Européen cup

[tigran]

Great game between Munster and Toulouse

[francoisfou]

Great game between Munster and Toulouse

Magnifique!!

[morepork]

I watched the La Rochelle Gloucester. LR look really smooth when they are humming and I love the way they look to play.

[tigran]

I watched the La Rochelle Gloucester. LR look really smooth when they are humming and I love the way they look to play.

haven't watched it, did you watch Munster/ Toulouse ?

[tigran]

Great game between Munster and Toulouse

Magnifique!!

First or second time Munster lose at home ?

[morepork]

I watched the La Rochelle Gloucester. LR look really smooth when they are humming and I love the way they look to play.

haven't watched it, did you watch Munster/ Toulouse ?

Most of it, yeah. Munster rugby generally makes my eyes bleed and leaves me depressed, so it was good to see them beaten (even if it was damn close).

[francoisfou]

Great game between Munster and Toulouse

Magnifique!!

First or second time Munster lose at home ?

Second, I think, in the European cup. They were beaten by Leicester several years ago.

[tigran]

Five french teams in the quarter, it's à record I guess

[tigran]

Quite pleasant to see another all french final along with the resurgence of the national team, let's hope it's a craking final.

[Mr Mwenda]

Quite pleasant to see another all french final along with the resurgence of the national team, let's hope it's a craking final.

I don't think it's coincidence. Likewise, England and the Premiership's concomitant decline. I suspect that Exeter benefited rather from the strangeness of the previous season as well...

Allez La Rochelle!

[Digby]

France has finally started to take note of stuff that's happened outside of France. Both with French coaches who've worked outside of France as players/coaches and with coaches coming from outside finally having some of their thinking resonate beyond the 250 training sessions they take before moving on. Always seems a bit anticlimactic however to get both finalists from the same country, it ceases to be a European event when that happens.

Not sure the English premiership is in decline, partly I'm not sure when it was in ascendancy, but also with Brizzle, Exeter and Sarries leading the way, and Saints, Tigers, Sale and maybe Wasps to push them on things are if anything improving. The rest, well the rest is a bit of a mess granted, Quins look pretty good in fairness but I'm not buying it's sustainable because they never have sustained anything

[Mr Mwenda]

Not sure the English premiership is in decline, partly I'm not sure when it was in ascendancy, but also with Brizzle, Exeter and Sarries leading the way, and Saints, Tigers, Sale and maybe Wasps to push them on things are if anything improving. The rest, well the rest is a bit of a mess granted, Quins look pretty good in fairness but I'm not buying it's sustainable because they never have sustained anything

The Premiership as a whole is largely the same. I guess what I mean is that the standard bearers are not dominating Europe as they were the previous few years. The loss of Sarries has done a lot of damage. Maybe they'll pick up but it seems to be a regression to the previous decade where the majority of the English clubs were also rans.

[Digby]

Perhaps, having won 4 out of 5 it's likely there's only one way to go

[Mr Mwenda]

Going from winning to not being at the races is a bigger fall than expected, mind. Leinster manage to be at least semi-final quality every year it seems.

[Digby]

Leinster have been recent 4th place group finishers and quarter finalists. But yes they are hugely successful and credit to them.

[switchskier]

Anyone watching the final? Finding this quite a frustrating game to watch.

[francoisfou]

Not much flowing rugby but compulsive viewing. We’ll probably see these two again in the Top14 final. As an aside, former Wasp Thibault Flament came off the bench for Toulouse.

[switchskier]

Good second half. Felt that Tolouse won it without ever hitting top gear and playing with fluidity. La Rochelle are very direct but it works for them. Their centre is going to be a popular guy in the dressing room

[paddy no 11]

La Rochelle pissed that away

[tigran]

Seems that Toulouse can't lose against a french team in a european final.. They have recovered in europe their leadership with that Fifth victory, wich confirms they have been doing something right the last thirty years...

I hope the young Toulousains will bring that experience with the french team..

On another note, it's definitely not the same when the opposition is french vs french...A lot les exciting, and it always seem to freeze also the players.