Latest ERC rankings and Hc 2011/12 groups

The ERC has just posted its latest rankings and even though this year’s Amlin and HC finals have still to be decided, you can still get a good idea of how the next year’s HC seedings will work out. There are a few uncertainties and maybe I haven’t worked all this out correctly but this looks like the way it’ll pan out

One certainty is that the top seeded group will be: Toulouse, Leinster, Munster, Cardiff, Biarritz and Northampton – irrespective of who wins the HC on Saturday

The second group will be Leicester, Clermont, Ospreys, Bath, London Irish and either Stade Francais or Harlequins (depending on which one of them wins the Amlin on Friday night – whoever loses that match is out of next year’s HC)

Third group will include Ulster, Saracens, Gloucester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dragons

Fourth group to include Connacht (but only if Leinster win the HC) , Castres, Treviso, Montpelier, Racing Metro and Aironi

So what’s the group of death and which is the group you’d really like your team to get next year. As a Leinster fan and keen to avoid another group of death I’d like to get Bath, Dragons and Aironi. Group of death for us would be Leicester or Clermont from second group, Gloucester from third group and Montpelier or Racing Metro from fourth group (although we couldn’t get two French teams so if we got Clermont from second group we couldn’t get Montp or Metro from fourth group. Complicated but I think that’s the way it is

Somethings not quite right here brennomac, the Dragons have not qualified for next years HC, the Scarlets have though, perhaps they need to simply replace the Dragons with the Scarlets.

Really annoyed with the way this works, as we're definitely a second tier side in waiting!

We're better than Barf I think

My ideal group would be;

Cardiff Blues
Stade Francais
Ulster
Aironi

Right now, Ulster and Stade have met 11 times in the HC. The record stand at 6-5 to Stade. I'd simply love to put two over them and make it 7-6 to Ulster. Cardiff and Aironi are the two easiest draws in their tiers.

The worst group would be;

Toulouse
Leicester
Ulster
Racing Metro

Flippin' yikes to that one. Goodbye Quarter-Final.

Quite right - lorddowlais - substitute Scarlets for Dragons in third tier

Pfft. The Heineken Cup's beneath the mighty Dragons

I had hoped we would have jumped above bath.

Can't have another region from Wales in our group so -
DREAM (ish) - 8)
Biarritz
O's
Glasgow
Aironi

NIGHTMARE -
Any other 1st tier
O's
Saracens
Racing Metro

Having seen thew way Glasgow are playing, if any group gets Glasgow and Aironi there will be two teams from that group in the quarter-finals.

The draw may not be as straightforward as one team from each tier this season.

Every pool MUST have at least 1 French team in it, and there are nor French teams in Tier 3.

Not sure how the ERC will sort it.

Don't they just draw and if a French team comes out the second time there is two in a pool they return the ball and draw again?

I'm assuming they draw from the bottom up, i.e Tier 4 up to Tier 1.

Notch wrote:Having seen thew way Glasgow are playing, if any group gets Glasgow and Aironi there will be two teams from that group in the quarter-finals.

Notch, not so sure. The Warriors were without their key players for much of the season - injury to Cusiter, Beattie & Morrison, enforced rest (Barclay and Gray), and injury plus enforced rest (Kellock) - they will be a much stronger force than they were this season, the loss of Max Evans is a blow, but no worse than Parks and Brown the year before, and they've got some strong youngsters coming thru in Harley, Grant and Wilson in the pack. A good RWC for Jackson will do him no end of good, and hopefull Weir will continue to push him all the way. I'm not saying they'll get out of their group, but I wouldn't risk taking them quite so lightly

There is always the chance that they can spring an upset (like they so memorably did against Toulouse the year before last) but the weakest side in that tier is between them and Edinburgh.

Not necessarily saying they are a weak side, because once you get above tier 4 there are no easy games, but they'll certainly be a side teams will be happy to draw.

Up to Glasgow to prove them wrong

The tournament could really use Scottish sides getting their bleedin' act together to be honest.

Aironi are the weakest seed in Pool 4 followed probably by Connacht. Teams should be hoping to get them. In Pool 3 Dragons aren't an amazing team but Rodney Parade is a tough venue. I'd rather face Edinburgh. In Pool 2 I would happily take on London Irish.

Munster
London Irish
Edinburgh
Aironi

If we have to get a French team which I think we may have to I would take Castres.

We're all assuming Connacht will be there...

When you assume you make an ass out of 'u' and 'me', eh? To be fair though, it's more than likely Connacht will make it.

I'm willing to have a multitude of options as to my favourite group cause I'm sound like that.

Munster
Bath/Stade/Irish
Glasgow/Edinburgh/Scarlets
Aironi/Treviso/Castres

Since we got one of the toughest groups last year I think getting one of the above is more than fair. What isn't fair is that Biarritz will get the easiest group in the world, AGAIN....

As to the group of death, try this one out for size;
Leinster
Clermont
Saracens
Racing

Seven French teams means one will have two. That looks very nasty doesn't it?

mrsuperclear wrote:

As to the group of death, try this one out for size;
Leinster
Clermont
Saracens
Racing

We had that this year already. Leinster actually have faced the toughest Heineken Cup run I can ever recall. Clermont Auvergne, Saracens, Racing Metro, Leicester Tigers, Toulouse and Northampton.

I would love to be able to say I put in that group of death deliberately to highlight Leinster's achievement so far this year, but instead I completely blanked on it. My knowledge shown up in my first ever post

You're dead right though, if Leinster manage to win this year's tournament it is certainly one of the toughest runs in history and, let's face it, they were more than comfortable in many of those matches. Hopefully they manage one more win for themselves and Connacht on Saturday!!