Champions Cup Sunday review: Harlequins shine, Bristol Bears struggle and last 16 draw confirmed

Sunday’s Champions Cup action featured four English sides going into battle looking to secure their spots in the final 16, truly beginning the race to Bilbao.

Will Judd takes a closer look at how each English side fared yesterday and the draw for the last 16, with ties pencilled in for April.

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Bristol struggles

Bristol Bears had already qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament, but with a home round of 16 tie on the cards, there was still plenty to play for when they welcomed Bordeaux-Begles to Ashton Gate.

The reigning champions proved far too much for Bristol, who were just too error-prone on the night.

Against other opponents, the Bears may have gotten away with the mistakes, but you simply have to be inch-perfect when coming up against a set of backs who will punish you wherever possible.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey was brilliant again with ball in hand, his lightning-fast acceleration punishing Bristol three times on the night. The link between him and Matthieu Jalibert was again a real issue.

Jalibert’s impressive club form has made him the primary pick for France fly-half, especially now it seems as though Toulouse’s Romain Ntamack will miss the opener against Ireland.

For Bristol, however, the loss means they have set up a tough tie against Top 14 leaders Toulouse in April, one of many tricky ties for the remaining Premiership sides.

The Bears will need to fix the handling errors which cost them so dearly on Sunday if they are to have a chance of progressing into the quarter-final.

Harlequins silence critics

Quins had arguably their best game of the season last Sunday against a travelling Stormers side.

But despite the strong performance, there were still plenty of doubts over the real quality of Harlequins, largely due to them playing against a Stormers side which was missing its big names.

The critics were silenced again, though, as away from home, the London side threw the two-time tournament winners La Rochelle out at the group stages.

It was another very tidy performance from Harlequins, who played with the same confidence and swagger as they did at the Twickenham Stoop a week ago.

Marcus Smith was the lead architect behind their far more coherent attack and Cadan Murley’s brilliant finishing surely showed Steve Borthwick again why he could be a part of the England setup.

Their victory has set up one of two all-English affairs in the next round, with the Stoop playing host to a travelling Sale Sharks side who, like Quins, have had a real mixed bag of a year.

The winner of this game will then have an away clash with Leinster or will welcome Edinburgh to England in the quarter-final.

Saints improve

Northampton Saints had already qualified for the knockout stage, but knew a victory against a struggling Scarlets would confirm a home tie in April.

It was an improvement from Saints, who seemed much more like a unit than the week before, when they struggled without Fin Smith.

Anthony Belleau filled the role well on Sunday and was great off the tee, while Alex Mitchell had another strong game despite an early box kick being charged down that led to the Scarlets’ first try.

Indeed, despite an eventual 15-point swing, Saints often struggled to keep Scarlets quiet as the Welsh side showed plenty of grit and determination in a losing effort.

There is still room for improvement, but Northampton will be favourites to progress when they welcome Castres to the East Midlands.

Saracens outclassed

The final game of this season’s pool stages came from Scotland, where Saracens travelled in a bid to secure knockout rugby.

Sarries would have travelled with a renewed confidence following their victory over Toulouse a week prior, but this match was nothing special.

Glasgow Warriors were simply far too good. They were quality in every area of the pitch and purely overwhelmed the visitors.

There wasn’t a lack of fight from the North London side per se, but without any wind or rain acting as a great equaliser, Saracens were exposed as a side which needs to find something special if they are to beat the very best this year.

Despite the loss, they did qualify to set up an away tie not too far from home.

Saracens will travel to Bath for what will surely be a showstopper of a knockout game and the second Prem vs Prem tie.

The victor will then progress to face the winner of Saints vs Castres. Bath would host and Saracens would have to be away.

This means at least two more English sides will follow Gloucester‘s exit in April, with Leicester Tigers also hoping to survive a tricky away tie to Bordeaux.

So, there may be a long wait for Champions Cup rugby to return, but when it does, we will surely be treated to some fantastic games of knockout rugby.

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