The 2021/2022 Champions League will open this weekend, of course, some aspects deserve more detailed study.
Since the end of the international game in November, the main topic of Irish rugby has been Munster's South African Covid-19 legend. If you want to learn more about this, you can read our article last week. For now, the current situation is that Munster has promised to send a 23-man team to face the Hornets on Sunday, even though this has seriously exhausted their overall lineup.
Thirty-four players and staff are in quarantine in Ireland, while 14 people who have tested positive are still in quarantine in South Africa. The remaining senior team members who have not traveled are currently training with members of the Munster National Talent Team and the Provincial Talent Team. ERC also announced new measures to help ease the pressure on Munster, Cardiff and Scarlets. They are allowed to add new players to their Champions League roster, and the deadline for registering any new members is December 7. There is no doubt that Munster will seek help from their college and AIL.
Sadly, due to insufficient numbers, Scarlets was forced to abandon the match against Bristol. Of the frontline players they have traveled to South Africa, 32 have been quarantined in Belfast, and only 14 were available on Saturday. The isolation will end on Friday, but due to player welfare reasons, Scarlets decided to hand over the points to Bristol. Scarlets’ plight was met with strong opposition on Twitter. Fans and authority figures pointed out that EPCR failed to come up with a solution that did not involve punishing the team simply for following the Covid guidelines.
Feel the scarlet. They absolutely did nothing wrong, but they were still effectively punished for things beyond their control. EPCR has other options; this is not the intent of the Covid regulations to deal with camp infections. #YmaOHyd.
After the test in Ireland in November, the trip to South Africa in Münster came soon, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Many of their Irish task forces were allowed to rest for a period of time, allowing the province to have a strong core of players against the Hornets. Peter O'Mahony, Tadhg Beirne, Keith Earl, Andrew Conway, Joey Carbery, Damian De Allande and Conor Murray are all available.
In the past ten years, the Hornets have been relatively weak in the Champions League, which seems unlikely to change. Considering that Munster is almost always delivered when their backs are against a European wall, I will support them when they come back from Coventry.
The Cardiff Blues are in a similar situation to their URC opponents. There were no 28 players and 14 staff in the home game against Toulouse on Saturday.
On Monday, the "Irish Independent" reported that Munster's head coach John Van Grain was involved in the transfer to Bath Rugby. This is after it was announced last month that Munster's guard coach Stephen Rackham will return to Bruby after the season. However, whether this will benefit Munster remains to be seen. So far, van Graan's tenure has been unremarkable and has barely grown since Rassie Erasmus left.
Van Graen is one of the currently isolated staff, and Munster College head coach Ian Costello has been responsible for the training of the senior team. This begs the question, under the leadership of the new coach, will Munster's performance against the Hornets affect their willingness to keep Van Geland?
It also increased interest in other Champions League schedules. Leinster will face Bath on Saturday, let us look at the potential new side of Van Graen. Bass is currently ranked last in the Gallagher Premier League, with a zero win and a very low position behind the next best Bristol Bears. If Van Graen leaves, it will also trigger speculation about who will succeed him, which will undoubtedly lead to the names of Ronan Ogala and Mike Prendergast being talked about. Ogala's La Rochelle faces the Glasgow Warriors on Sunday, and Prendergast's Racing 92 faces Northampton on Friday.
The defending champion Toulouse will win this year's Champions League, while Leinster, horse racing and La Rochelle will become the favorite teams to win the championship. Clermont can always guarantee a strong performance in Europe, and the resurgent Leicester will undoubtedly seek to return itself to the commercial side of the tournament with such a long history. Munster, Exeter and Ulster will have the idea of the knockout stage, but if they can get there, they are unlikely to surpass the top four.
Injuries are a key factor in the late 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League, hindering the defeat of Racing and Leinster in their quarterfinals and semifinals. They are likely to play a role with home field advantage next year. If Toulouse and Leinster can avoid these obstacles and avoid each other, then next year's meeting at the Marseille Stadium is likely to become a reality.
Obviously, Roman Ntamac will be the first choice for most fans who want to see the ball in Europe this season. Fragments of his bold breakthrough to the All Blacks have been seen around the world and consolidated his position as the most exciting young central defender in world rugby. It also helps to play outside of his maverick criminal partner and World Player of the Year nominee Antoine DuPont.
The 21-year-old guard Freddie Steward had a near perfect start in his international career, becoming one of the outstanding players next to Eddie Jones. He brought the confident Leicester team into the Champions League this season, and they will at least focus on the semi-finals.
Ronan Kelleher and Dan Sheehan. The two Leinster and Irish prostitutes are difficult to separate at the moment. They all have very similar skill sets, crisp hands, explosive running ability and speed. Of course, Kelleher is the one who owns the jersey, but Sheehan’s battle to take off the jersey will be a fascinating watch.
prostitute? What prostitute? 🔥#URC | #LEICON | @LeinsterRugby pic.twitter.com/zQaSb8ehOb
-United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) December 3, 2021
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