When it was confirmed that every single one of our Aviva Premiership teams were going to be away from home for their Champions Cup Quarter Final fixtures the history books highlighted just how tough it would be. Since the competition’s conception only eighteen of the seventy two tournament Quarter Finals have been won by the away sides, therefore the gauntlet was set for Bath, the Northampton Saints, Saracens and Wasps Rugby, the question was would any of our Aviva Premiership sides prevail?
The first game of the weekend was in Dublin where Bath Rugby faced the three times European Champions Leinster. Bath's game plan was clear, tempo was to be the name of the game and they were going to attack, with force, from everywhere. In the opening forty penalties and individual errors hampered the Premiership side from gaining the fluidity they desired and the radar of Ian Madigan hurt them as he slotted five penalties with ease. However Bath turned the game on its head in the second as they executed with much greater precision, George Ford was mesmeric, his prowess led their fightback from 5 - 15 down to 15 -18. Bath continued to surge towards the try line with seconds on the clock however the whistle of Jérôme Garcès ended the fixture as he penalised Matt Garvey at the breakdown. It was a large and game ending decision for you sensed that had the penalty gone the other way and Bath forced the game into extra time they would have won such was their momentum.
Approximately 900 miles South of Dublin ASM Clermont Auvergne welcomed the Northampton Saints to the Stade Marcelin Michelin and delivered the performance of the weekend. Clermont were utterly ruthless in their demolition of the Aviva Premiership side and they hardly stopped for breath as they ravaged the Northampton Saints. Clermont’s charge was led by their all around superior physicality, interestingly I read that prior to the game every single Clermont player had to deliver a presentation to the coaches on their role such was their focus to deliver a perfect performance. Jim Mallinder's side were shocked, their set piece was brutally dismantled and to compound the hurt Courtney Lawes and Alex Corbisiero both picked up injuries, the severity of which are yet to be confirmed. Clermont have been knocked out too many times before, they are the best side never to have won the competition and the power of their hurt fuelled their a charge. Abendanon, Nakaitaci, Fofana and Nalanga sparkled, Brock James highlighted his experience and up front their collective power was astounding. Alex Waller’s 67th minute try proved to be little consolation and bouncing back as quickly as humanly possible will be the Saints' sole focus. It was as tougher weekend as any of them will have experienced in their professional careers.
The Champions Cup Sunday Service kicked off in Paris where Racing Metro 92 hosted Saracens. From the opening exchanges it was clear that this fixture was going to be an arm wrestle between two sides that appeared well versed in the other's game plan. Racing must have wondered how Saracens went into half time a point ahead, 6-5, for the home side had the greater of the points scoring opportunities in the opening half. Racing’s hunger for the fixture was epitomised by the ground that Brice Dulin covered during his time on the field. Alongside Dulin, Maxime Machenaud was inspired and was the classic little French General as he bossed his forwards around, distributed with proficiency and sniped away. The momentum swung in Saracens’ favour around the 60 minute mark however they couldn’t pull away and make that shift manifest itself on the score board. As the teams wrestled it looked as if Mark McCall’s side were going to taste defeat, however a single Macelo Bosch penalty from 45m out rewarded their hard labour and sent them soaring through to the Semi Finals.
The final European offering was at the beautiful Stade Felix Mayol as Wasps entered the lair of the reigning Champions, RCT Toulon. It was the toughest of draws for the Premiership side that made the knockouts the hard way due to defeats in their opening two rounds however Dai Young’s side arrived determined to put their game on the park. Toulon didn’t have things all their own way, they were made to work for their victory and work harder than I believe that they thought that would have had to. Elliot Daly constantly threatened, Joe Simpson highlighted again why he should be part of England’s set up and collectively Wasps faced into the might of the Champions. Toulon’s depth and supreme rugby knowledge showed, Frederic Michalak slotted twenty of his side’s thirty two points and they delivered the result in spite of not being at full strength or in fifth gear. Ali Williams’ pull back on Elliot Daly was clear and obvious however the fact he avoided a yellow and went on to score the decisive try minutes later will hurt Young's men for a long time. Wasps’ performance turned heads, now in the aftermath of such a performance they are being wholeheartedly praised from all areas of Europe and rightly so. Dai Young's men must return to the Aviva Premiership with a spring in their step and focus on achieving a place in next year's European Competition.
