European Cup, quarterfinals - teams and predictions

PREVIEW: Montpellier’s South Africa flyhalf Handre Pollard said he expects Saturday’s quarterfinal at La Rochelle to be like “a chess game”.

Montpellier has qualified for the last eight for just the second time in their history.

They head to last season’s losing finalists, who have the likes of powerful Fiji centre Levani Botia and giant Australia lock Will Skelton in their squad.

“It’s like any play-off game, it’s about which team plays the smartest, plays the chess game the right way,” Pollard, 28, told AFP.

“We have to stand up physically, if we don’t do that we don’t stand a chance.

“We have a couple of plans to deal with it and it could be interesting.”

Top 14 league leaders Montpellier will be without 125kg second-row Paul Willemse after the France loose-forward was sidelined for two months with a knee injury suffered last weekend.

“It’s a big blow. Paulie, we all know he’s a brilliant player, he has a huge physical presence,” Pollard said.

“As a leader, he’s grown a lot since he started playing international rugby. He’s going to be missed.”

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Liebenberg reunion

Pollard will leave the Mediterranean coast at the end of the season to join English side Leicester Tigers and reunite with South Africa’s former head of athletic performance Aled Walter.

“It’s a big change weather-wise,” Pollard joked.

“Aled Walters is the conditioning coach and was with the Springboks at the World Cup.

“I love what he does, how he structures his week and getting his players in the best possible shape. It was a big part of it.”

After featuring in all of his country’s Tests in November, his next appearance for the 2019 World Cup winners is set to come during July’s three-match series at home against Wales.

“It will be nice to be involved in bigger games for the last couple of months of the season, it’s always great preparation for when you go into Test matches,” Pollard said.

“South Africa’s coaching staff demand unbelievable standards, and as they should, if you want to stay number one in the world because that’s what we’re trying to do, that’s what we’re working at.”

This weekend, Pollard will meet his captain from when South Africa won the Junior World Championship in 2012, La Rochelle flank Wiaan Liebenberg.

Liebenberg spent two and a half seasons with Montpellier and will retire at the end of the season to study for a Master’s degree in wealth management.

“He’s got such a great history with Montpellier as well,” Pollard said.

“It’s always a difficult one for him going back to playing against Montpellier and it’s also his final season before retirement so he’ll be out there to stay in the competition as long as possible and enjoy every moment of it.”

All the quarterfinal teams and predictions are below …

Saturday, May 7

Munster v Stade Toulousain
(Lansdowne Road, Dublin – Kick-off: 15.00; 16.00 French time; 14.00 GMT)

Munster has history on their side. The Irish province has won the most quarterfinals of any team in the competition with their tally of 14, including their last five – a run that features two victories against Toulouse (47-23 in 2013/14 and 41-16 in 2016/17).

Munster have won four of their previous seven Champions Cup encounters against Stade Toulousain, including a victory in the 2007/08 final (16-13).

However, they lost their most recent clash with the five-time champions (33-40 in last season’s Round of 16).

Munster and Stade Toulousain will each be playing in their 19th quarterfinal in the Champions Cup. No other club have played as many fixtures at this stage of the competition.

Stade Toulousain has won their last three quarterfinal ties in the Champions Cup after losing their previous three in a row, two of those defeats coming against Munster.

Stade Toulousain has won their last four Champions Cup away games against Irish teams, this after losing their previous five such matches. Their last three wins in Ireland have each come by exactly seven points.

Prediction

@rugby365com: Munster by eight points

Teams

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Josh Wycherley.
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Thomas Ahern, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Jack Daly.

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Dimitri Delibes, 13 Pierre Fouyssac, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Francois Cros, 7 Thibaud Flament, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand (captain), 1 Rodrigue Neti.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 David Ainu’u, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Selevasio Tolofua, 21 Anthony Jelonch, 22 Baptiste Germain, 23 Maxime Médard.

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Jack Makepeace (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

Leicester Tigers v Leinster
(Welford Road, Leicester – Kick-off: 17.30; 16.30 GMT)

This quarterfinal is building up into an epic confrontation, with little to separate the teams beforehand.

While Leinster has won six of their previous 11 Champions Cup matches against Leicester, including a victory in the 2008/09 final (19-16), they have won just one of their four matches at Welford Road, losing the other three.

Leicester has won three of their last four knockout stage fixtures in the Champions Cup after previously losing four in a row. They have not conceded 20+ points in any game during that period.

Leicester has won their last two fixtures against Irish opposition in the Champions Cup after previously losing four in a row. Two of their last three games against Irish sides have been decided by a single point.

Leinster have won five of their last six quarterfinal fixtures in the Champions Cup, including their most recent, which came away against Premiership opposition (34-22 v Exeter Chiefs last season).

Leinster have won their last seven away games in England in the Champions Cup, by an average margin of 23 points, after winning none of the previous four. They recorded their biggest away win in the competition during their last trip to England, 64-7 against Bath in January this year.

Prediction

@rugby365com: Leinster by five points

Teams

Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Guy Porter, 11 Harry Potter, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Calum Green, 4 Ollie Chessum, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Ellis Genge (captain).
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 George Martin, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Nemani Nadolo.

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 James Ryan, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Tommy O’Brien.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Tual Trainini (France), Thomas Charabas (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)

Stade Rochelais v Montpellier Hérault
(Stade Marcel Deflandre, La Rochelle – Kick-off: 18.30; 16.30 GMT)

Montpellier Hérault will be looking to overturn the form book. Stade Rochelais has won their last three home games against Top 14 opposition in European competition, while Montpellier have lost each of their six away matches against French clubs in the Champions Cup, conceding an average of 32 points per game in the process.

It will be Stade Rochelais’ fourth time facing Top 14 opposition in the competition and Montpellier’s 12th time playing another French side.

This will be Stade Rochelais’ third appearance in the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup, having won one and lost one of their previous two matches at this stage. Their quarterfinal win came at Stade Marcel Deflandre, where they notched a 45-21 victory against Sale Sharks in 2020/21.

This will be Montpellier’s second appearance in the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup. They lost their only previous fixture at this stage of the competition, which also took place away from home against French opposition.

Prediction

@rugby365com: Las Rochelle by 14 points

Teams

Stade Rochelais: 15 Jérémy Sinzelle, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jonathan Danty, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Tawera Kerr Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (captain), 7 Victor Vito, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg, 5 Rémi Picquette, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Dany Priso.
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Romain Sazy, 20 Matthias Haddad, 21 Arthur Retiere, 22 Jules Favre, 23 Pierre Popelin.

Montpellier Hérault: 15 Julien Tisseron, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Yvan Reilhac, 12 Handré Pollard, 11 Gabriel N’gandebe, 10 Louis Foursans, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Yacouba Camara (captain), 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Bastien Chalureau, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Enzo Forletta.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Robert Rodgers, 18 Yannick Arroyo, 19 Kelian Galletier, 20 Gela Aprasidze, 21 Thomas Darmon, 22 Mickael Capelli, 23 Masivesi Dakuwaqa.

Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Andrew Jackson (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)

Sunday, May 8

Racing 92 v Sale Sharks
(Paris La Defense Arena, Paris – Kick-off: 16.00; 15.00 England time; 14.00 GMT)

This will be the first Champions Cup meeting between Racing 92 and Sale Sharks.

Racing 92 won two of their previous five knock-out games against English opposition, while Sale Sharks have lost both of their previous knock-out ties against French opposition.

This will be Racing 92’s fifth consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup and their seventh overall.

They have won three and lost three of their previous six ties at this stage. However, they won just one of the three which took place at home.

Racing 92 has won their last six games at home against Premiership opposition in the Champions Cup. However, three of their wins during that period came by margins of 10 points or fewer.

Sale Sharks have lost each of their last 10 Champions Cup away games on French soil, a run which includes their record defeat in the competition (0-62 to Toulon in December 2012).

This will be Sale Sharks’ third appearance in the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup. They lost their two previous ties at this stage, both of which also took place away to French opposition.

Prediction

@rugby365com: Racing 92 by 15 points

Teams

Racing 92: 15 Max Spring, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Henry Chavancy (captain), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Ibrahim Diallo, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Hassane Kolinga.
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Bernard Le Roux, 20 Baptiste Pesenti, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Antoine Gibert, 23 Virimi Vakatawa.

Sale: 15 Luke James, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Simon Hammersley, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Jean-Luc du Preez, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Bevan Rod.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Sam James, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

* Statistical data by Stats Perform