
Share
6th December 2014
12:07pm GMT

As for the other game in the pool,Sale have a really good record at home, and I actually think they'll get the better of Saracens on Saturday. Saracens are a side with genuine title aspirations, but with Danny Cipriani in form at the moment, Sale have real potential to cause an upset.
Again, I think it'll be close, but Sale looked really good in the opening half against Munster, and I think their pack will make things difficult for Saracens, so they have a real legitimate claim to do Munster a favour this weekend.
Regardless of how Sale and Saracens finishes, I don't expect Munster's players to treat the Clermont match any differently though. They'll have been preparing specifically for the game all week, so they won't deviate from the script based on the earlier game in the pool. Anthony Foley might be doing the permutations in his head, but as far as the players go, they'll be too focused to get distracted by other games.
There seems to be a lot of hype around the English clubs, but no Premiership side has won the competition since Wasps in 2007.
With that in mind, Leinster's opponents this weekend Harlequins are a team I think are being built up big-time by the media over there, and while they have some incredible players like Mike Brown, Chris Robshaw, Joe Marler and Nick Evans, they haven't gelled consistently as a team.
They have the ability to cause any side in Europe trouble, and if Nick Evans is on form he could be a key player, but Leinster are so experienced at these kind of games, I just think they'll find enough to get the win.
Like Harlequins, Matt O'Connor's side have also struggled with consistency this season, but they're a seasoned side in the competition and really understand the dynamics of winning away from home.
I think Harlequins can be weak sometimes under pressure, and if Leinster take the game to them early on in the backline and don't allow Quins' big pack dominate the game, I can see them winning by around 10 points.
I really like Ulster, they play some great rugby, but unfortunately I can't see them getting out of their pool. I think they'll win this weekend against Scarlets, but overall they've lacked a bit of luck.
Had they been able to open the campaign against the Scarlets they could have got a win under their belts, and given themselves some confidence for a really difficult pool, but the pressure of opening the season away in Welford Road, and then going straight into a meeting with Toulon meant they were up against it from the start.
It's an incredibly tough pool, and I just think it'll be too big an ask for them.Explore more on these topics: