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We preview the best matches to catch on Rugby Pass this weekend as the Champions Cup presents all the same match-ups as last week but at different venues.
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Champions Cup: Glasgow vs Racing 92 (Saturday December 17, 3:45am HKT)
If you need any more proof that the world has completely flipped on its head in 2016 just look at Champions Cup Pool 1. Pro12 battlers Munster and Glasgow top the table while Premiership heavyweight Leicester languish below. Then there’s last season’s finalists and Top 14 champions Racing 92, who have yet to register a solitary point following their surprise loss to Glasgow in Paris last weekend. Even with a game in hand, their playoff chances seem cooked; they need to take all five points on offer in Glasgow this weekend.
Champions Cup: Leicester vs Munster (Saturday December 17, 11:15pm)
Two games played, ten points in the bag – Muster are making the Champions Cup look easy so far this season. That was all achieved at Thomond Park, though; this weekend they will have to show what they can do away from home when they travel over to Welford Road. After last weekend’s 38-0 thumping they should feel pretty confident they can handle Leicester on any rugby ground in the world, but this will be a vastly different game with Leicester will be determined to right their many wrongs from last weekend. In a group which has confounded all expectations, this match has plenty riding on it.
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Champions Cup: Connacht vs Wasps (Sunday December 18, 1:30am HKT)
Pool 2 has a good chance of harbouring one of the three highest-scoring second-place teams to progress to the playoffs on account of Zebre seemingly being an easy five points for anyone who plays them this season. Of the three other teams Wasps look the safe bet to top the pool, but Connacht and Toulouse aren’t far behind. This weekend’s match at Galway Sportsgrounds should see the home side give Wasps a good run for their money; it should be a lot closer than last weekend, when Wasps celebrated the long-awaited arrival of Kurtley Beale with a fairly comfortable 32-17 win at Ricoh Arena.
Champions Cup: Clermont vs Ulster (Sunday December 18, 11:05pm HKT)
Last weekend’s match in Belfast was the game of the tournament so far – nine tries, seven lead changes, and a well-deserved five points for Ulster. But can they do it again at Clermont’s fortress Stade Marcel-Michelin? The odds will be heavily stacked in favour of the home side, whose position at the top of the Top 14 table is built on a solid strategy of never losing at home. They still have a firm grip at the top of Pool 5, and a win here would all but see them through to the playoffs. After the quality on show last week this should be a fun game to watch regardless of the outcome.
