Pool 1 sees Castres Olympique do battle with Munster, Northampton Saints and the Scarlets which, by anybody’s standards is the group from hell. After failing to reach the knockout stage of the Heineken Cup for the first time since Keith Earls was in nappies, Munster will be extra anxious to prove that the empire isn’t crumbling. They’re up against Northampton in their first game and although their performance in the 2nd half of the final last year will be remembered as one of the more famous chokes in the history of the competition, the truth is that is was a steep learning curve and the Saints will no doubt want to shake it off and prove themselves as worthy on Sunday.

Pool 2 is home to Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh, London Irish and Racing Metro. Not a lot to say about this group really – London Irish look like they could be top at the end as Racing Metro have had a horrendous season so far in the french league and will be lucky to come away from the group with any points, this will be Edinburgh’s big chance to win a game but that’s about it for them. So you’re left with the Blues who have some solid, decent players in their squad and London Irish to battle it out for the group win…

Pool 3 is host to Leinster, Bath, Glasgow Warriors and Montpellier. Up until a few days ago, all looked rosy in the garden of the defending champions Leinster. Their returning World Cup stars were easing their way back into top form and in their absence, the team had been going along nicely. Since then however the most open secret in rugby was confirmed – Brian O’Driscoll has been playing with an injury for months, if not years, and needs surgery. He’s expected to be out for about 6 months, but most of the reports relating to the story included a line along the lines of ‘he is expected to be fit for the quarter-finals in April’ – an addition with the whiff of arrogance which pretty much tells us all we need to know about the draw the Blues have been handed. It’s pretty easy and they’re expected to progress as pool winners.

Pool 4 consists of Leicester, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Aironi and Ulster – I wish had some interesting and exciting insight to this group but frankly if the Leicester players can’t stroll through to the top of the group then they should start re-considering their career choice – maybe, just maybe Clermont might give them a run for their money but that’s only wishful thinking…

Pool 5 is Benetton Treviso, Biarritz, Ospreys and Saracens and initially you think ‘oh please, Biarritz are going to piss that group’ but on closer inspection Saracens’ capture of their first Premiership title in the club’s history and a start to the domestic season like team on fire AND John Smit (Springbok) can only help their European challenge. In contrast, Biarritz have had a terrible start to their season, Treviso are only there to make up numbers so that leaves the Ospreys to challenge but sadly over the summer, they’ve lost enough talent to make a top class sevens team and that will be hard to replace.

Pool 6 – last but not least Toulouse, Connaught, Gloucester and Harlequins – only second to Pool 1 in the toughness stakes. No least becuase Toulouse are expected to sail through but Gloucester have had a great start to the season and Harlequins top the Aviva Premiership – sadly Connaught don’t have a shot in hell so the others will no doubt be hoping to rack up the points against them to bolster their own chances and perhaps get enough points for a best-runner-up spot.

Leading up to the narrow final defeat Lièvremont grew increasingly eccentric, hitting out at his squad on the eve of the biggest game in world rugby, describing them as “spoiled brats” after their unconvincing semi-final win over Wales.

France tasted defeat twice during the pool stages against the All Blacks and Tonga but rallied to defy free bets (http://www.bigfreebet.com) placed in the knockout stages to beat England and Wales before just missing out in the final by a point.

Lièvremont frequently cut a frustrated figure throughout the tournament and appeared at a loss over how to get the best out of his talented but unpredictable side, and Harinordoquy, who was key as Les Blues rallied back from their morale sapping defeats in the pool stages, revealed that after losing to Tonga the players took matters into their own hands.

“After the defeat against Tonga I did not attach too much importance to what Marc said,” Harinordoquy told Midi Olympique.

“It was our adventure. It was meant to be the nice experience of 30 men. We had to free ourselves from his supervision.” He added.

The experienced number eight added that the players felt unsure of what to do under Lièvremont’s supervision and that led to them becoming the free bet underdogs for the tournament because of their under-par play: “He cast the stone at us too often. When something goes wrong, we’re all in the same boat. There are no good or bad guys. I felt he was lost, I will not miss him.”

Toulon head coach Phillipe Saint-Andre has taken up the reins following Lièvremont’s exit having agreed to take over the role before the World Cup got underway.

Pisi and Tagicakibau are currently on track to make it, but Tuifu is further away from being available for the fascinating Pool D clash.

As things stand, both teams are in with a chance of making the quarter-finals with Samoa in 2nd position and Fiji a point behind in 4th.

Wales – who defeated Samoa in their last game – sit between the two as it looks likely to be a three way tussle for the runners-up position behind holders South Africa.

Samoa coach Titimaea Tafua is aware of how close things are at the moment and believes his players have recovered from the Wales defeat and are ready for Fiji this weekend.

He said: “The team will bounce back. At the moment the boys are trying to forget about the game last week. This is a big game this week, so we’re looking forward to it.”

“This game is the clash of the islanders, so it will be a big one. There are a lot of islanders around here so I don’t think there are enough tickets for everybody to see the game.”

The players will certainly be under plenty of pressure in front of a packed crowd. Defeat for either side could spell the end of their quarter-final hopes too, so to say this is a big game is a massive understatement.

In other news concerning those in a Samoa 2011 World Cup Jersey, they will be hoping that the Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu Twitter rant will not distract them from focusing for the Fiji game.

The centre used his page on the social networking site to complain about scheduling for Samoa, saying that if they had more time to prepare for the Wales game, they would have defeated Warren Gatland’s side.

The Samoa Rugby Union have since apologised for the players action and they will be hoping that it is their victory over Fiju that makes the headlines this weekend.

The game marked Danny Cipriani’s return to action after a month on the sidelines following his suspension for off-the-field incidents, but the talented fly-half could do little about the outcome of the game as the Brumbies eased to a convincing win.

In fact it was Cipriani’s opposite number Matt Giteau who did most of the damage to the Rebels, putting in a consummate performance as he guided his side to maximum points.

In his last game for the Super Rugby side before departing for Europe to join p with Top 14 side Toulon, Giteau got the ball rolling with a delightful pass to send team-mate Christian Lealifano diving over the line after just three minutes.

The Brumbies stretched their lead before the half way point when Tyrone Smith skipped past Cooper Vuna to grab his side’s second try of the game, before Giteau was involved again as his quick thinking when the Brumbies were awarded a penalty resulted in the number ten touching down.

Cipriani’s penalty was all the Rebels had to show for their efforts as the half time whistle blew, and the visitors would have been fearful of a disastrous result with 40 minutes still to play.

While the Brumbies remained on top in the second period, the Rebels did at least give them something to think about, but as they looked to get a foothold in the game were knocked to their knees as Pat McCabe scored in the opening exchanges.

Jarrod Saffy and Afusipa Taumoepeau added a layer of respectability to the scoreline when he scored for the Rebels mid-way through the second half, but fittingly Giteau had the final word on the game, as the red adizero rugby boot wearer converted after Moore touched down for the second time in the game to secure a valuable bonus point.

Speculation before kick-off was rife with many pundits believing that Ireland can make it two in a row for the Grand Slam but upsets are bound to happen and often come from the unlikeliest of sources so before we right off everybody else we’ll need to see a few more games to get a feel for who’s really in contention!

Odds for Outright Winners will change every week so keep checking back but be warned, as teams drop out of the running odds on those left will shorten so dramatically it’ll make it nearly impossible to make a penny on a bet!

Outright Winner Odds are available from Paddy Power Bookmakers below but remember that there are plenty of other betting options including Triple Crown Winners, Grand Slam Odds, Finishing Positions etc…

• France 11/10
• Ireland 9/4
• England 11/4
• Wales 14/1
• Scotland 18/2
• Italy 1000/1

In Pool 1 Munster currently top the group but with a comprehensive win over the weekend under their belts, Northampton are hot on their heels and its now up to Munster to stop them in their tracks when they play each other again in Thomond Park on Friday evening if they want to qualify as group winners. In Pool 2 Biarritz have already qualified and its unlikely that a second best qualifying place will go to that group.

Still all to play for in Pool 3 with any of three teams potentially topping the group – its all to play for as Leicester, Ospreys and Clermont Auvergne battle it out on Saturday. Pool 4 is still up for grabs because if Ulster beat Bath with a bonus point and Stade Francais lose to Edinburgh a big upset could be on the cards for the french team as Ulster would go through and Stade’s current 17 points may not be enough to secure a much coveted place in the next round.

Pool 5 already has a qualifier in Toulouse but its results elsewhere that will ultimately determine the fate of either Sale or Cardiff Blues should they still be in with a best runner up spot.
And in Pool 6 Leinster look the most likely to qualify top but London Irish are at home to them on Saturday and could cause serious heart break for the current European Champions if they were to beat them.

Friday, 22 January 2010
Munster v Northampton, P1, 20:00
Perpignan v Treviso, P1, 20:00

Saturday, 23 January 2010
Bath v Ulster, P4, 15:45
Brive v Scarlets, P6, 18:00
Edinburgh v Stade Francais, P4, 15:45
London Irish v Leinster, P6, 18:00
Ospreys v Leicester, P3, 13:35
Viadana v Clermont Auvergne, P3, 13:35

Sunday, 24 January 2010
Biarritz v Glasgow, P2, 12:45
Harlequins v Cardiff Blues, P5, 15:00
Newport-Gwent Dragons v Gloucester, P2, 12:45
Sale v Toulouse, P5, 15:00

Below are the Outright Heineken Cup Winner odds at Paddy Power Bookmakers

• Munster 11/4
• Leinster 7/2
• Toulouse 4/1
• Clermont Auvergne 6/1
• Biarritz 8/1
• Stade Francais 11/1
• Ospreys 25/1
• Leicester 25/1
• Northampton 40/1
• London Irish 50/1
• Cardiff 125/1
• Ulster 125/1
• Sale 200/1
• Scarlets 200/1

As the dates draw nearer and the matches get under way the bookies odds on who will win it in 2010 will be ever changing so keep an eye out for some good odds that might crop up and remember that rugby upsets happen all the time!!

Don’t forget that if you want to put a few quid on your favourite team that Paddy Power Bookmakers have great odds on outright winners!

Saturday, 06 February 2010
England v Wales, 17:00
Ireland v Italy, 14:30

Sunday, 07 February 2010
Scotland v France, 15:00

Saturday, 13 February 2010
France v Ireland, 16:30
Wales v Scotland, 14:00

Sunday, 14 February 2010
Italy v England, 14:30

Friday, 26 February 2010
Wales v France, 20:00

Saturday, 27 February 2010
England v Ireland, 16:00
Italy v Scotland, 13:30

Saturday, 13 March 2010
Ireland v Wales, 14:30
Scotland v England, 17:00

Sunday, 14 March 2010
France v Italy, 14:30

Saturday, 20 March 2010
France v England, 19:45
Ireland v Scotland, 17:00
Wales v Italy, 14:30

Poor conditions like this will make handling more difficult and kicking a nightmare. Errors will lead to a stop start game and no team will be able to get into a flow.

Don’t back big scores in rugby matches when the weather turns nasty. Also look for unfancied teams against French opposition in the Heineken Cup when the weather turns bad, horrific conditions can be a great leveler.

Strong winds will play havoc with teams that like to kick for territory, depending on the direction of the wind you might also see one team forced to run the ball more than they would like. You can use this to your advance on betting exchanges like Betfair Bookmakers, Betfair have lots in-play markets. It’s much more likely that the team with a strong wind on their backs are going score the next points.

A win for Ireland against the world champions South Africa, has seen them move back up to fourth place, overtaking France who were comprehensively walloped 12-39 by New Zealand.

A Welsh hammering by the Aussies sees them fall two places, from 6th to 8th position with England moving up one spot from 7th to 6th.

Don’t forget that you can also put a few quid on your favourite team for this weekend’s games and the upcoming Six Nations with Paddy Power Bookmakers.

Rankings below are correct as of November 30th 2009

1(1)	NEW ZEALAND	91.68
2(2)	SOUTH AFRICA	88.59
3(3)	AUSTRALIA	85.55
4(5)	IRELAND	84.58
5(4)	FRANCE	82.40
6(7)	ENGLAND	80.72
7(8)	ARGENTINA	80.55
8(6)	WALES	79.89
9(9)	SCOTLAND	76.59
10(10)	FIJI	75.91

Despite being current world champions and the world’s number one rugby team, the Springboks only managed one try against Ireland and that came from flanker Schalk Burger in the 16th minute. Fly-half Morne Steyn did convert it and also managed to notch up another three pointer drop-goal but missed three vital penalties which kept Ireland in the game.

Five successful penalties from Sexton and Ireland’s 15 points was enough to seal a famous victory which given that they were parading nine Lions who played in the Test series, were motivated by revenge as much as any desire to keep intact an unbeaten record that now spans 10 matches.

With the Six Nations around the corner why not check out Paddy Power Bookmakers for all of the latest odds.

Don’t forget that you can also put a few quid on your favourite team for this weekend’s games with Paddy Power Bookmakers.

Rankings below are correct as of November 26th 2009

1(1)	NEW ZEALAND
2(2)	SOUTH AFRICA
3(3)	AUSTRALIA
4(4)	FRANCE
5(5)	IRELAND
6(8)	WALES
7(6)	ENGLAND
8(7)	ARGENTINA
9(9)	SCOTLAND
10(10)	FIJI