Pool 1
Glasgow
Leicester
Munster
Racing 92
Racing reached last season’s final, losing to Saracens in Lyon, but went on to win the Top 14. They have made an average start to the defence of their title, winning all their home matches and losing each time on the road, while the other three sides in the pool have also had mixed, if better, results, all losing once at home. Leicester and Munster used to be European Cup powerhouses, reaching the final four and three times respectively between 2001 and 2009, but the Irish side have missed out on the knockout stage for the last two seasons and the Tigers were semi-finalists in April for the first time in seven years. Glasgow’s only appearance in the quarter-finals came in 1997 when they leaked 90 points at Welford Road, but they make up a strong foursome in which Racing, if Dan Carter remains fit, look the team to pip.
Players to watch
Dan Carter (Racing), Corey Flynn (Glasgow), Matt Toomua (Leicester)
Predicted winner
Racing 92
Pool
2
Connacht
Toulouse
Wasps
Zebre
Wasps are the only team in the group to have won more matches than they have lost this season, the last in Europe to lose their unbeaten record. Zebre are appearing in the tournament for the second time and have yet to win this campaign, although their two home matches in the Pro12 have resulted in narrow defeats to Glasgow and Cardiff. Pro12 champions Connacht have recovered from a poor start to record back-to-back victories, the second over previously unbeaten Ulster.
Toulouse have won the European Cup four times, more than any other team, but have reached the quarter-finals only once in the last four seasons. The tournament kickstarted Wasps’ season a year ago, stylish victories at Leinster and at home to Toulon firing them with belief, and their counterattacking threat should see them top the group with something to spare, although conditions may not be conducive to running when they visit Galway in December.
Players to watch
Bundee Aki (Connacht), Luke McAlister (Toulouse), Kurtley Beale (Wasps)
Predicted winner
Wasps
Pool 3
Sale
Saracens
Scarlets
Toulon
The winners of the European Cup for the last four years meet on the opening day on Saturday. Saracens took the crown off Toulon, who had become the first team to win the trophy in three successive years, last May and this weekend will attempt to become the first visiting team to win in Toulon in the tournament. It is a heavyweight clash on the opening weekend of the tournament, overshadowing the meeting between the Scarlets and Sale, two teams whose aim at the beginning of the campaign would have been to qualify for next season’s Champions Cup. The Sharks do not often lose at home in the Premiership but they did not win a group game in their last outing in the 2014-15 season, losing twice to Saracens, and the group title may be decided by whether Saracens and Toulon can prevent the other from securing a bonus point in their two meetings. The runner-up should also go through.
Players to watch
Schalk Burger (Saracens), Bryan Habana (Toulon), DTH van der Merwe (Scarlets)
Predicted winner
Saracens
Pool 4
Castres
Leinster
Montpellier
Northampton
Northampton and Castres meet in the pool stage for the fifth time in the last seven seasons with the Saints’ only win in the fixture coming in 2011, when they went on to reach the final. The two clubs are in the bottom half of their leagues while Leinster and Montpellier lie in second place respectively in the Pro12 and Top 14. Before Toulon’s emergence, Leinster had been the dominant team in Europe, winning the trophy three seasons out of four, but they finished bottom of their group last season after, like many Pro12 teams, struggling to quickly assimilate their numerous World Cup players. Montpellier won the Challenge Cup in May, defeating Harlequins in the final, and they have a South African core, led by the Du Plessis brothers. They start on Saturday at Northampton, who have been unusually wobbly at home in the last month.
Players to watch
Zane Kirchner (Leinster), Nemani Nadolo, Nic White (both Montpellier)
Predicted winner
Leinster
Pool 5
Bordeaux-Bègles Clermont Auvergne
Exeter
Ulster
It might not look like the group of death at first glance, but it is the form pool. Ulster and Clermont Auvergne top the Pro12 and Top 14 respectively while Bordeaux-Bègles are fifth in the latter as are Exeter in the Premiership. It is the only group where two teams – Ulster and Clermont again – have an unbeaten home record this season and away victories are likely to be scarce. Exeter and Bordeaux-Bègles may be European novices compared with the other two, having played 33 European Cup matches between them compared with Clermont’s 91 and Ulster’s 129, but the Chiefs gained maximum points from their three home pool games last season, when the two French clubs were among their victims, while Bordeaux-Bègles won in Clermont. It is hard to see the team that finishes second making the quarter-finals and while Clermont have the recent European pedigree, the New Zealand full-back Charles Piutau has sharpened Ulster’s attack.
Players to watch
Charles Piutau (Ulster), Adam Ashley-Cooper (Bordeaux-Bègles), Hosea Gear (Clermont Auvergne)
Predicted winner
Clermont Auvergne
