HC QF & SF Draw
24/01/10 22:06 Filed in: Sport
Munster’s reward for
topping the seedings after the Pool stages of the
Heineken Cup is to be drawn against the last team
they played against in the competition -
Northampton. This had become evident by Saturday
afternoon as the action around the grounds
unfolded. If memory serves me correctly, this is
the first time this has happened for Munster.
Northampton are the only Guinness Premiership team left in the competition, and you can be sure that Sky Sports will be bigging them up come quarter-final day. Sky always try to put forward the impression that they are impartial, but whenever a Premiership team is in the hunt, particularly one with a smattering of young English internationals, the mask slips. Barnes and Harrison were painful to listen to on Friday night. In their eyes, Shane Geraghty was running the show, when in fact he was having a mare.
I think it’s good to have tough opposition in the quarters, because if Munster can get past a difficult opponent at that point, they get momentum for the next two games. Last year, they slaughtered a poor Ospreys at Thomond in the quarter finals, and then got done over by Leinster in the semis - a team they had beaten twice in the Magners League earlier in the season.
If we get past Northampton, then an away semi final awaits, against either Biarritz or the Ospreys.
Leinster will entertain Clermont Auvergne at home in the quarters and if they get through that, they will be on the road to France for the semi against either Toulouse or Stade. Which opens up the possibility of an All-Ireland Final in Paris, the first one to be played offshore since Cavan bate Kerry in New York in ’47.
Northampton are the only Guinness Premiership team left in the competition, and you can be sure that Sky Sports will be bigging them up come quarter-final day. Sky always try to put forward the impression that they are impartial, but whenever a Premiership team is in the hunt, particularly one with a smattering of young English internationals, the mask slips. Barnes and Harrison were painful to listen to on Friday night. In their eyes, Shane Geraghty was running the show, when in fact he was having a mare.
I think it’s good to have tough opposition in the quarters, because if Munster can get past a difficult opponent at that point, they get momentum for the next two games. Last year, they slaughtered a poor Ospreys at Thomond in the quarter finals, and then got done over by Leinster in the semis - a team they had beaten twice in the Magners League earlier in the season.
If we get past Northampton, then an away semi final awaits, against either Biarritz or the Ospreys.
Leinster will entertain Clermont Auvergne at home in the quarters and if they get through that, they will be on the road to France for the semi against either Toulouse or Stade. Which opens up the possibility of an All-Ireland Final in Paris, the first one to be played offshore since Cavan bate Kerry in New York in ’47.