Rochelle and the Sale Sharks. They won five of their six games, with the only blemish on their record being a 31-31 draw with the Warriors. They were even more impressive in the knock-out phase of the competition beating the Northampton Saints 38-15 in the quarter-finals and then defeating much-fancied Toulouse 28-18 in the semi-finals.
Racing Metro will also be looking for their inaugural Champions Cup trophy with the French side having finished as tournament runners-up twice with their latest runners-up berth coming in the 2017/18 season where they went down to Leinster by just three points.
Verdict: Exeter 5/10
I’m going to take the safe option here and back the Chiefs on the straight win. I think they are far better prepped for this one than their opponents are. They also have the luxury of the game being held in England and they won’t need to jump through all the hoops Racing will have to to get to the ground.
