Champions Cup talking points: ‘Finally’ heating up, ‘lethal’ Toulouse pair, title-winning credentials and officiating peace

Dylan Coetzee
Investec Champions Cup last-16 talking points.

The hot topics ahead of the weekend's knockout matches.

This is it! The knockout stage of the Investec Champions Cup has finally arrived as 16 sides remain in the quest to be crowned Europe’s best in the biggest club tournament in the world.

Before the action gets underway, Planet Rugby gives you some intriguing storylines to follow this weekend.

Real competition begins

Finally, the pool stage has come and gone in what was a period of formalities and ticking of boxes as the top 16 teams were filtered out from the rest.

The awkward travels and schedule is now no longer a concern as the quest for European glory essentially begins now. The 16 teams to advance through to the knockouts are all jam-packed with quality that will now be on show.

The competition gets real at this stage. The time to rotate and manage squads is gone, and teams will need to offer their very best to advance to the quarter-finals, which makes for brilliant viewing.

This is where the champions rise up and take control of the big moments. It is all set and ready to go as the journey to find the best club in the world heats up now.

Champions Cup knockout stages.

Champions Cup knockout stages.

Second time the charm

The format of the Investec Champions Cup changed this season with a return to the pool stage model in the hopes of having better match-ups in the knockout phase, which has quite simply backfired with five of the eight round-of-16 clashes being replays.

For a competition that basically decides the best club side in the world having so many duplicated fixtures from the pool stage is not a great look. This is made even worse considering the Champions Cup has changed format three times in the last five editions.

There is always a silver lining and the replays allow the chance for teams to avenge their earlier results. La Rochelle looked to be walking away with all the points when they visited Cape Town earlier in the tournament, but an overturned try resulted in a smash-and-grab for Stormers after a dramatic Manie Libbok kick. The holders will be eager to right those wrongs.

Elsewhere, the Bulls will similarly look for revenge over Lyon, as will Munster against Northampton Saints, Saracens against Bordeaux and Leicester Tigers against Leinster.

It is certainly not ideal, but it still makes for some mouth-watering games.

Familiar foes

The pool stage format prevents teams from playing against opponents from the same league as them, but it is fair game in the knockouts. Interestingly, two of the match-ups see teams take on familiar rivals, with Toulouse hosting Racing 92 and Exeter Chiefs facing Bath.

Both of the French sides are riding high in the Top 14 with Toulouse in second and Racing in third, making for a brilliant tussle. The sides have already met this year in a tight affair, which saw Toulouse down Racing 27-20 at the La Defense Arena inspired by Antoine Dupont (surprise, surprise). The scrum-half could have his trusty half-back partner Romain Ntamack back for this weekend, which is a massive boost for Toulouse and France, but more on that below. Racing will be desperate to prove their worth but it will have to come away from home this time.

Meanwhile, the Premiership sides are not as close in their league table with Exeter in sixth and Bath in second. The last time they met was at the Rec where Bath won 41-24 which bodes well for Johann van Graan’s men. Interestingly the teams play each other again in their next league fixture. Exeter will be looking for ways to light their fire and redeem themselves from the loss earlier in the season. Importantly they are on their home patch for this one.

Will home-ground advantage show its importance?

Home wins will give a team success, well that is what John Dobson said just before edging out La Rochelle in the pool stage. The Stormers boss is certainly not wrong with a home run into the final invaluable to any team.

Our form guide highlights how Top 14 sides have struggled away from home this season; the two South African sides (Bulls and Stormers) will be desperate to leverage that trend, with both teams boasting proud records at home against European opposition.

Leinster and Northampton will be hoping to do the same as they search for a double over Leicester Tigers and Munster, respectively, only this time, they will have the home-ground advantage. The RDS Arena and Franklin’s Gardens are definitely amongst some of the cauldrons of club rugby any team would fear a knockout in.

The same must be said for the Stade Ernest-Wallon, where the competition’s most successful side awaits their compatriots. Racing will benefit from experience at the stadium, but Toulouse’s prestige lies in their European prowess, making this game massive for the team.

While at the Twickenham Stoop, Marcus Smith will be looking to orchestrate a memorable night against their rivals from Scotland.

‘It’s a massive occasion’ – Damian Willemse welcomes pressure ahead of crunch La Rochelle clash

Leinster to ride Six Nations form

The Dublin side is well entrenched in the modern-day success of the Ireland Test side, with a vast number of players from the province absolutely key to Andy Farrell’s team.

The very obvious upside of this will be that Ireland’s stunning Six Nations form will only boost Leinster’s prospects, as they showed against the Bulls last time out. The Pretoria men stayed there and thereabouts in the clash until Leo Cullen unloaded his Test stars off the bench, and the scoreboard sky-rocketed.

Leinster have unfinished business, having lost the last two finals and been trophyless in each season. James Lowe recently said what everyone was thinking, success is measured by trophies and this silverware-hungry group will be eager to add another title to their mantle.

Toulouse are a much more lethal prospect with star half-backs

It’s been far too long since we saw Dupont and Ntamack combine as a half-back pairing for Toulouse and France.

The pair are arguably the best half-back pairing in the game, the new Gregan-Larkham or Smith-Carter if you will, and we are likely to see them back in action together for the first time since August last year.

Ntamack was cruelly ruled out of the 2023 World Cup, picking up an injury in the warm-up match against Scotland, and he was sorely missed throughout the tournament and ever since.

Last week, the freakishly talented number 10 marked his return, replacing Dupont in the 37-33 victory over Clermont in the Top 14, and against Racing 92 this weekend the wait to see them terrorising defences together looks to be over.

Toulouse is always going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Champions Cup, but with the Dupont-Ntamack axis back, they pose a real threat to any team that they come up against, and unfortunately for Racing 92, it is them this weekend.

Dupont has seamlessly switched between sevens and XVs rugby this season, and we expect him to have a similar impact to the one he had during the tournament’s pool stages. But with his partner in crime back outside of him and Blair Kinghorn set to be fit for the clash, Toulouse is an intimidating prospect.

Fireworks loading at the Stoop

Friday night lights at the Stoop always produce some of the best attacking and aesthetically pleasing rugby, but the similarly thrilling Glasgow Warriors will kick it up a few notches when they head to London.

Both sides are renowned for their attacking prowess and willingness to not only ‘give it a go’ on attack but also have intricate launch plays and forward packs to entertain all viewers.

Harlequins dusted themselves off from the humbling Saracens inflicted on them to defeat an in-form Bath outfit, while Glasgow have been cruising in the United Rugby Championship and have welcomed back their Scottish internationals, setting this up for a glorious start to the weekend’s action.

Strap yourself in and get comfy because this has all the makings for the game of the weekend.

Munster’s champion quality will be tested

Adversity seemingly loves Munster at the minute as Graham Rowntree’s charges never seem to have it all their own way, and the same storyline follows them into the Champions Cup last-16.

Their lengthy injury list added Calvin Nash’s name this week, with Springboks star RG Snyman also in doubt, with a further nine frontline players set to miss the encounter.

Still, they will be able to field a strong side against Northampton Saints this weekend and if recent history is anything to go by, it will be an exceptionally close encounter.

Northampton clinched a narrow 26-23 victory over Munster at Thomond Park earlier this season, while the Irish side were 27-23 victors when they faced off last season.

After an underwhelming return to Premiership action after the Six Nations, losing to Bristol, Northampton bounced back to emphatically beat Saracens and cement their place on top of the table.

Munster will be right up against it at Franklin’s Gardens, but if they are to overcome that challenge and secure a win over the high-flying Saints, then perhaps 2024 could be the year that the Irish province finally ends that wait for a third star.

No officiating controversy, please!

After a wild fortnight in the Premiership centred around match officials, we really hope that the last-16 will play out with a hitch.

The recent London derby between Saracens and Harlequins was not without its share of drama. A controversial decision by the TMO to ignore foul play in the build-up to a try, despite commentator Austin Healey’s protest. The following day, Healey’s keen eye also caught a knock-on that the officials chose to overlook.

The next week, the Premiership was in the spotlight again as Quins lock Irne Herbst was allowed back onto the pitch three minutes earlier than he was supposed to return from a yellow card, influencing the latter stages of the match and, ultimately, the result.

As the Investec Champions Cup resumes, we just hope that the first set of knockout matches progresses without a hitch, and we can celebrate the action on the pitch as some of the best and brightest talents in the game go toe-to-toe.

READ MORE: Loose Pass: Referees finally begin the ‘war’ on timewasting after an ironic retirement

Bath Antoine Dupont Romain Ntamack

Related Articles