It’s been fun but English clubs will now bow out of Champions Cup
Though English clubs represent three of the eight Champions Cup quarter-finalists, I think this weekend the gulf in class between them and the giants left in the competition will show and the trio will be knocked out.
Leicester Tigers, Exeter Chiefs and Saracens remain in the hunt for European honours and are in action across three Easter weekend days – but sunset on Sunday may mark the end of English representation in this competition.
Leinster v Leicester
The Champions Cup quarter-finals open up on Friday with a commentator’s nightmare as Leinster host Leicester in Dublin.
The Irish province are the top seed on their side of the draw and could be at the Aviva Stadium for every remaining match they play in this competition, given that Dublin will host the final this season.
Leicester have it all to do if they’re going to turn over last year’s finalists in their own back yard and they’ll need the likes of Handre Pollard and their pack to have the game of their lives.
The away side will be playing a team packed with Ireland internationals; it is easily their biggest challenge of the year and I think they’ll fall short.
Toulouse v Sharks
On Saturday Toulouse host the Cell C Sharks in what is the second knockout game for the French side against South African opposition.
They swept the Bulls aside last weekend but the Sharks themselves dominated Champions Cup giants Munster.
The short turnaround for the Sharks – going from a match in Durban to one in Toulouse within a week – may take its toll on the away side while the five-time winners will have had less of a turbulent few days.
Toulouse have one of the world’s best No9-No10 combinations in Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack while the Sharks were dealt a huge blow last weekend with their starting scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse suffering an injury and being ruled out for a number of months.
Those small setbacks on back-to-back Champions Cup weekends could make all the difference and I think Toulouse may just sneak it.
Exeter Chiefs v Stormers
Saturday’s evening game is fascinating. Exeter Chiefs come into it off the back of a poor season in the league but having just beaten the French champions Montpellier, albeit in extra time and with the visitors’ Zach Mercer getting a red card which was later rescinded.
The Stormers head into the clash amid travel delays on their way to the West Country but having overcome a strong Harlequins outfit last week. In my view, the 32-28 scoreline heavily flattered the Londoners.
This is the only match of the weekend in which I am backing an away win. I just think the Stromers have a lot more to their game at the moment and Exeter are bound to run out of steam.
While I like the story of Exeter’s players hoping for a swansong before they all disappear, I just don’t think it’s going to happen in the Champions Cup.
La Rochelle v Saracens
It’s a mighty old clash between La Rochelle and Saracens on Sunday as the defending champions take on the three-time winners.
La Rochelle should have learned from the scare handed to them by Gloucester last week and correct the errors they made but Saracens themselves are a different beast.
This is the game of the weekend in the Champions Cup but, for me, the French side will just sneak it. Saracens were troubled by Ospreys last weekend but found a way to pull away – if they can replicate that then we will have a game on our hands.
If my predictions are right, Leinster would host Toulouse in the first semi-final – in what many would liken to Ireland playing France at international level – while La Rochelle would host the Stormers.
China Sevens head coach Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.