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Challenge Cup 2018/19
- connachta
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superconnacht7 wrote: I would like to see Pau, Connacht, Bristol (Prem, Pro 14), that would be a very tasty and tempting match up!
Hell no, I want final phases again, not tasty pool..
Pau is a team to avoid IMO. Sale and Agen would be great.
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- pinky
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Basically we get one from La Rochelle, Pau, Sale and Saints and one from Bordeaux, Agen, Worcester and Bristol (not both from the same country), plus one of the bottom 5.
Because of the fact they could end up in the same pot as us, we are less likely to get the second and fourth ranked teams than the first and fifth. So we have an 11/36 probability of getting La Rochelle, Sale, Agen, Bristol and 7/36 for Pau, Saints, Bordeaux, Worcester (about 30.5% v 19.5% or thereabouts). The bottom 5 all equally likely as neill_m says.
In terms of getting to them, The English ones are all straightforward.
Bordeaux has daily flights year round, which also covers Agen. La Rochelle has direct flights in October, otherwise it's only 2 hours train to Nantes or Bordeaux. Grenoble is close to Lyon and Geneva. You can get to Perpignan via Carcassonne but probably as handy to fly to Barcelona. Paris is a no brainer. Only one a bit awkward is Pau, but you can fly to Biarritz or Toulouse in October and Bordeaux otherwise (2h20 on train).
Timisoara has cheap flights from Bergamo with Ryanair so you could probably work out something that way. Otherwise I think Budapest is the nearest with direct flights (bit of a trek from there).
Pobeda (low cost Aeroflot subsidiary) now have really cheap flights from Moscow to a few places in Europe like Bergamo and Bratislava for €40-50 so there might be a budget way of getting to wherever in Russia we might end up.
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- neill_m
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Sale, Connacht, Bordeaux and Perpignan
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- ThisYearWillBeDifferent
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And Pat Lam gets to go back to Siberia!
Well, probably Sochi these days.
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- pinky
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Not the worst. Would have preferred Timisoara from the last pot. And Bordeaux will probably take it more seriously than Agen. But three teams we haven't played in recent years so a bit of variety anyway.
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- Accidentally Onside
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Tough group but could be interesting
Any idea when fixtures comes out?
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- St Placide
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- Paris-based Connacht supporter, Stade Français fan
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Within two weeks of the finalisation of the Pro14, Top14 and Premiership fixture lists apparently.....Accidentally Onside wrote: Tough group but could be interesting
Any idea when fixtures comes out?
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- Mac65
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The 6 weekend dates are already out
Oct 12-14 & 19-21
Dec 7-9 & 14-16
Jan 11-13 & 18-20
So get busy on Booking.com for Bordeaux and Perpignan. Manchester will be easy.
12 booking but don't forget the free cancellation
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- coll roig
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Hi everybody here !
I 'll be very happy to discover GALWAY city and people ...I'm an USAP fan , we were in PRO D 2 for the last 4 years , we come back in European competition with a great pleasure ...
I and my friends will attempt to be there for our game in CONNACHT stadium ...
As the dates will be known , I will come back here ...
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- Accidentally Onside
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Cheers folks
One thing I would say is Manchester can get very expensive if it's a premier league weekend as one of the teams will almost certainly be at home and they attract a big non-local fanbase.
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- Stakeknife84
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Recently moved to Bristol so was hoping we'd get them. Will deffo make the Sale away game and hopefully convince the gf of the merits of a romantic weekend in Bordeaux. Tough draw though. A solid start to the Pro 14 is imperative - does anyone know when those fixtures are announced?
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- Diabhal
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Has the Thursday night Challenge Cup slot been done away with? It doesn't have any Thursdays down on that dates list.
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- salmson
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Diabhal wrote: Has the Thursday night Challenge Cup slot been done away with? It doesn't have any Thursdays down on that dates list.
Looks like it. Possibly due to there being only one UK/Ireland TV rights holder now.
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- FACECUTTR
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Welcome Coll roig. Great to see fans of other teams dropping by and saying hello. You and your friends will be very welcome in Galway and The Sportsground.
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- Borders no.2
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Don't really fancy us in that group. Looking at the other groups this will more than likely be a group that only one team gets out of. Depends on the schedule and how bothered the French sides are about the competition I guess but there's no soft points in this group like last year.
I think the league is priority for us this year. Last season I thought the challege cup was very winnable but the competition looks stronger this year and our chances of a good seeding are low. Of course we have to see how the fixtures play out and where we are at in the league when Europe rolls around but the league looks our most realistic avenue back into the top competition.
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- St Placide
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I agree, after two dismal seasons, the league has to be our priority.
It's a very even group and easily the most difficult of the five. Depending on the timing of the fixtures, both of the French sides are likely focus on the Top 14. USAP is probably, along with Grenoble, the weakest side in the division. Despite being the best supported side in Europe,UBB has struggled over the past three seasons, reaching no higher than 10th place. Sale is at a similar level. Based on the last two seasons, we're probably a little behind both Sale and UBB and ahead of USAP. Nonetheless, we should be able to win all three at home. After this, it will be a lottery....
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