Sports Blog 11/10/2017: Rugby Union Preview – Champions Cup, Friday 13th October 2017

Can anyone challenge Saracens for this season’s Champions Cup, or are the Men in Black in store for a 3rd consecutive title?

The London club have been the dominant force in the competition since it replaced the Heineken Cup in 2014, beating Racing 92 in Lyon last year before defeating Clermont in Edinburgh back in May.

They’ve also gotten off to a flying start to the 2017/18 English Premiership, having finished as play-off semi-finals last season. After 6 games Saracens sit at the top of the table on 23 points, beating Northampton, Newcastle, Sale, Worcester and Wasps (while losing their 2nd game to Bath).



That kind of form leaves Saracens atop the Champions Cup Index – where the winner gets 60 points, runner-up 40, losing semi-finalists 20, losing quarter-finalists 10 and everyone else 0 – with a spread of 26-29. They’re also favourites to finish 1st in Pool 2, at a 17.75-19.25 spread, and have a fixed odds price of 12/5 to win the whole thing.

Just behind Saracens are Toulon, the side that won the inaugural Champions Cup, as well as the final 2 editions of its Heineken counterpart. They admittedly haven’t done so well in the last couple of season, exiting in the quarter-finals both times; and they’ve also been a bit inconsistent in the French Top 14 this year, winning 4 and drawing 3. However, Toulon have pedigree in this competition that shouldn’t be underestimated; they have an Index spread of 23-26 alongside a fixed odds price of 4/1.

Sitting just beyond the frontrunners, but a decent way ahead of everyone else, are defending Top 14 champions Clermont. The French side have finished as beaten finalists in 2 of the 3 Champions Cups, but will be aiming to end their curse this year, at an Index spread of 18-21 and a fixed odds price of 11/2. The one thing that may complicate that aim, however, is the fact Clermont are in Pool 2 with Saracens, trailing the champs with an Index spread of 14-15.5.

A bit further down the Index, Leinster and Munster – the losing semi-finalists in 2016/17 – are at 12-15 apiece, but with fixed odds of 9/1 and 12/1 respectively. Wasp and Montpellier then both come in at an Index spread of 11-14, while Racing 92 are at 10-13, Bath at 8-11 and La Rochelle at 6.5-8.5.