By Ballagher
May 5 2004

As the competition nears its climax, fifteen people are left in the race for the glorious title of COYSDC Heineken Cup prediction league winner (something to treasure forever more I think). Twelve of us opted for Toulouse over Biarritz and were rewarded with the 4 points.  However, on the whole most expected far more tries (so quickly lost those points again).

The field was split on the Wasps - Munster showdown (and would probably have remained so throughout the game).  In aggregate, 9 correctly saw the English side swatting their Irish rivals.  Needless to say, this time no-one foresaw so many tries being scored (or at least no-one saw Munster conceding 5 at least).

Anyway, this week’s table (congratulations to all three table toppers) is as follows:

CMP = Correct Match Predictions
TD = Try Deficit

		CMP	TD	Total
1=	Chris Hoddle	8	5	3
1=	Lloydie	8	5	3
1=	WestMidsSaint	8	5	3
4	Norfolksaint	8	6	2
5=	Carole Thacker	4	3	1
5=	Hippo	8	7	1
7=	Ballagher	4	4	0
7=	Chris the Saint	8	8	0
7=	Saintsby	4	4	0
10=	Mark H	4	6	-2
10=	Maverick	4	6	-2
10=	St Marlowe	4	6	-2
10=	TaG	4	6	-2
14	Ajack	4	7	-3
15	Smurfomatic	4	9	-5

Some questions (and not totally without merit I may add) have been raised about the format of the league at the knock-out stage.  The fact that they come from the long-standing leader whose overall lead has been getting smaller by the round I suspect is purely a coincidence (and bears no similarity with any ZP club you care to think of).

 Anyway, notwithstanding these comments, “Glass Door Ajack” still tops the table but it couldn’t be closer.  In fact, I think we may need to arrange a closed ballot for the 5 front runners.  Any suggestions would be gratefully received.  (Or maybe I’m taking it too seriously again.)

CGSP = Correct Group Stage Predictions
STD = Saints Tries Deficit
CKOP = Correct Knocout Match predictions
KOTD = Knockout Tries Deficit

		CGSP	STD	CKOP	KTD	Total
1	Ajack	118	13	16	21	100
2=	Maverick	114	13	16	18	99
2=	WestMidsSaint	116	18	20	19	99
4=	Ballagher	112	16	16	16	96
4=	Chris the Saint	108	17	24	19	96
6	Hippo	104	20	24	14	94
7	Norfolksaint	106	14	20	20	92
8=	Chris Hoddle	100	18	24	15	91
8=	Lloydie	106	20	24	19	91
8=	St Marlowe	100	13	20	16	91
11	Mark H	102	19	20	21	82
12	TaG	106	23	12	17	78
13	Carole Thacker	94	25	20	13	76
14	Saintsby	92	27	20	15	70
15	Smurfomatic	98	20	16	25	69