Scottish teams have the chance to make history with dual Euro qualification
WITH Scottish involvement in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup guaranteed for just the fourth time, Edinburgh can secure a place for Scottish rivals Glasgow Warriors in the last eight, as well as a home quarter-final for themselves if they can get the better of former Scotland coach Vern Cotter’s Montpellier on Friday night.
It would be the first time in tournament history that two Scottish teams have got through and, enjoying home advantage against the only team to have beaten them in the pool stages so far, Richard Cockerill’s (inset) side should go into that encounter packed with confidence after completing an extraordinary double over three-time champions Toulon by beating the big-spending French side on their own turf on Saturday.
Tries from Blair Kinghorn and James Johnstone, to add to a first-half touchdown from Darcy Graham and 13 points from the boot of standoff Jaco van der Walt, saw them come back from 12-8 down at the interval to follow in the footsteps of English Premiership clubs Saracens and Newcastle Falcons by becoming just the third team in Champions Cup history to beat Toulon at the Stade Mayol. It was their sixth successive victory and took them to the brink of qualification. They are currently tied with Glasgow on 19 points, sharing fourth spot in a race for qualifications that is now being contested by just nine teams.
Only Saracens, whose 23-point haul can only be matched or surpassed by five other teams, are guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals and even they are not yet certain of a home quarter-final. Victory for Edinburgh on Friday would take them to a minimum of 23 points, beyond the reach of Pool 2 leaders Munster, so would ensure that they finish among the top four pool winners and earn that home quarter-final.
Elsewhere, Leinster look certain to top Pool 1 after grinding their way to a bonus-point win in Le Classique on Saturday as the two most successful teams in the history of the competition fought out a match of Test match intensity, the Irish province picking up a bonus point which means they need only beat bottom side Wasps this weekend.
Four-time champions Toulouse will be even bigger favourites at home against Bath at the end of a campaign that warrants English officials being asked the sort of questions they previously routinely asked of the Italian clubs in justifying an overhaul of the competition six years ago. Their clubs currently occupy the bottom spot in three of the five pools and of the six English teams that gained entry to the Champions Cup, only Saracens are in the top half of their pool table.
Admittedly Saracens who, for the second successive year, will be the only English representatives in the quarter-finals, are heavy favourites to win the Pool 3 decider against Glasgow , while their visitors will know exactly what is at stake after that Edinburgh-Montpellier Pool 5 decider the previous evening.
The only disappointment for ex-Toulon coach Cockerill on his return to the Stade Mayol on Saturday had been his side’s failure to get the fourth try that would have meant they could have afforded to lose that match narrowly to Montpellier and still finish top, but their three-point advantage means a draw would be sufficient. Should Edinburgh lose, however, Glasgow could potentially end up pipping them for the last of the qualifying spots.
Ex-Glasgow Warrior Finn Russell’s Racing 92 meanwhile look certain to finish top of Pool 4 and will be accompanied by former Scotland forward coach Dan McFarland’s Ulster if they return with a win from Welford Road, once the most intimidating venue in Europe for visiting teams, but now one at which they will expect to win against Leicester Tigers. The two-time champions were thrashed by the Scarlets on Saturday which meant that Cardiff’s defeat yesterday in the only all-Celtic clash of the round, was also the only defeat for a Pro14 side on the most important weekend of the tournament so far.