"Leicester stunned by Rieko Ioane" - 5 Bold Predictions for Investec Champions Cup Round 2

Munster looked as if they would have the most hotly-contested fixture of the week last round, playing Premiership champions Bath at the Rec: except it wasn’t close, at all. Bath blew them out the water, with a dominant 35-14 first half, with all the stats all pointing in Munster’s direction.

Take Gloucester on the other hand: only ninth in the Premiership, with just one win in the league. They came up against mid-table Castres and nilled them in the second half. They were incredibly clinical in a fairly-balanced game, with only five penalties in the whole 80.

It wouldn’t be out of the question that Gloucester could go down to Thomond Park on Saturday and upset the odds. The Cherry and Whites aren’t unfamiliar to winning against all expectations, so a famous victory in Munster’s own backyard is on the cards.

The All-Black made his debut for Leinster in their 45-28 victory over Harlequins, providing an assist for Tommy O’Brien’s score. Captain Caelin Doris praised his quick integration into the squad, claiming “he’s one of us already!”

Compatriot Jordie Barrett bagged two Champions Cup tries last season playing for the Irish province, but Ioane could go on to beat that tally. He could go on to score a handful of tries against a Leicester side who came off a fairly sorry defeat to La Rochelle, who will mount on a potentially bigger challenge against Leinster this weekend.

There was a party in the Scottish capital last week, as Edinburgh beat favourites Toulon in an incredible victory that no one saw coming. Edinburgh travel to Castres this weekend, who were defeated by Gloucester in the first round, and will be looking to bounce back against a side on a high.

It’ll be crucial for Edinburgh to win this game if they want to progress to the knockouts, with games against Gloucester and Bath yet to come, and it’s very likely they can be one of the top sides in Pool 2.

Draws are a very strange result: they don’t happen all that often, and some people don’t know what to feel about them. However, some of the most legendary matches in rugby history were draws: England vs Scotland in the 2019 Calcutta Cup, the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour, etc.

There are going to be some very tightly contested games this weekend: Sharks vs Saracens, Castres vs Edinburgh, and Toulon vs Bath. Any of these handpicked fixtures could end up with both teams taking the spoils. If there had to be any ties in this campaign, this round has all the makings of a legendary pool game going down.

Possibly the most audacious one of them all, but Northampton will be looking for revenge after their final defeat last season. They already got off to a good start, earning a five-point win against a very impressive Pau side. The Bulls had a good game against Bordeaux, being able to score 33 points against the champions, but it wasn’t enough.

Northampton are already heavy favourites going into the match, and there could be an opportunity for a complete bloodbath at Franklin’s Gardens on Northampton’s European home opener.