IF YOU SEE THESE MEN...
London Wasps in Europe: 2008/2009
IF YOU SEE THESE MEN...
By Barney Burnham
June 17 2008
Not bad. That has to be the reaction to our fate in the draw for next season’s Heineken Cup. While there are certainly no pushovers, this is a very different proposition from last season’s Group of Death. If Clermont go on to win the French championship, last season’s Pool 5 will have produced the European, English and French champions!
IF YOU SEE THESE MEN...
June 17 2008
Not bad. That has to be the reaction to our fate in the draw for next season’s Heineken Cup. While there are certainly no pushovers, this is a very different proposition from last season’s Group of Death. If Clermont go on to win the French championship, last season’s Pool 5 will have produced the European, English and French champions!
Let’s begin with the side we’ve never met in the pool stages - Leinster. Having achieved the tough objective of finishing above Connacht in the Magners League, they have played in the premier competition every year. Before the Magners League, I think their mere existence guaranteed them one of Ireland’s places!
They are the current Magners League champions, but their Heineken Cup record is surprisingly poor. They reached the semifinal in the first year, when no English clubs were involved, and lost 23-14 at home to Cardiff. They also reached the last four in 2002/3, when they were beaten 21-14 by Perpignan, at Lansdowne Road. Their other semifinal appearance, again at Lansdowne Road, came in 2005/6. They got there, after one of the Heineken Cup’s alltime great games, which saw them win an epic quarterfinal in Toulouse, by 41 points to 35.
After that, their feeble capitulation to Munster was a huge anticlimax. The Red Army emerged from the woodwork to cheer their men on to a 30-6 win which was so one-sided as to be embarrassing. Felipe Contepomi, so often Leinster's star performer, had a day to forget.
As any Wasps fan knows, we finally came up against Brian O’Driscoll’s team, minus the injured great man himself, in the 2006/7 quarterfinal. Despite many pundits predicting a Leinster win, Wasps were on the top of their game, and, after a tight first half, went on to crush the Irishmen (and Will Green, inter alia!) by 35-13, in what turned out to be Alex King’s last appearance at Adams Park. He certainly had a game to long remember, with his courageous tackling playing a huge part in a magnificent team performance. No need to remind anyone of how that season ended!
Given that, between them, Wasps and Leinster have featured in all but one of the tournaments in which English clubs have played, it’s perhaps surprising that they’ve never ended up in the same pool.
They’re obviously the toughest opposition in this pool, but that doesn’t mean the other teams should be underestimated.
Castres also featured on our path to glory, in 2007. They’re not one of the fashionable French clubs, but they gave us two very tough games in the pool stages. Round 1 saw Wasps record a 19-13 win, after a not entirely convincing performance, in which Paul Sackey scored the only try, and Jeremy Staunton kicked 14 points.
By the time we travelled to Castres, for the final match, it was win-or-die, and the travelling supporters were treated to another heroic Wasps display, hailed by one seasoned journo as one of the greatest defensive performances he’d ever seen. It ended 16-13 to Wasps, with their try coming from Tom Voyce, and Alex King’s boot adding two penalties, a conversion and a dropped goal. That drop kick cost one of his old school coaches 50p. In the days when Kingy still wore shorts off the field, said coach had promised to pay 50p to charity, every time he landed a drop goal. Over the years, it must have cost him a few quid. The last few nailbiting minutes were spent close to the Wasps line, with Castres going all out for the try which would have seen them reach the knockout stages for only the second time in their history.
This will be only their 6th Heineken Cup campaign, and their most successful one was 2001/2. Their pool included Munster, Bridgend and Harlequins, and they ended up winning it. Their only loss came in their opening game, 28-23, away to Munster, but they got their revenge in the return match, beating the Irish province 21-13. Since then, Munster have only ever had to travel to their final pool game once. Amazing!
It was Munster, who had the last laugh, when the two sides met again, in the last four. Castres had beaten Montferrand 22-12 in their home quarterfinal, while Munster had beaten Stade Francais 16-14, in Paris. Munster won the semi-final in Beziers, 25-17, to set up their ill-fated meeting with the Hand of Back, at the Millennium Stadium.
Edinburgh gave Wasps a bloody, and very wet, nose, when they opened the 2005/6 campaign, in monsoon-like conditions at Murrayfield. A thrilling game ended with Simon Webster scoring a last-minute try, to snatch a 32-31 victory. By the time the two sides met again, in the final pool game, it was a dead rubber, and Wasps gained a modicum of revenge, with a crushing 53-17 victory. Their six tries included a rare five-pointer from Alex King - almost his first since he had had hair - along with two for Tom Voyce, and one each from Simon Shaw, Ali McKenzie and Mark Van Gisbergen.
Under the much-maligned Andy Robinson, Edinburgh have improved enormously, and there can be no doubt that Wasps will not be taking them lightly. They are still the only Scottish side to reach the knockout stages - they, of course, have automatic qualification, although they missed out in 1997/8. 2003/4 remains their best campaign, when they won their home game against Toulouse, catching them cold at Meadowbank, 23-16. Toulouse won the final game 33-0, setting up a third meeting in the quarterfinals, which ended in a comfortable 36-10 win for the French glamour boys.
Edinburgh’s last two European seasons have only produced three wins, all at home. In 2006/7, they stunned Leinster with a last-gasp 25-24 win. The following year, they again beat Leinster - this time by 29 points to 10. They also beat Leicester, 17-12. The fact that Toulouse struggled to win 19-15 at Murrayfield shows that Edinburgh are a tough proposition at home, but they remain highly vulnerable on the road.
So, the stage is set for another interesting journey through France, Scotland, and Ireland, which will hopefully end with another trip to Murrayfield.
So much information is widely available about the delights of Baile Atha Cliath and Auld Reekie that I don’t propose to add anything, except to say that nobody should visit the Irish capital without seeing the Book of Kells, and the magnificent library which houses it, at Trinity College. Also, if you want real Dublin craic, don’t go to Temple Bar!
Edinburgh is full of pubs. Let’s hope it’s not as full of rain as it was last time we were there.
As for Castres, I’ll just remind you of what I wrote about it, after our visit in January last year.
http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s96/st110604.htm
If you’re undecided about whether to stay in Toulouse, and travel to Castres on the day, or to base yourself in Castres, my advice would be, stay in Castres!
See you there!
They are the current Magners League champions, but their Heineken Cup record is surprisingly poor. They reached the semifinal in the first year, when no English clubs were involved, and lost 23-14 at home to Cardiff. They also reached the last four in 2002/3, when they were beaten 21-14 by Perpignan, at Lansdowne Road. Their other semifinal appearance, again at Lansdowne Road, came in 2005/6. They got there, after one of the Heineken Cup’s alltime great games, which saw them win an epic quarterfinal in Toulouse, by 41 points to 35.
After that, their feeble capitulation to Munster was a huge anticlimax. The Red Army emerged from the woodwork to cheer their men on to a 30-6 win which was so one-sided as to be embarrassing. Felipe Contepomi, so often Leinster's star performer, had a day to forget.
As any Wasps fan knows, we finally came up against Brian O’Driscoll’s team, minus the injured great man himself, in the 2006/7 quarterfinal. Despite many pundits predicting a Leinster win, Wasps were on the top of their game, and, after a tight first half, went on to crush the Irishmen (and Will Green, inter alia!) by 35-13, in what turned out to be Alex King’s last appearance at Adams Park. He certainly had a game to long remember, with his courageous tackling playing a huge part in a magnificent team performance. No need to remind anyone of how that season ended!
Given that, between them, Wasps and Leinster have featured in all but one of the tournaments in which English clubs have played, it’s perhaps surprising that they’ve never ended up in the same pool.
They’re obviously the toughest opposition in this pool, but that doesn’t mean the other teams should be underestimated.
Castres also featured on our path to glory, in 2007. They’re not one of the fashionable French clubs, but they gave us two very tough games in the pool stages. Round 1 saw Wasps record a 19-13 win, after a not entirely convincing performance, in which Paul Sackey scored the only try, and Jeremy Staunton kicked 14 points.
By the time we travelled to Castres, for the final match, it was win-or-die, and the travelling supporters were treated to another heroic Wasps display, hailed by one seasoned journo as one of the greatest defensive performances he’d ever seen. It ended 16-13 to Wasps, with their try coming from Tom Voyce, and Alex King’s boot adding two penalties, a conversion and a dropped goal. That drop kick cost one of his old school coaches 50p. In the days when Kingy still wore shorts off the field, said coach had promised to pay 50p to charity, every time he landed a drop goal. Over the years, it must have cost him a few quid. The last few nailbiting minutes were spent close to the Wasps line, with Castres going all out for the try which would have seen them reach the knockout stages for only the second time in their history.
This will be only their 6th Heineken Cup campaign, and their most successful one was 2001/2. Their pool included Munster, Bridgend and Harlequins, and they ended up winning it. Their only loss came in their opening game, 28-23, away to Munster, but they got their revenge in the return match, beating the Irish province 21-13. Since then, Munster have only ever had to travel to their final pool game once. Amazing!
It was Munster, who had the last laugh, when the two sides met again, in the last four. Castres had beaten Montferrand 22-12 in their home quarterfinal, while Munster had beaten Stade Francais 16-14, in Paris. Munster won the semi-final in Beziers, 25-17, to set up their ill-fated meeting with the Hand of Back, at the Millennium Stadium.
Edinburgh gave Wasps a bloody, and very wet, nose, when they opened the 2005/6 campaign, in monsoon-like conditions at Murrayfield. A thrilling game ended with Simon Webster scoring a last-minute try, to snatch a 32-31 victory. By the time the two sides met again, in the final pool game, it was a dead rubber, and Wasps gained a modicum of revenge, with a crushing 53-17 victory. Their six tries included a rare five-pointer from Alex King - almost his first since he had had hair - along with two for Tom Voyce, and one each from Simon Shaw, Ali McKenzie and Mark Van Gisbergen.
Under the much-maligned Andy Robinson, Edinburgh have improved enormously, and there can be no doubt that Wasps will not be taking them lightly. They are still the only Scottish side to reach the knockout stages - they, of course, have automatic qualification, although they missed out in 1997/8. 2003/4 remains their best campaign, when they won their home game against Toulouse, catching them cold at Meadowbank, 23-16. Toulouse won the final game 33-0, setting up a third meeting in the quarterfinals, which ended in a comfortable 36-10 win for the French glamour boys.
Edinburgh’s last two European seasons have only produced three wins, all at home. In 2006/7, they stunned Leinster with a last-gasp 25-24 win. The following year, they again beat Leinster - this time by 29 points to 10. They also beat Leicester, 17-12. The fact that Toulouse struggled to win 19-15 at Murrayfield shows that Edinburgh are a tough proposition at home, but they remain highly vulnerable on the road.
So, the stage is set for another interesting journey through France, Scotland, and Ireland, which will hopefully end with another trip to Murrayfield.
So much information is widely available about the delights of Baile Atha Cliath and Auld Reekie that I don’t propose to add anything, except to say that nobody should visit the Irish capital without seeing the Book of Kells, and the magnificent library which houses it, at Trinity College. Also, if you want real Dublin craic, don’t go to Temple Bar!
Edinburgh is full of pubs. Let’s hope it’s not as full of rain as it was last time we were there.
As for Castres, I’ll just remind you of what I wrote about it, after our visit in January last year.
http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s96/st110604.htm
If you’re undecided about whether to stay in Toulouse, and travel to Castres on the day, or to base yourself in Castres, my advice would be, stay in Castres!
See you there!
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