Mid-season predictions

[Sir Speedy]

Just out of interest, given the situation in each respective tournament, and the fact we're halfway through the domestic NH year:

Heineken Cup:

QF's:
1. Harlequins
2. Cardiff
3. Toulouse
4. Leicester
5. Leinster
6. Munster
7. Ospreys
8. Bath

Semi's:
Harlequins
Cardiff
Toulouse
Leicester

Final
Toulouse (winners) v Cardiff

Premiership:

1. Bath
2. Sale
3. Irish
4. Leicester
5. Gloucester
6. Harlequins
7. Northampton
8. Sarries
9. Worcester
10. Wasps
11. Bristol
12. Newcastle

Final:
Sale (winners) v Bath

Magners:

1. Munster
2. Ospreys
3. Leinster
4. Edinburgh
5. Scarlets
6. Ulster
7. Cardiff
8. Dragons
9. Glasgow
10. Connacht

EDF:

Final: Ospreys (winners) v Cardiff

Then again, I don't know how the semi's are seeded in the Heineken Cup, so yeh. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure this is how it'll unfold.
/bias.

 

[An Tarbh]

open draw for the semis

 

[shtove]

1. Munster.
2. Munster.
3. Munster.

Yes, yes - Munster aren't in the premiership, but you know what would happen if they were.

 

[Sir Speedy]

Ask any random Munster fan if they think they'll do the Treble this season and odds are they'll say yes.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Heineken Cup: Toulouse
Premiership: Sale
Magners League: Munster
Top 14: Perpignan
EDF: Who cares?

 

[Incredible Schalk]

You serious Glasgow will finish 9th , 5th at worst i would say..

Sale for the Premiership and Munster for the HC and Magners league.

 

[Sir Speedy]

YES I AM! GLASGOW ARE AWFUL!

...Bear in mind I made this before this weekend's HC results.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Jan 20 2009, 05:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

YES I AM! GLASGOW ARE AWFUL!

...Bear in mind I made this before this weekend's HC results.[/b]

Haha i love hindsight, from awful to the best in Europe B)

 

[Bullitt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shtove @ Jan 10 2009, 11:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

1. Munster.
2. Munster.
3. Munster.

Yes, yes - Munster aren't in the premiership, but you know what would happen if they were.[/b]

Yeah, they'd be knackered after 6 weeks of having to always play at full strength instead of letting the kids <strike>f***</strike> run about in the pergatory and being guaranteed an anual bye into the HEC.


Then finish 8th after O'Gara gets the tar beaten out of him weekly by "those over-rated Premiership players".

 

[MunsterMan]

HEC - Munster (As long as we don't get complacent and stay focused, It should happen. Munster playing well should beat any other team in the competition)
ML - Munster
GP - I think Irish will finish first, but not win the final. Sale.


Munster don't take ML seriously Mite? League table says otherwise.

 

[Bullitt]

Noboby take the ML seriously. Connauct would never beat Leienster otherwise.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teh Mite @ Jan 21 2009, 09:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Noboby take the ML seriously. Connauct would never beat Leienster otherwise.[/b]

Out of interest, how much Magners League rugby do you watch because to say nobody takes it seriously is ludicrous. Is the Premiership not taken seriously because Newcastle beat Gloucester or is the Top 14 merely a low level competition because Toulon beat Clermont? Does the fact that Wasps put out virtually a 2nd string team over Christmas mean that they disregard the Premiership?

Connacht caught Leinster on a bad day. The Irish provinces are bound to rest their international players for a specified number of games each year (as are Premiership clubs this season) - Leinster took the opportunity to rest some of these players against Connacht and were punished for it.

Tell this years record crowds that nobody takes the ML seriously.

 

[An Tarbh]

seriously lads this is blatant fishing, why bother taking the bait?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (An Tarbh @ Jan 21 2009, 01:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

seriously lads this is blatant fishing, why bother taking the bait?[/b]

Ha! Yeah, I kind of figured. My rebuttal was more a general statement about the way the Magners League is perceived by the press in England than having a go back at Teh Mite. It's something I've been itching to say for ages and I saw this as my opportunity!

 

[Sir Speedy]

Just for the sake of being pedantic: Wasps had to put out their second string for the Sale match (which is what I think you're referring to) due to RFU laws, or something. All sides had to rest their EPS players, and Wasps have plenty of 'em.
And Gloucester generally balls up quite alot, so that argument goes out the window like the Leinster - Connacht one.
Still, I think the Magners League has gotten more exciting over the past two seasons, though I still find the intensity of the Premeirship to be greater than that in the Magners (except in Welsh derbies, of course.)