Six Nations Week 4: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good

Brian O'Driscoll winning his 100th cap for Ireland.  A truly world class player, even though he had a pretty quiet game against Wales.

Paul O'Connell's fantastic performance in the line-out and the loose.  A superb game for the ginger giant.

Tomas O'Leary.  A brilliant try-scoring performance by the Ireland scrum half.  Man of the match O'Leary was instrumental in several key plays and set up Keith Earls for his second try.

Tomas O'Leary dives in for his try

The Scottish crowd singing 'Flower of Scotland' loudly and proudly before the Calcutta Cup game against England.  The atmosphere in Murrayfield was electric right from the opening blast of by the lone bagpiper.

Andy Robinson-cam.  Watching the Scotland coach flail his arms around in exasperation whilst yelling expletives provided a few rare moments of entertainment in an otherwise uninspiring game.

Saying that, Scotland number eight and man of the match Johnnie Beattie played a strong game in attack and defence, along with his fellow back row Killer Bs, Kelly Brown and John Barclay.

Ben Foden's impact from the bench.  A breath of fresh air mixed with a steamroller.  Come on Haskell, Deacon and chums: take note of how Foden smashed towering lock Alastair Kellock out of the way when he was running from deep.  Oh and well done Johnno for hauling Armitage off and giving Foden a run.  Ben has got to start against France.  In fact: Ding ding - all change.

France's pocket rocket wing Marc Andreu, who, at 5ft 5", flew under the Italians' radar and over the whitewash.

In fact, France totally demolished Italy in their 46-20 with a classy display.  The French backline was in dazzling and fluid form, and their forwards weren't half bad either.  Scrum-half Morgan Parra, full-back and man of the match Clement Poitreneud and Imanol Harinordoquy get special mentions for their excellent performances.  Again.


The Bad

Jonny Sexon's woeful scattergun approach to goal kicking.  The Ireland fly-half had about as much accuracy as a drunk bloke blasting his pee towards a urinal.

Lee Byrne's yellow card.  Wales conceded two tries when the full-back was warming the sin bin and Byrne was decidedly below par upon his return to the field.

Wales' set piece:  Line-out: Poor.  Scrum:  Poor.

England missing tackle after tackle after tackle after tackle (repeat to fade)...

Just when they thought they were getting a bit better, Nick Mallet's Italy found themselves 40 points behind France after being clinically taken apart.  At least Italy were able to restore a degree of respectibility in the last 20 minutes, when France had already switched off and were no doubt starting to plot England's demise next weekend...

The Ugly

Dan Parks' stupid sideburns.  Who does he think he is?  Zorro?

Fancy Dan

Scrum time between Scotland and England.  Zzzzzz.  Do you enjoy watching burly forwards in tight fitting tops flopping down onto the floor?  Yeah.  And so it seems did referee Marius Jonker.  The scrums were painfully tedious to watch and it often took more than two minutes just to restart the game.  Yawn.

Ugo Monye being stretchered off.  Apparently he's OK, but it's never a nice sight seeing anyone stretchered off the field.  Still, maybe you should have a rest next weekend Ugo, and let Northampton's Chris Ashton have a go?


So there's only one week left in this year's competition.

I can't wait until next weekend's finale: France v England at the Stade de France. 

Although I bet Johnno and pals will try to make it as tedious an affair as possible.  We will see.

Six Nations Previews and Predictions: Week 3

Wales v France

Friday night’s game is a tantalising battle between Grand Slam hopefuls France and comeback Kings Wales.

Who can forget the men in red’s pulsating victory over Scotland in Cardiff in week two?

Confidence will be high in the Wales camp, but the task facing Gatland’s men this weekend is a formidable one.

The Wales coach has focussed his criticism on his back row after the last gasp win over Andy Robinson’s Scotland. With Andy Powell dropped in the wake of Golf Buggy-gate and Martyn Williams and captain Ryan Jones unusually below par, Wales’ forwards need to up their game.

Will Williams (l) and Ryan Jones (r) provide good service to Stephen Jones (c)?

Alun Wyn Jones is out after undergoing surgery on his elbow and Deiniol Jones and Bradley Williams get a chance to impress in the second row. Scrum-half Mike Phillips returns to the bench despite only playing 40 minutes of rugby in the past four months. Dwayne Peel must be left wondering if his move to Sale has scuppered his international career.

France coach Marc Lievremont will be forced to juggle his team again after injuries to Benjamin Fall, Pascal Pape and Fulgence Ouedraogo.

Both winger Fall and lock Pape suffered ankle injuries and will be replaced by Julien Malzieu and Julien Pierre respectively. Pape’s absence means Sebastien “The Caveman” Chabal comes onto the bench and Julien Bonnaire replaces Ouedraogo.

Alexis Palisson has recovered from Jerry Flannery’s can-can kick and starts on the wing.

As for the game, I think the clash between centres Mathieu Bastereaud and James Hook will be a fascinating one to watch.

The forward battle will be the key area though, and France’s powerful scrum will be a stern test for the Wales pack. Gethin Jenkins came off the bench against Scotland but doesn’t feature in the 22 to face France.

If Wales get good service from the pack they will give the flair-packed France a run for their money. However, I can’t see France slipping up at the Millennium Stadium.

My prediction: France to win by 8.


England v Ireland

It’s make or break time for England. After two lacklustre games for the men in white, Ireland will be a much sterner test.

A stuttering performance against Wales and an unimpressive win over Italy mean Martin Johnson’s team is still on for the Grand Slam. However write off Ireland at your peril. Declan Kidney’s men were taught a rugby lesson in France a fortnight ago and only a win against England will keep their championship dreams alive.

Johnson has only tinkered with his match day 22 after criticism over the team’s performance in Rome. He has stuck with (maybe not so) Super Jonny at fly-half and Ben Foden and Joe Worsley both start on the bench.

As for Ireland...  OK so a back to back Grand Slam is no longer possible for Brian O’Driscoll and chums but the Triple Crown is definitely in their sights.


Rory Best will start at hooker for Ireland after Jerry Flannery was banned after his not exactly subtle kick on Alexis Palisson.

Ireland's first choice fly half: Jonny Sexton

Wunderkind Jonny Sexton snatches the number 10 jersey from Ronan O’Gara with the Munster man relegated to the bench. Rob Kearney is out with injury and he is replaced by Leicester’s Geordan Murphy. A fit again Donnacha O’Callaghan pushes Leo Cullen to the bench.

England is hardly a dynamic force in the world of rugby at the moment, and Ireland will have been busy licking their wounds after the 33-10 hammering in France. Unless Martin Johnson and co’s strategy has undergone a total revamp in the last couple of weeks, then I expect England to kick the ball away ad infinitum which will give Ireland ample opportunity to run it back at them. And past them. And over the line.

The key battle I’ll be watching is Jonny v Jonny. Fly-half of the recent past v fly-half of the future. I wonder who will take control and pull the strings to orchestrate a win? I think it will be Jonny Jnr.

My prediction: Ireland to win by 12.


Italy v Scotland

Andy Robinson’s Scotland committed what can only be called rugby hari kari against Wales two weeks ago. Quite why Mike Blair chose to run the ball rather than boot it into touch when the clock went red only he will know. Add to that the two late sin binnings and 13-man Scotland could only watch as impish Shane Williams skipped over the line to snatch a last gasp win.

Gutting.

So what next? Well, all is not lost as this weekend they face serial wooden spoon winners Italy.

England made tough work of overcoming the Azzurri but Italy looked much more convincing than they did against Ireland. Surely Scotland have enough flair to overcome the tournament whipping boys though?

In a word: yes.

Max Evans returns for the Scots after scoring a try after coming off the bench against Wales. Hugo Southwell and Simon Danielli replace Chris Paterson and Rory Lamont and Allan Jacobsen is in for Alistair Dickinson in the front row. The Scots are looking to turn their fortunes around and end a two-game losing streak in the tournament.

Evans will hopefully take it to the Max.

Italy coach Nick Mallet has named only one change for Italy as Carlo Antonio Del Fava starts in the second row after a remarkable recovery from knee surgery.

Italy will be targeting the game against Scotland as their most realistic chance to notch up a win as Scotland are the only team they have beaten in the Six Nations.

However the Scots will be looking to turn their 70 minute performance against Wales into a full 80 minute win against Italy. If they don’t, the wooden spoon awaits…

My prediction: Scotland to win by 13.

So what do you think?  Will France march on towards a Grand Slam?

Six Nations Top Trumps: Ireland

“You never defend anything. You give back the trophy, and then you try and win it again.”

So said Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll at the Six Nations launch press conference earlier this week.
Go get 'em tiger.

Ireland remained unbeaten in 2009 and clinched last season's Six Nations Grand Slam on the way to a victory over current World Champions South Africa.  2010's Six Nations competition looks to be a little tougher for the men in green, as the big games against France and England are both on the road and away from the bubbling cauldron that is a packed Croke Park.  Despite this, Ireland are many people's favourites to win a back to Six Nations title, if not a repeat of last year's Grand Slam.

Ireland is a team packed full of world class talent, which is where they have an advantage over the other home nations.  How many of the England starting XV would make it into a World XV?  Probably none.  Wales?  3?  4?  Scotland?  Zero.  Contrast that with Ireland who have the shining stars of Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell, Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe and Jamie Heaslip: all of who are world class players and are bang in form.  Oh, and don't forget Jonny Sexton, Ireland's new rugby darling, and quite rightly so after his performances with Leinster and Ireland.  (Did you see his calm and collected last gasp drop goal to secure a home draw in the Heineken Cup quarter finals for Leinster last weekend?  Exactly).

Anyway, on to the Unofficial Top Trumps.  All categories are scored out of a maximum 100.

And here's why:

Scrum: 62/100.
A perceived area of weakness for Ireland after the internationally inexperienced Cian Healy was taught a lesson or two against Australia.  Other sides will look to target this chink in Ireland's well polished armour.

Line-Out: 81/100.
With Munster men and fellow Lions, Paul O'Connell and Donnacha O'Callaghan as targets to aim for in the line out, provided that the selected hooker (Flannery, Best or Cronin?) can hit his man, this is a set piece that should win a lot of ball for Ireland.

Attacking Flair: 79/100. 
Where do I start?  Brian O'Driscoll looks likely to be partnered with his fellow Leinster centre Gordon D'Arcy after O'Driscoll's partner from the November tests, Paddy Wallace, was included in the Ireland 'A' squad.  D'Arcy is in a purple patch of form at the moment, as is O'Driscoll, Horgan, Bowe, and Kearney (despite him looking uncharacteristically shaky under the high ball recently).  Ireland also demonstrated the ability to grind out games last year in the 20-20 draw against Australia, but their glittering back line is packed full of talent who enjoy running from deep.

Defence:  65/100.
Ireland seem to have a never say die attitude both in attack and defence.  Just please no last minute crazy challenges in the potentially Grand Slam winning game this year, eh Paddy Wallace...

Stadium:  91/100.
Croke Park.  Capacity 82,300.

Snore Factor: 23/100.
Low.  No rugby by numbers here.  Take note Johnno and chums.

Phwoargh Factor:  88/100.
Very high.  I mean, the ladies are really spoilt for choice with crinkly eyed BOD, smouldering Rob Kearney, hunky Jamie Heaslip, drop dead gorgeous David Wallace...  The list goes on and on.

Scandal Potential:  69/100. 
High.  With Stephen Ferris the current eye-gouging victim of choice, when Ireland take on France at the Stade de France on 13 February there could be an anti-ban backlash from the French crowd after the 70 week ban of Stade Francais' David Attoub and the 23 week ban of Julien Dupuy.  Quelle horreur.

As for the final standings:

Last season: 1st with the Grand Slam
Prediction for this season: 1st but with no Grand Slam.  I tip them for the Triple Crown though.

The Boks Least Favourite Meal

is Irish pea soup:

Mmm, tasty

Ireland 15 - 10 South Africa
Ireland vs South Africa at Croke Park was heralded as one of the more mouthwatering fixtures of the Autumn International calendar, and so it proved.  However the South African's palates weren't quite prepared to sample the traditional Irish pea-souper that welcomed them to the home of Gaelic sport.

South Africa's stand-off Morne Steyn seemed perplexed as to why his long range kicks failed to fight their way through the thick Dublin air and repeatedly fell short.  It's not quite the same as banging them over from 70 metres in South Africa's high veldt, eh Morne?

Luckily for Ireland, Steyn's opposite number Jonny Sexton lived up to his hype and tucked in to score all of Ireland's 15 points.

Jonny be very good

I enjoyed this game and it was definitely one of the better outings of the November internationals.

Ireland started off a bit wonky in the scrum with the might of the Boks powering them backwards, and the Saffas had pretty much all of the territory for the first quarter.  Ireland fought back to regain their grip on the territory battle, their line out functioned well, and fortunately we didn't have much in the line of aimless kicking to endure.  This was probably a good thing, as the swirling fog that rested over the top of Croke Park like a frothy head on a pint of Guinness made it difficult to pick out any balls that were sent into orbit.  Not that it was a problem for Man of the Match Rob Kearney who had another storming performance at fullback.

The only try of the game came when Mr. Popular (aka Schalk Burger) burst through the Irish defence to score.  Unsurprisingly he was greeted with boos from the partisan Croke Park crowd when he booted the ball into the stand.  Well, really Schalk - what did you expect?

So Ireland end 2009 unbeaten having claimed the scalp of the World and Tri-Nations champions.  Not a bad effort at all, even if the manky Dublin weather did turn out for them as the 16th man.

Ireland for the World Cup in 2011?  It's looking increasingly likely at this rate.

Good Times / Bad Times

Another week of rugby, another pack of winners and losers...



Good Times...

England Women
Catherine Spencer's England beat the New Zealand Black Ferns for the first time since 2001 at Twickenham last Saturday and therefore drew the two match series.  Brilliant for everyone involved and great preparation for the 2010 World Cup - oh, and they did much better than their male counterparts.

On top at Twickenham

Scotland's defence
Scotland 9 - 8 Australia, a result which ended Scotland's 27 year losing streak against the Green and Golds.  Scotland's commitment in defence (along with a bit of luck and help from the weather) secured them the win.  Congratulations to the Jocks - you managed a humiliation much greater than the one Ireland dished out a week earlier and a victory that the ramshackle England team can only dream of.

Jonny Sexton
A man of the match performance for Ronan O'Gara's main competition against Fiji with 100% kicking success. 
News just in:  Sexton has been picked to start at number 10 against South Africa on Saturday with O'Gara relegated to the bench.  Congratulations Jonny, well deserved.

10 out of 10

Dan Carter
Off colour against England but Dan deserves a mention as he kicked his way into the record books by overtaking Andrew Mehrtons as New Zealand's top points scorer of all time.  And he's my favourite.

Lewis Moody
The only real shining light in a depressing trio of games for England.  Step aside Steve Borthwick - is the passionate yet eloquent 'Mad Dog' a future England captain?

Woof

Wales
A loss against New Zealand, a slightly unconvincing win against Samoa but three tries scored against Argentina in their 33-16 victory.  Wales face Australia on Saturday and no doubt hope to pick up where Scotland left off.  It seems they are warming up nicely for the 6 nations


Bad Times...

England's Men
What have we learned at the conclusion of England's November tests?  Not much, except that our second string team isn't particularly great.  Strange selections meant that the opportunities to test drive young talent (Lawes and a 'livid' Foden) were missed, and I fear that that next year's November tests will be too late for experimentation with the 2011 World Cup just around the corner.

Matt Giteau
The big miss of the week.  Congratulations again to Scotland.

Oops.

John Smit
Is the South Africa captain showing weaknesses at number 1?  Is he still the feared prop after the Boks' scrum suffered against Italy?  Has he slipped back to number 2 and will he start at hooker against Ireland?

Leeds Carnegie
Finally, my beloved Leeds let a 17-3 lead slip against Sale on Sunday.  A win would have lifted them from the bottom of the Guinness Premiership table but alas is wasn't to be.  Boo.

Squad Switcheroo

So it's time for the obligatory squad shake-ups before the next round of autumn international test matches. 

Whilst the Scotland team that will face Australia is unchanged from the side that got the better of Fiji in a dour encounter last weekend, Martin Johnson is getting good use of the revolving door that he had especially fitted in the home changing room at Twickenham prior to the start of this test series. 

Across the Irish sea there are a few changes in the Ireland starting fifteen, and over in Cardiff, the Wales side that narrowly lost to New Zealand is fully reformed like a slab of Spam after a week's break - well, with one new ingredient, and hopefully a little bit more meat than they showed against Samoa.

So who's in and who's out?

England

IN: 
Simon Shaw (lock), Mathew Tait (full back/wing/centre)

OUT: 
Andy Goode (part time fly-half/full time hair model), Courtney Lawes (lock)

RELEASED: 
Ben Foden (full back), Jordan Crane (number 8), George Chuter (hooker), Steffon Armitage (flanker), Ben Kay (lock), Paul Sackey (wing), Richard Wigglesworth (scrum half), David Flatman (prop)

Interesting. 
Andy Goode is going back to Brive.  See ya.
Monye hasn't been released, so is he going to switch to the wing so that either Cueto or Tait can start at full back?  With Steve Borthwick stubbornly clutching on to the captaincy and therefore guaranteeing his place in the side, it looks like Lions hero, man-mountain and the old experienced hands of Simon Shaw might push Louis Deacon on to the bench, which can only be a good thing.

All will be revealed at 12pm GMT tomorrow...


Ireland

IN:
Jonny Sexton (fly-half), Eoin Reddan (scrum half), Gordon D'Arcy (centre), Keith Earls (wing), Shane Horgan (wing), Tom Court (loosehead), Leo Cullen (lock), Denis Leamy (flanker)
New Replacements: Sean Cronin (hooker), Sean O'Brian (flanker).

OUT:
Tommy Bowe (wing), Ronan O'Gara (fly-half), Luke Fitzgerald (wing, injured), David Wallace (flanker), Cian Healy (loosehead, injured)

Hurrah!  The pretender to the O'Gara throne, Leinster's young gun Jonny Sexton is winning his first cap for Ireland.  I like Jonny Sexton a lot.  Last year he demonstrated a cool presence on the pitch in the pressurized environment of the Heineken Cup after playing second fiddle to Felipe Contepomi for such a long time, and he has shown the world that he has a calm head on his young shoulders.  Also, I like him because he looks quite sweet and a bit like an oversized toddler.  Bless.

Mansize toddler: Jonny Sexton (on the left)

Along with Jonny, the two Seans on the bench are also uncapped with Declan Kidney keen to give a few more young guns a shot against Fiji at Dublin's RDS.


Wales

IN:
Jonathan Davies (centre), Shane Williams (wing), Matthew Rees (hooker), Stephen Jones (fly-half), Martyn Williams (flanker), Gareth Cooper (scrum half),
New replacements: Andrew Bishop (centre), Dan Lydiate (flanker)

OUT:
Tom Shanklin (centre, injured), Martin Roberts (scrum half), Dan Biggar (fly-half), Dan Warburton (flanker),

Big news for Wales is that Jonathan Davies is BACK.

Soft focus really takes off the years

No, not that Jonathan Davies. 

21 year old Jonathan Davies plays in the centre (for the Scarlets) and not at fly-half like his legendary bouffant-haired namesake.  This weekend the new Jonathan Davies will make his first start at the Millennium stadium after impressing when he replaced injured Tom Shanklin off the bench in the game against Samoa last weekend.


Scotland

IN:
No-one.

OUT:
No-one.

Nice bit of consistency there Mr Robinson.  Good luck against Australia though.

Any excuse to include a picture of curly-haired Scotland captain, Chris Cusiter

What do I think?

It's good to see that Wales and Ireland are willing to give some of their hot up and coming talent some time on the pitch - unlike England. 

As much as I welcome the return of Simon Shaw and Mathew Tait into the England squad I'm still disappointed that Lawes and Foden have both been sent back to Northampton.  What was the point in hyping up Lawes so much if it was only in the mythical (and possibly non-existent) game plan for him to play approximately ten seconds of rugby in the two games where he was selected? 

With Monye hopefully not being allowed to continue pleasuring us with his erratic displays at full back and being switched to the wing (where he can ably demonstrate his sole skill of running fast in a straight line), Tait can step in to add some composure and threat from deep and Banahan can be relegated to the bench where he can hone his sprinting skills and try to out run an IKEA wardrobe for the first time in his life.

My predictions for this weekend?

New Zealand to beat England by 30 points.  At least.
Ireland to beat Fiji by 20 points.
Wales to beat Argentina by 10 points.
Australia to beat Scotland by about 1000 points.

Place your bets.

A Round of Missed Opportunites

This year's Heineken Cup Round 2 has to go down as one of the tightest in recent years, and whilst my predictions weren't too far off, certain teams have got to feel like they've really missed an opportunity to stamp their authority on the competition.

First up was Sale vs Cardiff Blues, and even though I thought this would be a closely run encounter I didn't see it going right down to the wire and finishing 27-26. The harsh sin-binning of Cardiff's resident Whitesnake impersonator Andy Powell saw Sale amass a quick 14 points and a lead that remained one point too many for the Blues to conquer.

Elsewhere Northampton fell short at a reinvigorated Perpignan, with the French team bouncing back from a shock defeat in the rain soaked opening round against Treviso. I really thought Northampton might pull a surprise victory out of the bag in the south of France but it wasn't to be. The only souvenir they took away from a bruising visit to the one time home of the luscious Dan Carter was a severe crack of whiplash for the suitably D'Artagnan-bearded Ben Foden, when he was unceremoniously dumped on his arse by the human bulldozer that is Henry Tuilagi. If you missed this expert demolition using an illegal shoulder charge then you can view it again here:

Ouch.

Yesterday I watched the Brive vs Leinster game which was a penalty strewn and scrappy affair saved only by the dynamic running of Leinster hot bod Rob Kearney to score the opening try, quick hands from Brian O'Driscoll, and an excellent performance from man of the match Kevin McLauglin. Another almost faultless performance from Jonny Sexton will undoubtedly have Ronan O'Gara reaching for the Horlicks to try and avoid many sleepless nights in the run up to the autumn internationals: If ever there was an international number 10 in waiting then Jonny Sexton is the man.

That aside, Leinster will be disappointed not to come away from France with a winning bonus point, especially against a Brive side that didn't offer too much other than constant indiscipline. Still, at least this provided a quick burst of handbag waving entertainment to liven up the end of this rather uninspiring game, when Brian O'Driscoll and Andy "Timotei" Goode indulged the crowd with a gentle slapping competition. Maybe Andy is just jealous of Brian's superior hairline?

Away from France, London Irish will be left to rue a missed chance thanks to a last gasp penalty for the Scarlets courtesy of Sesame Street's Count (aka Stephen Jones). This game finished up 25-27 with London Irish undoing all their good work with an away win away at Champions Leinster last round. Oh well, serves you right for beating my favourite Irish team.

Stephen Jones is the man counting the win

Tonight, the Harlequins and Bath players will probably all be at home swigging bottles of gin whilst they freeze their nads off in ice baths after both teams lost their second pool game of the tournament. This pair of losing performances pretty much ends their chances of progressing to the next round, which is a shame as both sides were comfortably leading this weekend's games at half time before they both committed Heineken Cup hara-kiri.

The final team who really missed a chance to press home their advantage in the competition was Clermont Auvergne who lost 25-24 at the Ospreys. I really wish I'd watched this game, as despite leading 22-3 at half time, the Ospreys almost threw it away to a resurgent Clermont side. Unfortunately for all the Welsh ladies out there, Mike Phillips hobbled off with a foot injury just before half time, which means that the much less attractive Dwayne Peel might get a shout for the international games next month. Never mind, I'm sure he has some fans out there - probably the same ones that fancy his twin brother: Emmerdale's Andy Sugden.

Finally (and most importantly) this afternoon I witnessed the rare event that is a bonus point victory for Leeds Carnegie. In a game littered with the usual smorgasbord of Leeds handling errors which included several passes flying into touch or being fumbled to the floor, Leeds out muscled a rotund Parma side and secured the bonus point with just over ten minutes of the game remaining.

As the scoring opportunities went begging in the first half I did wonder if Leeds were lacking the killer instinct and would be able to punish the Italian side who looked like they'd spent far too much time woofing pizza then doing bench-presses at the gym. Happily, for every mistake Leeds made Parma made two, which allowed a much changed Leeds side to press home for victory and rack up the points in the second half. Leeds ended the game with an impressive scoreline of 37-13 but they are certainly going to have to raise their performance and banish the sloppy guiseppe style mistakes before next Sunday when they take a trip down the M1 to top of the table Saracens. If they don't tighten up I can't see anything happening apart from a ritual humiliation in front of the Vicarage Road faithful.

Anyway, let's see how my predictions fared against the results this weekend:

(Correct predictions highlighted in bold)

Newport-Gwent D'gons 22-14 Glasgow
Perpignan 29-13 Northampton
Sale 27-26 Cardiff Blues
Biarritz 42-15 Gloucester
Brive 13-36 Leinster
Edinburgh 17-13 Ulster
Harlequins 19-23 Toulouse
London Irish 25-27 Scarlets
Munster 41-10 Treviso
Viadana 11-46 Leicester
Bath 27-29 Stade Francais
Ospreys 25-24 Clermont Auvergne

Not too shabby at all as I only missed out on two correct predictions. I'm really rather pleased with myself!

Anyway, that's all for now. A review of the eagerly anticipated Lions 2009: Living with the Pride DVD is coming soon...