Heineken Cup Outlook and the Autumn International injury outlook

The first two rounds of the Heineken Cup are done and there are some big surprises. Treviso defeated the French Champions Perpignan, Bath lost both of their matches and look out of the running, the Scarlets managed to win two and last year's Welsh strength Cardiff underperformed. As the pools stand right now, its a story about the French. Only one English teams sits atop a pool, with one Irish and one Welsh joining them.

This Heineken Cup campaign has been, thus far, one of nail-biter endings. Almost two-thirds of all the games played in the opening two rounds could have been changed with one additional unconverted try, meaning a 4 point or less spread. This is rugby. This is what the Heineken Cup is all about. I'd rather see a two point Munster victory than a 35 point drubbing. I'd rather see Cardiff go down to a late penalty than close out the final 15 minutes. (Nothing against Cardiff!)

I had predicted that the Ospreys v. Clermont game would be the game of the week, and I was close. But the real game of the week was Bath v. Stade Francais. The game bounced back and forth throughout, with most of the points coming from the boot of Julien Dupuy. Bath had a lead early on, but Dupuy kicked a penalty for Stade just about every 10 minutes in the second and third quarter of the game, keeping them within reach.

In the December matches, where teams are played back-to-back, there is an opportunity for teams to cement a spot at the top. Northampton plays Treviso, Biarritz plays the Dragons and the Ospreys play Viadana. Some teams have very tough games, such as the Scarlets having to play Champions Leinster. A sweep for either team could be enough to secure the pool.

As for the upcoming Autumn Internationals, Australia is looking for a Grand Slam, and begin against the struggling English. The English have already lost their two best props, Sheridan and Vickery. But they have a healthy Jonny Wilkinson, which can sometimes mean a win from kickoff. The Welsh have a few injuries as well, while the Irish are looking relatively healthy (save for O'Gara's poor kicking thus far) and the Scottish might have ridden out their early-season success. Nonetheless, Australia won't get a Grand Slam because they always have trouble against Wales and Ireland plays too well at home.

~Tyler