I think Connacht only have 9 wins though, so really we hold the tiebreaker over them with a better points difference. Still I think you are right that they’re likely to beat Edinburgh, so we need to get ahead of Cardiff.
With two Saffer teams probably in top 4, I hope that if we do make it we can avoid a trip down there. But worry about that later…
With the number of guys carrying knocks etc, it’ll be interesting to see what Richie does on Friday. Do we go all in to try and get something and secure top 8, risking more knocks etc, or do we keep some of the power dry for the cup final the week after.
Realistically our chances of winning three games on the road in urc knock out games is close to zero, so I’m not too excited by who we might hypothetically face if we beat Glasgow, qualifying for the champions cup, along with the associated monies is probably a higher priority. A win in either of the next two games would do that, if I had to pick one I’d obviously choose the cup, but at the same time if Richie targets that and we come up short, it makes him look a bit silly. If we are to have a chance against Montpellier though, we can’t afford any more injuries, we’re already looking very thin on the ground.
@forestial my assumption was that Connacht will beat Edinburgh, but good point if eg we get 1 losing point and they get 2, we would get though on points difference ( unless Glasgow put 70+ points on us or something like that)
I agree with MightyRearranger, URC knockouts are a bonus, getting into champions cup is the top priority, but I fancy our chances against Glasgow at home more than Montpellier in Bilbo. Would be nice to win a cup, but I think go full strength against Glasgow and worry about the final after.
I think it will be Cardiff that will drop out of the top 8, I think they will get no points against the Stormers and we will get some sort of points against Glasgow.
To me, qualifying for next year’s Champions Cup is the goal, because it brings in money that we need to sustain the club/squad. I wouldn’t worry for a minute about making a run in the URC playoffs (which would be up to 3 away games).
Both Glasgow and Montpellier will be very difficult to beat; but Glasgow at home is probably slightly less difficult. Also we might only need one or two points from that game to reach the above-mentioned goal, whereas we have to beat Montpellier outright to get to the Champions Cup by that route. So I think we should pick the best available players this week and hope that we get enough against Glasgow to get the job done. Whatever comes after that, we’ll worry about when it comes.
So yeah, agreeing with @DS69
(It’s almost stressful thinking about it. Imagine how the coaches and players are feeling. But it’s infinitely better than what was going on a year ago.)