By Matt Hardy
The four clubs set to contest this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup had mixed fortunes in their domestic leagues at the weekend as each side prepares for the showpiece finale at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday and Saturday night.
The English team Gloucester will face South African franchise the Sharks on Friday night in the Challenge Cup before Irish giants Leinster and five-time winners Toulouse face off in the Champions Cup final on Saturday.
Challenge Cup
Gloucester concluded their Premiership season with a 54-14 victory over Newcastle Falcons on Saturday in a match that restored some pride after their 90-0 humiliation the weekend before against Northampton Saints.
As for their opponents on Friday the Sharks, they lost 14-16 at home to Cardiff in Durban. The South African side heavily rotated for their match against the Welsh outfit knowing a long flight lies ahead for Friday night’s final.
The likes of Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche weren’t playing for the home side as the trio were among those rested for the final on Friday.
Champions Cup
Toulouse sent a heavily rotated squad to Montpellier for their French Top 14 clash on Saturday but were still able to come away with a 22-29 victory in the south of France.
The French giants have such strength and depth that they can rest a number of huge stars and still churn out a solid performance.
Their opposition for Saturday’s Champions Cup final in north London Leinster suffered a 23-21 defeat at the hands of local rivals Ulster in the United Rugby Championship.
John Cooney’s late penalty downed the Dubliners in Belfast and scuppered their chances of going top of their domestic league and taking momentum into their European final at the weekend.
The Irish giants have failed to win a major trophy in each of their last two seasons and a third on the trot would represent a gross failure for the well-funded province.
All roads are pointing to London this weekend for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals.
But with two of the four sides winning at the weekend there are different strategies at play.
Whether those pay off remains to be seen.
