The Amlin Challenge Cup returns this evening as a prelude to a busy Heineken Cup weekend, and here are my SportGuru predictions for this round of games.
Whilst it looks there could be a couple of one-sided affairs as usual, one or two fixtures catch the eye where the mouse was hovering a little longer than usual before backing a team.
Exeter v Newcastle is a tricky one, as the Chiefs are concentrating on survival in the Premiership rather than Europe, but then perhaps the Falcons will be doing the same. There haven’t been many winners at Sandy Park this season, so for that reason I’ve gone for a home win.
La Rochelle v Gloucester and Harlequins v Connacht are also tricky picks, but here are my best efforts for all the games:
Montpellier v Bourgoin: Montpellier by 17
Bucuresti Oaks v Stade Francais Paris: Stade Francais Paris by 27
Rugby Rovigo v SU Agen: SU Agen by 23
Petrarca Padova v El Salvador: Petrarca Padova by 18
Exeter Chiefs v Newcastle Falcons: Exeter Chiefs by 8
La Rochelle v Gloucester Rugby: Gloucester Rugby by 9
Brive v Sale Sharks: Brive by 13
Leeds Carnegie v Crociati Rugby: Leeds Carnegie by 13
Harlequins v Connacht Rugby: Harlequins by 8
Bayonne v I Cavalieri Estra: Bayonne by 18
As you know by now, we are hilarious, and you should be following us on Facebook and Twitter. 
I’d LOVE to see the Connacht lads steal a win from the Stoop, but I just can’t see it happening. We’ve already seen that they’ve found it difficult to continue their fast start to the season, and that they’ve lost all their close games. They’re an improving team, and have some great players (Carr needs to be given a run by Kidney soon) but Harlequins at home will have too much.
Montpellier v Bourgoin: Montpellier by 13
Bucuresti Oaks v Stade Francais Paris: Stade Francais Paris by 34
Rugby Rovigo v SU Agen: SU Agen by 7
Petrarca Padova v El Salvador: Petrarca Padova by 25
Exeter Chiefs v Newcastle Falcons: Exeter Chiefs by 5
La Rochelle v Gloucester Rugby: Gloucester Rugby by 3
Brive v Sale Sharks: Brive by 16
Leeds Carnegie v Crociati Rugby: Leeds Carnegie by 20
Harlequins v Connacht Rugby: Harlequins by 11
Bayonne v I Cavalieri Estra: Bayonne by 18
It’s nice to see Leeds being tipped to win by such a nice margin! ;-)