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EPCR Challenge Cup 21/22

Doesn't look like the officials want to police the offside line.
 
Poor decision to go for the corner, should have taken 3 points.
 
How did Aled Davies get nearly 70 minutes playing that badly?
 
Not sure if Sarries have just been outplayed or just poor they really struggled in most areas.
 
What can you say about that performance?

I think the main issue was the sarries 9, he was just pure and utter shite. ( and im a bath fan so i know shite)

When he wasn't slow and hesitant he was erratic and inaccurate. Literally sabotaged nearly every line break.

And brace.... well the less said about his interesting definitions of the laws the better. I did like the " i warned you in the first half about penalties, and now this is your warning in the second half" i didn't realize a team warning reset at half time.

I think this will be the last time we see a english team in the quarter finals, they are already hamstrung by the salary cap and the difficulty of the league. With next years reduction in cap, i just cant see teams risking 1st team players in a non domestic cup.
 
Toulon are back. Rugby is more fun and slightly more annoying with them but boy did I miss them.
 
What can you say about that performance?

I think the main issue was the sarries 9, he was just pure and utter shite. ( and im a bath fan so i know shite)

When he wasn't slow and hesitant he was erratic and inaccurate. Literally sabotaged nearly every line break.

And brace.... well the less said about his interesting definitions of the laws the better. I did like the " i warned you in the first half about penalties, and now this is your warning in the second half" i didn't realize a team warning reset at half time.

I think this will be the last time we see a english team in the quarter finals, they are already hamstrung by the salary cap and the difficulty of the league. With next years reduction in cap, i just cant see teams risking 1st team players in a non domestic cup.
I think that's a bit dramatic. Are you talking about the Challenge Cup specifically or European competition as a whole?

The Challenge Cup hasn't been a priority for English clubs for quite a while. It feels like it's only taken seriously when it gets to the latter stages and there's a genuine chance of silverware. It'll still be a target for clubs who probably aren't quite good enough for the Champions Cup.

The Champions Cup is a different kettle of fish. The budget disparity with the French and URC teams puts English clubs at a significant disadvantage and if the SA teams are also involved it will get even harder.

That said, I still think some clubs will have the quality to get to the latter stages.
 
I think that's a bit dramatic. Are you talking about the Challenge Cup specifically or European competition as a whole?

The Challenge Cup hasn't been a priority for English clubs for quite a while. It feels like it's only taken seriously when it gets to the latter stages and there's a genuine chance of silverware. It'll still be a target for clubs who probably aren't quite good enough for the Champions Cup.

The Champions Cup is a different kettle of fish. The budget disparity with the French and Irish teams puts English clubs at a significant disadvantage and if the SA teams are also involved it will get even harder.

That said, I still think some clubs will have the quality to get to the latter stages.
Fixed.
 
Fix away. I'm still not sure if @Abraxaz was referring specifically to the Challenge Cup or European competition overall, but either way, I don't imagine a scenario where English clubs never qualify for a QF ever again.
 
A disappointing result for Saracens. Struggled to find the gaps that they usually find. Losing Malins early on was tough, but usually the guys do find a way to adapt to the situation. Credit to Toulon, they were relentless and incredibly physical. Perhaps got a bit lucky with some decisions with the number of infringements, but alas back to the Premiership.

With the salary cap reducing to £5mn, marquee players falling from two to one, and little done to reward clubs who produce home-grown players and adequately compensate teams when players head off for international duty, I do think that there are legitimate concerns around how competitive English clubs will be in European competitions. Going forward, English teams simply won't have the squad depth to simultaneously compete successfully in the Premiership and in the Champions/Challenge Cups. They will be competing against Top 14 sides operating with a cap around twice that of Premiership sides, and Irish sides with centrally contracted players and immense squad depth to rest their best players.

With less money to go around, I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more English talent tempted by a move to France and Japan. Rugby is a short career and it would be madness for a player to not prioritise their financial interests. Future stars like Joel Kpoku plying their trade overseas at the expense of England caps could be a more common sight in the future. On the other side, if you are a Premiership club owner/coach, with reduced financial resources, why would you develop England players – who could be off for international duty for swathes of the season – but not receive adequate compensation?
 
A disappointing result for Saracens. Struggled to find the gaps that they usually find. Losing Malins early on was tough, but usually the guys do find a way to adapt to the situation. Credit to Toulon, they were relentless and incredibly physical. Perhaps got a bit lucky with some decisions with the number of infringements, but alas back to the Premiership.

With the salary cap reducing to £5mn, marquee players falling from two to one, and little done to reward clubs who produce home-grown players and adequately compensate teams when players head off for international duty, I do think that there are legitimate concerns around how competitive English clubs will be in European competitions. Going forward, English teams simply won't have the squad depth to simultaneously compete successfully in the Premiership and in the Champions/Challenge Cups. They will be competing against Top 14 sides operating with a cap around twice that of Premiership sides, and Irish sides with centrally contracted players and immense squad depth to rest their best players.

With less money to go around, I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more English talent tempted by a move to France and Japan. Rugby is a short career and it would be madness for a player to not prioritise their financial interests. Future stars like Joel Kpoku plying their trade overseas at the expense of England caps could be a more common sight in the future. On the other side, if you are a Premiership club owner/coach, with reduced financial resources, why would you develop England players – who could be off for international duty for swathes of the season – but not receive adequate compensation?
Exactly this to think prem clubs can compete on both fronts under reduced salary caps is unrealistic, sure there will be quarters and the like but honestly most prem clubs have struggled to cope with best of the rest let alone Leinster, really it's only Sarries and Exe to some extent who have even come close in recent seasons.
 
Exactly this to think prem clubs can compete on both fronts under reduced salary caps is unrealistic, sure there will be quarters and the like but honestly most prem clubs have struggled to cope with best of the rest let alone Leinster, really it's only Sarries and Exe to some extent who have even come close in recent seasons.
That both Exeter and Saracens have continuity in management, deep and highly successful academy systems, and have been the most successful sides domestically and in Europe over the past decade probably isn't a coincidence.

It is all very well reducing the cap to help make the game more sustainable, but it is patently peculiar that there isn't a review in to how clubs are adequately rewarded for taking the risk to develop talent and reform the remuneration structure to clubs for players that are called up for international duty.
 
Lyon win and still playing rugby past 11PM. Glad Eben Etzebeth wasn't on the winning side after that cheap shot on the Lyon 13.
 
Lyon winger with Freddy Burns level **** up on oppositions try line just before half time, he was brilliant apart from that and getting cheap shoted by Etzebeth, if on closer inspection he does make shoulder contact to the head (which judging by the player after he must have), he needs a long ban, pure frustration for the tackle just before.
 
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