It’s that time of year again where the top teams in Europe are gearing up for the premier Northern Hemisphere club tournament, the European Rugby Champions Cup. There are a couple of fantasy games this year at SuperBru and on the official EPCR site. So this week we take a look to see who the expected top performers are likely to be…
The front-runners
Looking at the bookies odds, Saracens are the favourites, in fact they are comfortable favourites, priced up at significantly shorter odds than the rest of the chasing pack. This is despite them being placed in the same group as traditional European powerhouses Clermont-Auvergne. Both sides should be expected to progress to the knockout stage, with Clermont being utterly dominant at home and hopelessly out of form Ospreys being the collateral damage in Sarries and Clermont’s path. Elsewhere Toulon have had a favourable draw and will be expected to progress comfortably and be in contention in the knockout stage. Leinster will be looking to be in contention and to continue their long and impressive European heritage, however they find themselves in the “group of death” against Prem champions Exeter; the only unbeaten side in all of Europe’s top leagues, Glasgow; and many people’s picks as dark horses (us included) Montpellier, who with the human wrecking ball Nemani Nadolo in tow, should reek havoc.
Teams to dominate the group stage
If the start of the Aviva Premiership, Top 14 and Pro 14 is anything to go by, there will be some extremely cagey affairs this year…
So, what do you think?!
Which pool catches the eye?#ChampionsCupDraw pic.twitter.com/NzjZ1JfXPi
— Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) June 8, 2017
Looking at the groups, there aren’t too many obvious opportunities for teams to run riot, however, one place that stands out would be Pool 5, where rank outsiders Benetton Treviso face up against Pro 14 champs Scarlets, the galacticos of Toulon and the freescoring Bath. Make sure that you have some coverage of those teams whenever they line up against Treviso, as that will be as close as you will get for free points. Pool 2 should be a procession for Saracens and Clermont, especially when they shape up against Ospreys. La Rochelle have impressed many over the last 18 months and should take the spoils in Pool 1, while Munster should lead the charge in Pool 4, particularly when they welcome a Castres side who have started the Top 14 season struggling for form.
Players to watch
FRONT ROW
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Jamie George/Schalk Brits (Saracens)
Ken Owens (Scarlets)
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)
Ellis Genge (Leicester)
Jack McGrath (Leinster)
Guilhem Guirado (Toulon)
Marcel Van Der Merwe (Toulon)
LOCKS
Flip Van Der Merwe (Clermont)
Ian Henderson (Ulster)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton)
Leone Nakawara (Racing)
Don Armand (Exeter)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Jonny Gray (Glasgow)
BACK ROW
CJ Stander (Munster)
Sam Simmonds (Exeter)
Taulupe Faletau (Bath)
Louis Picamoles (Montpellier)
Dwayne Vermeulen (Toulon)
Victor Vito (La Rochelle)
Tadhg Beirne (Scarlets)
SCRUM-HALF
Tawera Kerr-Barlow (La Rochelle)
Conor Murray (Munster)
Ruan Pienaar (Montpellier)
Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Toulon)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets)
FLY HALF
Rhys Priestland (Bath)
Aaron Cruden (Montpellier)
Anthony Belleau (Toulon)
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets)
Alex Lozowski/Owen Farrell (Saracens)
CENTRES
Keith Earls (Munster)
Jonathan Davies (Scarlets)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath)
Francois Steyn (Montpellier)
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster)
Malakai Fekitoa (Toulon)
OUTSIDE BACKS
Liam Williams (Saracens)
Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath)
Nemani Nadolo (Montpellier)
Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets)
Chris Ashton (Toulon)
Anthony Watson (Bath)
Steff Evans (Scarlets)
The Games
This year, there looks to be two fantasy games live for the Champions Cup. One that has been running for a number of years at SuperBru and and this year a new game will be launching on the official EPCR site and is expected to go live any minute now.
As always, we have set up a Fantasy Rugby Geek league which for SuperBru can be found here, feel free to join and share. We will confirm the details for the Official game in due course.
Resources
Looking for resources, news & stats to give your team the edge? Please check out our resources guide here.
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