The horse has left the barn, and there is no turning back now as European (and South African) rugby’s ‘big three’ leagues are now firmly in full flow.
Hitting their third rounds, the BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) and Gallagher Premiership are still in their formative rounds; the Top 14 is firmly hitting its straps as it hits round five.
Given the lack of hard data to accurately assess where teams are this season, the biggest challenge to date has been sussing which results have been fugazi or the real deal.
Take for example, Irish powerhouse Munster who opened their campaign with an good old fashioned shootout victory over rivals Connacht before falling foul to the biggest upset in URC history a week later as they fell to Zebre. Was this simply a blip on the radar or are Graham Rowntree’s men a step behind their glorious league form of the past two seasons?
In England, only Saracens and Bath remain undefeated whilst in the Top 14 last season’s second place regular season finishers Stade Francais are wallowing in 13th position with just a lone win to their name.
But enough with all of the excuses and pandering, it is time to bite the bullet and look ahead to the weekend ahead. So without further ado here are RugbyDump’s predictions for every match in the URC, Premiership and Top 14 this weekend.
BKT United Rugby Championship
Scarlets vs Connacht – Connacht by 6
Cardiff vs Glasgow – Glasgow by 12
Emirates Lions vs Edinburgh – Lions by 6
Vodacom Bulls vs Ulster – Bulls by 15
Benetton vs Leinster – Leinster by 20
Dragons vs Sharks – Sharks by 10
Zebre vs DHL Stormers – Stormers by 5
Ospreys vs Munster – Munster by 3
Gallagher Premiership
Sale vs Gloucester – Sale by 5
Northampton vs Harlequins – Northampton by 2
Bath vs Bristol – Bath by 10
Newcastle vs Leicester – Leicester by 15
Saracens vs Exeter – Saracens by 8
Top 14
Vannes vs Racing 92 – Vannes by 3 – UPSET OF THE WEEK
Stade Francais vs Montpellier – Stade Francais by 6
Perpignan vs Pau – Perpignan by 5
Bordeaux-Begles vs Bayonne – Bordeaux by 12
La Rochelle vs Lyon – La Rochelle by 6
Castres vs Toulouse – Toulouse by 9
Clermont vs Toulon – Toulon by 12
Sign In