Pool 2

European Form

Glasgow

Usually perennial under-achievers in the HC, Glasgow are in the ECC for only the third time this season.  The first time (1996/7) they managed just one win in five games.  This was followed in 1997/8 by their best performance in the HC when they got to the “qualifier” stage where they were hammered 90-19 by Leicester Tigers. The “qualifier” stage was a complicated system whereby the 5 pool winners went to the quarter-finals and the 5 pool runners-up and the best 3^rd place team played an extra round of games to produce the other three quarter-finalists.

The last time they were in the ECC (2003/4) they beat Montpellier 38-24 on aggregate in the first round, only to go down 42-39 on aggregate to Saracens in the second.  Otherwise, they have played 49 games in the HC, winning just 13 (and one drawn game).

Narbonne

Ever-present in the ECC, Narbonne has played more games in this competition (60) than any other team except Connacht (65) and with a similar lack of silverware to show for their efforts.  They have won a respectable 36 of those games (and one drawn game). 

Their high point was the 42-33 defeat at the hands of NEC Harlequins in the 2000/1 final.  They had managed to get past Perpignan and Agen to get there.

They have reached the semi-finals on two other occasions.  In the first year of the ECC (1996/7), they won away to Northampton Saints in the quarter-finals before being beaten at Bourgoin.  In the 1998/9 season they beat Pau in the quarter-finals before falling at Clermont.  Finally, they have also reached the quarter-finals in another season.  In 2003/4 they lost 43-28 over two legs to a certain team from Ireland.

As an aside, Connacht have played Narbonne 9 times in the ECC.  This is a record for the competition: no other pair of teams come close (London Irish / Pau and Sale Sharks / Agen  stand at 5 meetings each).  This is perhaps unsurprising given both teams have played every year in the competition.  Currently the record is: Connacht have won 5 wins scoring 210 points whereas Narbonne have won 4 times scoring 201 points.

Saracens

Saracens have a very good record in this competition, albeit that the ultimate success has evaded them.  They have played 33 games in the ECC and won 25 which is a pretty good record. Three seasons of HC games saw the win 11 of 18 games which was not good enough to get them past the pool stage.

Their best showing in the ECC was a semi-final appearance in 2002/3.  They disposed of Dinamo-Bucuesti in the first round including an ERC record 151-0 win in the home leg.  This beat their own previous record of 113-3 scored twice in the 2001/2 pool stage (over Dinamo-Bucuesti and Bologna).  In the second round they defeated Colomiers, and then Newcastle Falcons in the quarter-final before they met Bath in the semi-final.  The aggregate score over the two legs was 57-57.  Bath went through to the final thanks to a 6-5 try count.

They have been to the quarter finals on three other occasions: in 2001/2 they came out of the pool stage with a huge +369 points difference before losing 15-17 at home to Pontypridd; in  2003/4, having beaten Glasgow in the second round, they went down 40-28 over two legs to Clermont; and in 2004/5 they lost 37-35 over two legs to Brive.

GrAN Parma

Not to be confused with Overmach Parma who beat Dragons in Rodney Parade to qualify for the HC this season.  Possibly the weakest team in the competition, if past form is anything to go on.  This is their fifth season in the ECC and their overall record shows just 3 wins in 18 games. 

Their first season, 2001/2, they lost all six pool matches  In each of the subsequent three seasons they went out in the first round (to Bath, Grenoble and Pau respectively), were put into the Shield competition and immediately went out in the first round again (to Pau, Rotherham and Auch).  Note that in the 2004/5 Shield competition they were due to play AA Coimbra in the first round. AA Coimbra failed to fulfil the fixture so GrAN Parma got a bye into the quarter-finals, met Auch and went down 55-26 over the two legs.

Head to Head

As mentioned above, Saracens beat Glasgow 42-39 over two legs in the second round of the ECC in 2003/4 (37-6 at Saracens and 33-5 at Glasgow).

The only other meeting between teams in this pool was in the 1997/8 ECC when Saracens beat Narbonne 58-33 over two legs in the pool stages of the competition (16-18 at Narbonne and 40-17 at Saracens).

Summary

Conclusion

This might seem like a tricky pool, with ECC regulars Narbonne, resurgent Saracens and the best of the Italian teams in it.

Saracens spent much of last season dicing with relegation before putting together a decent run under temporary Coach Eddie Jones towards the end of the season. If Saracens can carry that resurgence in form through to next season, they should come out of this pool without too much worries.

Narbonne had a solid, if unimpressive, season: never in any real danger, but never threatening the top half of the table.  They have got a good pedigree in the competition and I expect them to also qualify for the knock out stages.

GrAN Parma finished forth in the regular Super10 season before being comprehensively defeated 69-28 by Benetton Treviso over the two-leg playoff semi-final.  Glasgow, as we know, pipped Connacht to last place in the Celtic League.  I am sorry to say that I can’t see Glasgow and GrAN Parma progressing any further.

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