European Rugby Champions Cup Round 4 15-17th December
This weekend sees the reverse fixtures from Round 3 last weekend. All prices are with green-listed bookmaker, Betfair Sportsbook
Friday
Ulster v Harlequins 7.45pm
Ulster won in London 17-5 in the snow last weekend to go second in their group with two wins in three games behind La Rochelle. Harlequins have lost all of their three games and are out of the competition
Ulster typically have a fierce home advantage, roared on by a passionate crowd and they should win here to keep their hopes of a top 8 pool position alive for knock out qualification. A handicap quote of -14 doesn’t leave much scope for error though especially with bad weather prevalent. No bet
Saturday
Benetton v Scarlets 1pm
Scarlets came from behind to beat the 14 men of Benetton 33-28 last weekend to record their first win in this season’s competition and now travel to Treviso for the same fixture against the winless Italians who have now taken Toulon and Scarlets very close in their defeats
Scarlets are 5 point favourites here at 10/11 and I would suggest they would improve over last weekend’s performance, with their firepower if they are ore precise in attack they should win again
Montpellier v Glasgow 1pm
Montpellier travelled to Glasgow last Friday and won 29-22 for a rare French away victory to give them their first win this season and leave Glasgow winless after three games
That bodes ill for the Scots as playing in Montpellier is a formidable proposition as evidenced by the quote of Montpellier -14.I expect the French to win but would be surprised if it was by more than two scores sowill be backing Glasgow +14 at 10/11 to keep it relatively close
Leinster v Exeter 3.15pm
In a heavyweight contest, last Sunday Leinster beat Exeter 18-8 to go to three wins out of three and inflict Exeter’s first defeat. They now host them in Dublin this weekend in pole position to seize control of the group and are-8 on the handicap for the game. Exeter,top of the Aviva Premiership and a well drilled consistent side are not to be taken lightly and whilst I think Leinster will win I wouldn’t be convinced it would be anything other than close. No bet.
Racing92 v Castres 3.15pm
Castres beat Racing 16-13 on the sunny south coast of France last weekend and the reverse game is in Paris on Saturday. Castres are 2nd in the group with seven points from a win and a draw from their three games while Racing have one win from three games and are bottom of the pool
Castres are notoriously poor travelers and this is a “must-win” for Racing. I think Racing will cover -9 at 10/11
Bath v Toulon 5.30pm
Toulon scraped past Bath 24-20 last weekend to go to three wins from three games, but with a remarkable combined winning margin of only six points! This was Bath’s first defeat of the competition and they both led and played with verve in the South of France and now host Toulon this weekend with a chance to wrest back control of the group.
Bath are installed as three-point favourites at 10/11 on the handicap and I like Toulon +3 to grind another result out. Their massive experienced and big game players almost always see them through in these pool games
Sunday
Wasps v La Rochelle 1pm
La Rochelle pummelled Wasps 49-29 at home last weekend and are in control of the group with three wins from three games and 124 points scored in those games while Wasps have now lost both their away games at La Rochelle and Ulster
La Rochelle +2 at 10/11 here is the bet of the week, a real standout quote
Ospreys v Saints 3.15pm
Ospreys travelled to Northampton in round 3 and won 43-32 to record their first win of this season’s competition and leave Northampton winless. Ospreys are 8 point favourites at 10/11 for this weekend and I see no reason why a disappointing Saints side should reverse the form of last weekend
Clermont Auvergne v Saracens 4.15pm
On Monday night in a game played 48 hour after the initially scheduled kick-off due to bad weather Clermont handed out a record 6-try thrashing of Saracens in a real statement victory. Raka was man of the match after a stunning 25-minute hat-trick. Incredibly this was double European Champions Saracens’ sixth defeat in a row in all competitions and meant that English clubs record no wins in seven games last weekend
Clermont have now won their first three games in this pool and are 5 point favourites to really take control of the group this weekend. No bet for me
Leicester v Munster 5.30pm
Munster thrashed Leicester 33-10 in Limerick last Saturday night to now lead Castres by four points at the top of the pool and they have only conceded 34 points in their three games.
Leicester have one win from their three matches and must win here to stay in contention but that is a tough ask given their inferiority at the breakdown against the Munster back row last weekend
Calculators
