Heineken Cup 2012/2013: Week 2 Review

With another exciting round of Heineken Cup rugby in the books, we are beginning to get a picture of how the groups will pan out and who the real title contenders are.

Week 2 is all about cementing a team's position in the group ahead of the daunting back-to-back games in early December.

Teams that had a poor Week 1 needed to find form, while teams that have started well were looking to build on their momentum.

Pool 1

Saracens 30, Racing Metro 13

The Heineken Cup reached a new audience on Saturday when Saracens played Racing Metro in Brussels in what was a home match for the English side.

Both sides have dominant packs and have made strong starts to their campaigns, so this was expected to be a hard-fought affair.

The scoreline doesn't do justice to the game, as Racing weren't far off the pace. What separated the sides was Racing's inability to hold onto the ball.

Whereas Saracens were ruthlessly efficient, Racing made silly mistakes at the worst possible times.

Will Fraser sealed the win in the 75th minute, but Saracen were unable to kick on and secure the bonus point.

Could that come back to haunt them later in the season?

Munster 33, Edinburgh 0

Many were quick to right off Munster, myself included, after last weekend's debacle, but once again the two-time champions defied the doubters.

Leading just 6-0 at the half, Munster turned up the heat in the second half to blitz 27 unanswered points.

Gone was the side-to-side flamboyance of last weekend, as the Munster pack got back to what they do best: grounding teams into submission.

In true Munster fashion it went right down to the wire, with Damien Varley's try on the final play of the game winning Munster a bonus point.

Outlook

When the draw was made, fans and pundits alike marked Round 2 and 3 as the rounds that would decide who made it out of this group and nothing has changed.

Edinburgh are as good as done, but will be hoping to secure at least one win against Racing Metro. Racing, like most French sides, have a passing interest in the competition. If they drop points to Edinburgh, their attention will be elsewhere for the final two rounds. However if they were to win—and win well—they could yet top the group.

Saracens and Munster go head to head in one of the ties of the round. Whoever comes out ahead on points will be in poll position for the closing rounds. Expect a titanic struggle with plenty of twists and turns.

Pool 2

Treviso 21, Toulouse 33

Toulouse clearly haven't been watching the Pro 12 in recent years, because if they had, they would know that you underestimate Treviso at your peril.

They are no longer the walkovers of yesteryear, and they almost caught the aristocrats of European rugby cold.

Kris Burton brought his kicking boots and edged Treviso into a 18-9 lead at the break.

Luckily for Toulouse they had serious quality on the bench, and a raft of changes at half-time helped them overpower their spirited opponents.

Treviso did however deny Toulouse a bonus point, which could be huge when things go down to the wire.

Leicester 39, Ospreys 22

This game that could have a huge bearing on the final standings was totally turned on its head in the final 10 minutes.

Despite controlling the forward exchanges for much of the game, Leicester were unable to pull away from their Welsh opponents.

The game was tied at 19 all when Toby Flood intercepted a Dan Biggar pass and raced down the field to touch underneath the posts.

Suddenly the Tigers had a spring in their step and they swarmed all over the Ospreys.

Tries from Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi saw Leicester secure a late bonus point and leave the Ospreys pointless.

Outlook

This group was always going to go down to the wire but Sunday's games saw Leicester put themselves in prime position. Toulouse may be ahead on points but the Tigers have secured a bonus point whereas Toulouse haven't.

Leicester will play Treviso back to back and will hope to come away with the full 10 points on offer.

Toulouse, on the other hand, face the more daunting task of playing Ospreys in successive weekends. The Ospreys will be anything but a walkover, so Toulouse will need to be at their best.

This group seems to be heading to a final-day decider—a decider in which Leicester will have home-field advantage.

Pool 3

Biarritz 38, Zebre 17

Of all the games in Round 2, this is the one I would have bet the house on.

Zebre are too inexperienced to compete with the best of Europe and their goal will have been to escape embarrassment. And while they were totally off the pace, they weren't embarrassed.

Biarritz had a job to do and they did it before taking the foot off the gas and coasting to victory.

A burst of pressure right after half-time sealed the bonus point and they coasted from there.

Connacht 22, Harlequins 30

They may not have erased the nightmares of last season's heartbreaking defeat, but Harlequins went a long way to exorcising their demons.

Connacht were dogged to the very end but, as with many games this weekend, a second-half blitz gave Harlequins the win. 

Danny Care continued his fine form with a brace of tries, while Dan Parks kept Connacht in the game till the very end.

Connacht will be upset to not have secured a losing bonus point, but will be hugely encourage by their progress. 

Outlook

Harlequins did enough to keep their noses in front and will now face Zebre back to back and chasing the bonus points to make themselves safe.

Biarritz will face Connacht knowing they cannot afford slip-ups, and Galway is a tough place to go, especially in the depths of December. Connacht will not role over for their illustrious rivals, and I can see them struggling to pick up two wins. Should they falter, Harlequins will be as good as qualified.

Pool 4

Castres 21, Northampton 16

In the shock of the weekend, Castres picked off the highly touted Northampton outfit in a hard-fought battle.

Only having a five-day turnaround didn't help Northampton, as they struggled to impose themselves in the first half.

The Pisi brothers did everything they could to keep Northampton in the game, with Ken making a try-saving tackle and George scoring a second-half try.

Remi Tales kicked a late drop-goal that looked to have denied Northampton a bonus point, but the Saints fought their way up the pitch and David Myler kicked a goal that kept Northampton in the competition.

Glasgow 8, Ulster 19

Last weekend Ulster showed they could play fast and loose, and this weekend they showed us they could win ugly.

The driving rain in Glasgow meant this was always going to be a tight one, and Ulster had just enough to win their second game in a row.

A Chris Henry try early in the second half was enough to seal the win, with Paddy Jackson having bested Peter Horne in the kicking duel.

A late Niko Matawalu wasn't enough to get Glasgow a losing bonus point and they find themselves out of the competition.

Outlook

Ulster are very much in the driving seat, with Castres having done them a huge favour this weekend. They will travel to Northampton with their tails up, knowing a win will end this group as a contest. Northampton are a side that have struggled when faced with adversity and so may crumble under the pressure of a must-win game.

Glasgow will be bitter that they have lost two close games without securing a single point. They will look to save face against Castres. A Castres win may reinvigorated their European campaign, and they might decide to have a real crack at qualification.

Pool 5

Clermont 49, Exeter 12

Exeter Chiefs welcome to Europe. Last weekend was their soft opening, but this weekend they got a real taste of the step up in class.

They were in the game for 40 minutes but could not live with Clermont when the French side upped the pace.

Leading 12-10 at the half, Exeter must've been wondering what all the fuss was about, but 5 second-half Clermont tries put them in their place.

Exeter are a dogged bunch of men but they were totally out-matched by the sheer quality of the Clermont side.

Napolioni Nalaga and Wesley Fofana scored a brace each, while Julian Bonnaire and Sitiveni Sivivatu round off the try scoring.

Scarlets 13, Leinster 20

The reigning champions have yet to get going and they will be glad to have a few more weeks to prepare before they travel to face Clermont.

Jonny Sexton was pulling the strings masterfully, but Leinster seemed to be lacking spark in the backs and up front.

The loss of Sean O'Brien is becoming more apparent each week, as Leinster struggle to get the ball to the forwards.

The Scarlets, on the other hand, will be desperately disappointed as they looked so promising early in the season.

They are a talented bunch, but struggle to control the momentum of games.

Outlook

Clermont don't so much have a chip on their shoulder as a gaping wound when it comes to Leinster. The Irish side have knocked them out of Europe each of the last three seasons and Clermont are determined not to allow it become four. They will welcome Leinster to France knowing that a win wouldn't be a knockout blow, but it would leave Leinster in serious peril.

Leinster will need to iron out their issues in the next six weeks as Clermont are firing on all cylinders.

Exeter and the Scarlets will go head to head with nothing more than bragging rights on offer.

Pool 6

Cardiff 14, Toulon 22

Toulon did what they do best on Sunday, grinding the Cardiff Blues in submissions. When it comes to tight games, there is simply no one who can deal with the power of Toulon.

Their pack is ferocious and constantly provides Jonny Wilkinson penalty and drop-goal opportunities.

Cardiff got a bright start when Leigh Halfpenny raced over for an early try, but Toulon just get racking up the points.

Every time Cardiff got within touching distance, Toulon were apply to apply pressure and re-establish their lead.

Cardiff's exceptional defence kept them in the game, but they didn't have enough to trouble the side from the south of France.

Montpellier 33, Sale 18

After a superb win last weekend, Sale got back to losing ways Sunday. They fought valiantly but fell off the pace after half-time as Montpellier upped the tempo.

These two sides look set to battle for second place so Montpellier's failure to pick up a four-try bonus point may come back to haunt them.

Sale may have lost, but they looked a much happier side than the side we saw in the first few weeks of the season.

Outlook

Toulon, as expected, are well and truly in the driving seat and are building up a head of steam. They will have way too much for Sale, who will be aiming to keep the score down. If Sale are to come second in the group, they will need to pick up at least a losing bonus point.

Montpellier are also chasing second and will be looking to finish off a wounded Cardiff side whose focus will now turn to domestic matters.