Hot on the heels of our unscientific, based-entirely-on-gut-feeling preview of pools one, two and three, welcome to our similarly unscientific look at the remaining pools. Enjoy!
POOL 4
Teams: Bath Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier, Toulouse
Ones to watch: Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath), Josh Strauss (Glasgow), Rene Ranger (Montpellier), Yacouba Camara (Toulouse)
Easy games in this pool will be few and far between, and predicting who will go through looks pretty difficult. Bath have started the season strongly in the Premiership and look better equipped than ever to make a charge into the knockout stages, and will be keenly egged on by new-look-Europe’s number one cheerleader Bruce Craig. They have an alarmingly good set of backs, even before Sam Burgess is added, while the pack had looked good until it took a pasting at the weekend from Wasps (yes, you read that correctly).
Glasgow are far from the European whipping boys they used to be. A maiden appearance in the PRO12 final last season confirmed them as one of the league’s best teams, and the way they’ve started this year has only consolidated that status. Whether they have the depth to sustain a European charge, however, is open to interpretation.
And then we come to the French. Toulouse have far more history in European competitions than anyone else in this group, the biggest budget in the competition and a squad packed with superstar names. And yet they have lost a significant amount of their aura. They’ve never been good on the road, but could usually count on a fearsome reputation at the Stade Ernest Wallon to see them through – not so any more, as Connacht proved last year.
Montpellier, however, are looking dangerous. The loss of François Trinh-Duc to injury for three months is a crushing blow, but elsewhere they look strong. They have two away wins under their belt already in the Top 14 – including an eye-catching result against Clermont at the Marcel Michelin – and look the more likely of the two French sides to progress.
Trinh-Duc’s long-term injury means Bath look like they have the best chance of winning the pool at the moment, especially if they get off to winning start in Glasgow this weekend. To be honest, though, all four teams in this pool are so closely-matched that it’s difficult to see more than one side emerging from it.
To qualify for knockouts: Bath (pool winners)
POOL 5
Teams: Benetton Treviso, Northampton Saints, Ospreys, Racing Métro
Ones to watch: Michele Campagnaro (Treviso), Samu Manoa (Northampton), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Alexandre Dumoulin (Racing)
Were it not for the presence of Treviso, this would be one of the more difficult pools. As it is, the inclusion of an Italian side always makes the pool easier, and given the utterly dire start to the season Treviso have had, after their player exodus over the summer, it is even more so.
Northampton Saints look in pole position to take command of the pool, despite a tricky first round away trip to Racing Métro. The English champions have sped out of the blocks in the Premiership and seem to have picked up exactly where they left off last season, playing an efficient power game at a high tempo.
Racing Métro, for all their money and swagger, always seem to underwhelm, and never more so than in Europe. They’ve been splashed across the news this week after rumours broke of their three Welsh stars heading home, but in all honesty they’ve barely been playing for them this season. They have the quality but do they have the mentality to win in hostile atmospheres at Franklin’s Gardens and the Liberty Stadium?
The Ospreys could be the dark horses in this pool. They’ve confounded pre-season critics with a blistering start to the domestic season, playing sensible rugby orchestrated by Dan Bigger. In Rhys Webb they have one of the form players in Europe right now, and it’s great to see Eli Walker injury free and tearing up the wide spaces again. They should not be taken lightly.
Saints shouldn’t have too much trouble coming out of this pool – they’ve escaped much tougher ones. Of the Ospreys and Racing, I’m backing the Welshmen to follow the Saints out of the pool with the French side’s flakiness on the road counting them out again.
To qualify for knockouts: Northampton (pool winners), Ospreys
PREDICTED QUARTER-FINALS
Northampton Saints vs Bath Rugby
Leinster Rugby vs Clermont Auvergne
Toulon vs Ospreys
Saracens vs Ulster
What do you make of our predicted quarter-finals? Do you see it going differently?
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
As you know by now, we are hilarious, and you should be following us on Facebook and Twitter. 
Not sure Racing Metro will have to worry about winning at the Rec, what with them not having Bath in their group….
The question remains, though, could they win at the Rec? (Amended)
haha good save! Obviously your point had nothing to do with the group, you were just wondering if they could…
You haven’t taken our (Bath’s) current back row crisis into account.
We’re currently missing our first and second-choice 6s and 7s (Garvey, Fa’osiliva, Louw and Fearns), and our first-choice 8 (Houston) has been slapped with a 3-week ban.
The result of this is on Saturday we will be playing an academy player at 6 (Sisi), Mercer at 7 (who admittedly has had a good season), and probably a lock at 8 – with no back row cover on the bench…
Mm, good point Geat, although I’d say Sisi is more of an established squad member who’s just struggled with injuries in the last couple of years, than an academy man, these days.
I wasn’t actually aware Fa’osiliva was injured too. Banahan could probably do a job at eight – he’s big enough and started his career in the row, apparently.
If you end up falling to Glasgow this weekend that game against Toulouse in R2 becomes a real humdinger!
True enough about Sisi, but he’s only been capped twice from the bench in the Aviva (the rest of his outings, and there haven’t been many, have been in the LV= or for Bath United). He’s a real prospect though, and I hope he takes this opportunity with both hands!
Banners was indeed a lock, and if you’d suggested that a few years ago I would have agreed. He seems to have been a bit off the boil recently, though, and as a Number 8’s job is ball retention or receiving the ball in close-quarters before going into contact, I’m just not sure I’d trust his handling as things stand.
Unfortunately, we’ll have no returnees in time for the round 2 game, none of them are due back until December…
Sisi can play 8 too? What about Will Skuse? He’s had a few games in the first team, although I realise he’s not who you want lining up to start your European campaign.
Hooper used to dabble at 6 so he could play there i guess.
Didn’t know the injury crisis was so bad! Eurgh, theyll have to play to their max to take any result out of those two games
As Skuse hasn’t played for United in a while, I have to assume he’s injured. Bath don’t keep us updated on injuries, so it’s hard to know for sure unless you have contacts,
I’ve seen Hooper at 6 mentioned a few times so that may well happen, with Sisi at 8 and Day coming into the second row. That approach would at least increase the amount of experience out on the field.
On the plus side, the rest of the team should be first-choice, So IF the rest of the pack can secure quality ball for the backs…
It’s insane that you dismiss like that Toulouse. I watched last weekend Toulouse crushed Toulon, and those guys know their rugby, and an injured beast is a dangerous one