Lyon home (v Bordeaux) and Cardiff away (v LI) wins are what we are hoping for next week, in the likely case we suffer a loss next week. If we sneaked a LBP then two wins on the way in, I can only see how many tries we have scored keeping us out of the best runner-up spots.

Pool 1
Cardiff Blues 14
London Irish 10
Grenoble 5
Rovigo 0

Results
Cardiff Blues 24-14 London Irish
Grenoble 68-10 Rovigo

Cardiff took a significant step towards winning the group by beating London Irish at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday. A further positive for Cardiff from the game was denying their visitors a losing bonus point, meaning even a narrow defeat at the Madejski Stadium next Saturday will be enough to leave them in the driving seat in Pool 1. Grenoble ran in 10 tries in a record breaking win over Rovigo. The 58 point win was their biggest ever winning margin in Europe but in the overall context of the group is insignificant.

Sat 13th Dec: Rovigo v Grenoble
After a thumping win at home to Rovigo, Grenoble will expect to make it back-to-back Challenge Cup wins over Rovigo in Italy.

Sat 13th Dec: London Irish v Cardiff
After Saturday's win for Cardiff at home to London Irish, both sides will be aware of the significance of this result in deciding who wins the group.

Pool 2
Exeter 11
Connacht 10
La Rochelle 4
Bayonne 4

Results
La Rochelle 10-36 Exeter Chiefs
Connacht 42-19 Bayonne

After 2 rounds Pool 2 looked evenly balanced with each side having a win and a loss but it now looks like a two horse race after bonus point wins for Exeter and Connacht over the weekend. 2 tries in the final ten minutes saw Exeter pick up a 4 try bonus point in a 26 point win away to La Rochelle. Among the try scorers were former Connacht players Brett Sturgess and Fetu'u Vainikolo. Connacht kept pace with the Chiefs after a 5 try victory over Bayonne. 2 tries from man of the match Danie Poolman saw Connacht lead 15-12 at the break having played against a strong breeze, however a try from Bayonne prop Florian Lapeyrade had the home side worried but Connacht scored 3 tries late on including a first for Bundee Aki to keep their Challenge Cup hopes alive.

Sat 13th Dec: Exeter Chiefs v La Rochelle
After securing a bonus point away to the Top 14 side, Exeter will expect to make it 3 bonus point wins in a row in the Challenge Cup at home to La Rochelle

Sat 13th Dec: Bayonne v Connacht
With Bayonne baving beaten Exeter, Clermont and Toulouse at home in recent weeks, Connacht will know that next Saturday's game will be a severe test of their Challenge Cup credentials.

Pool 3
Newcastle 14
Dragons 11
Stade Francais 5
Bucharest 1

Results
Newcastle 30-23 Stade Francais
Bucharest 10-37 Dragons

Newcastle took a firm grip on Pool 3 with a 30-23 bonus point win over Stade Francais at Kingston Park. After losing at home to Dragons earlier in the pool, Stade Francais' Challenge Cup hopes now hang by a thread. Dragons kept their quarter final homes intact with a 37-10 bonus point win away to Bucharest. Trailing 10-0 early on Dragons fought back to lead 13-10 at the break, before 2 second half tries from second row Cory Hill helped secure the 5 points.

Thur 11th Dec: Stade Francais v Newcastle
After picking up 14 points in their first 3 games, Newcastle can all but secure qualification to the knock out stages with victory in Paris. Stade will know that nothing less than 5 points will be good enough.

Fri 12th Dec: Dragons v Bucharest
With 11 points already in the bag in this Pool, Dragons will expect to move closer to a quarter final spot by making it back to back bonus point wins over their Romanian visitors.

Pool 4
Edinburgh 12
Bordeaux-Begles 11
Lyon 5
London Welsh 0

Results:
Bordeaux-Begles 37-29 Lyon
Edinburgh 25-13 London Welsh

Bordeaux-Begles moved into contention in Pool 4 after securing 5 points in a high scoring win at home to Lyon. However, having won away to Bordeaux-Begles, Edinburgh remain the team to beat in Pool 4. However, they made hard work of defeating London Welsh. Having trailed 13-6 to the visitors at the break, Edinburgh responded with 3 second half tries to get the win and spare their blushes.

Fri 12th Dec: Lyon v Bordeaux-Begles
After achieving back to back bonus point victories Bordeaux-Begles can edge closer to a quarter final spot by doing a double over their French counterparts

Sun 14th Dec: London Welsh v Edinburgh
With 3 wins in the bag, Edinburgh will expect to inflict further misery on winless London Welsh

Pool 5
Gloucester 14
Oyonnax 8
Zebre 4
Brive 1

Results:
Brive 22-30 Oyonnax
Gloucester 35-10 Zebre

Gloucester maintained control of Pool 5 with a comfortable win over Zebre. Despite going behind to a try early on for the visitors. Gloucester secured the bonus point win late on when replacement Mark Atkinson got in for a try. Oyonnax aren't out of the hunt after a 30-22 win away to Brive. However, they will know that a major haul of points will be required in their last 3 games to progress further in the competition.

Sat 13th Dec: Oyonnax v Brive
Oyonnax's win at Brive kept their qualification hopes alive. They will expect to make it back to back victories next Saturday.

Sat 13th Dec: Zebre v Gloucester
With the Pool firmly in their control, Gloucester will expect to take another step towards a home-quarter final in Italy

No, No I'm not at all one of those who want to throw away the competition. On the contrary I'd like to send a better team in Bayonne and against Exeter than today, in order to be top of the group. Here I was just answering to the idea of finishing 2nd and have an away Quarter-f, and I'm not happy about this particular idea, that's all...

You need to search for a dose of optimism Connachta. It's getting quite wearing.
5 points today and we crack on in this tournament.

I still think we have to be realistic : we've pretty the same level, and an away win is 25% probability

I agree here borders
I don't know how I feel about the challenge cup, but if lam wants to do well, then there is no point in me saying we shouldn't bother etc
Being realistic, only away games I have no hope in is ulster away, Glasgow away even tho we had a good game
anything can happen
The teams in this competition isn't thatp strong. Exeter at home will be a cracker
As for London irish. Poor team. Only two wins in the avIva. One of them wins was aagainst Newcastle. They are lucky London Welsh are losing every game by 30 points.

First of all Bradley was in charge back then. Enough said. 2nd of all we had no real depth, if I remember right we got a load of injuries at prop in that game and they pulled clear late on. I honestly don't think we'd have a huge amount to fear from any teams even away. We don't win too often away but there is no reason we couldn't go away and be very competitive. London Irish, Cardiff these type of teams are nothing special.

If we lose home or away to Bayonne I'm happy to give up the Challenge Cup but I hope we at least give the away game a go.

Possible but what for? being trashed away in Britain like we were by Northampton 5 or 6 years ago.. As someone said we have improved but not as much as waiting as reasonnable expectations away win against London Irish or even Cardiff.
Lose in Bayonne or against Exeter and I think Lam will give up the La Rochelle game

Couple of interesting results tonight. Newcastle beating Stade Francais 30-23 with a bonus point moves them onto 14 points and in a good position to win their pool. Stade picked up a losing bonus point but only have 5 points from 3 games, a long way back if they are going to qualify.

In Pool 5 Oyonnax beat Brive away from home and move onto 8 points. They have Brive and Zebre to come at home yet so should finish in 2nd with 17/18 points.

Grenoble hammered Rovigo but that was irrelevant in terms of qualification.

Looking at the 2nd place teams and what we may need to qualify
Pool 1: London Irish/Cardiff in 2nd place should finish on minimum 20/21 and possibly 24 or 25
Pool 2: Our Pool
Pool 3: I'd reckon Dragons with maybe 19 to finish 2nd. Doubt Stade will be bothered at this stage
Pool 4: Bordeaux/Begles on about 20 I reckon, depends how they go away to Lyon
Pool 5: Oyonnax on 17 or 18.

Going by that I reckon 20/21 points may be required if we don't win the group. Thats 15 or 16 points from our last 4 games, so either win them all of win 3 and pick up a losing bonus point and 2 try scoring bonus points. Not easy.

Not sure how much you can tell by looking at how the respective teams' in our group domestic fixtures fall around rounds 3 & 4 but thought it was worth putting up here as well:

Top 14
SAT - 29TH NOV 14
15:00 La Rochelle vs Bayonne
FRI - 19TH DEC 14
15:00 Bayonne vs Bordeaux-Begles
SAT - 20TH DEC 14
15:00 Racing Metro Paris vs La Rochelle

AVIVA PREMIERSHIP RUGBY
Saturday 29th November 2014
Exeter v Saracens 16:30
Saturday 20th December 2014
Sale v Exeter 14:00

GUINNESS PRO12
Saturday 29th November 2014
Connacht v Scarlets 19:30
Friday 19th December 2014
Leinster v Connacht 19:35

Pool 1
London Irish 10
Cardiff Blues 10
Rovigo 0
Grenoble 0

Results
Rovigo 18-33 Cardiff Blues
Grenoble 15-25 London Irish

After Round 2, Pool 1 looks like a two horse race with Cardiff Blues and London Irish both having picked up maximum points. It appears that all that remains to be decided is who tops the pool and who goes through as best runner up. Both sides came through their away matches with bonus point victories. Cardiff led Rovigo by just 6 with 20 minutes remaining but pulled clear to win with 15 to spare. Grenoble stayed in contention most of the way against London Irish through the boot of Irish born scrum half James Hart but a Luke Narraway try with 14 minutes remaining enabled London Irish secure the win and the bonus point.

Fri 5th Dec: Grenoble v Rovigo
With both sides all but out of contention, they will be playing for pride in this one.

Sat 6th Dec: Cardiff Blues v London Irish
Both sides look strongly placed to progress, the team who comes out with more points in the head to head games in Rounds 3 and 4 looks likely to win the pool.

Pool 2
Exeter 6
Connacht 5
La Rochelle 4
Bayonne 4

Results
Exeter Chiefs 33-13 Connacht
La Rochelle 25-13 Bayonne

After slipping up late on away to Bayonne in Round 1, Exeter made no mistake at home to Connacht winning 33-13 and collecting a bonus point. After a heavy defeat away to Connacht La Rochelle got back in contention by beating French Top 14 rivals Bayonne 25-13. These results leave all the teams in the pool with 1 win and all to play for ahead of the double headers in December

Thur 4th Dec: La Rochelle v Exeter Chiefs
After kickstarting their campaign at home to Connacht, Exeter will face a La Rochelle side who have showed they are a force at home in Round 2.

Sat 6th Dec: Connacht v Bayonne
After suffering a heavy defeat in Round 2, Connacht will know they can't afford to slip up in this one.

Pool 3
Newcastle 9
Dragons 6
Stade Francais 4
Bucharest 1

Results
Dragons 26-30 Newcastle
Bucharest 9-13 Stade Francais

Dragons were unable to back up their superb bonus point away win against Stade Francais at home to Newcastle on Friday night, both sides scored 3 tries in a ding-dong battle but it was Newcastle who prevailed to make it 4 wins for the bounce for them in all competitions and leave them on top of the pool ahead of their double header with Stade Francais in December. Stade Francais kept their campaign alive with an away win against Bucharest, 13 points in a 10 minute spell either side of half time moved Stade Francais clear but they didn't score for the final 38 minutes as Bucharest showed once again they are tough opponents at home. However, Stade hung on to win 13-9.

Fri 5th Dec: Newcastle v Stade Francais
After winning away to Dragons in Round 2, Newcastle will be eager to take a giant step towards the quarter finals by beating Stade Francais at Kingston Park.

Sat 6th Dec: Bucharest v Dragons
After 2 respectable performances by Bucharest to date, Dragons will travel to the Romanian capital knowing they face a tough test to keep their hopes of progression alive.

Pool 4
Edinburgh 8
Bordeaux-Begles 6
Lyon 5
London Welsh 0

Results:
London Welsh 20-52 Bordeaux-Begles
Edinburgh 25-17 Lyon

After letting an 8 point lead slip to lose at home to Edinburgh in Round 1, Bordeaux-Begles got back on track with a convincing 52-20 bonus point victory over a hapless London Welsh side on Thursday. Despite being outscored two tries to one by Lyon, 20 points from the boot of Tom Heathcote helped Edinburgh to a 25-17 win over Lyon which puts them in a strong position to progress.

Sat 6th Dec: Bordeaux-Begles v Lyon
With both sides having won one and lost one, the double header between these two French rivals will go a long way to deciding which of these sides will have a chance of progressing come January.

Sun 7th Dec: Edinburgh v London Welsh
After putting themselves in a strong position with 2 wins from 2, Edinburgh will expect to continue their progression to the quarter final against London Welsh.

Pool 5
Gloucester 9
Oyonnax 4
Zebre 4
Brive 1

Results:
Brive 21-26 Zebre
Oyonnax 15-25 Gloucester

Twenty points from the boot of Greig Laidlaw helped Gloucester to a win in France which put them in control of their pool. The sides had been level at 9-9 at the interval before Gloucester pulled clear to win. Zebre secured a rare away victory beating Brive to all but end the former European Cup winners Challenge Cup campaign.

Fri 5th Dec: Brive v Oyonnax
After suffering two defeats from two, Brive will be anxious to regain some pride at home to fellow French outfit Oyonnax

Sun 7th Dec: Gloucester v Zebre
After victories over the two French sides in their pool, Gloucester will expect to encounter little difficulty at home to Zebre.

After Round 1 of the Challenge Cup, the pools are beginning to take shape and those who lost in Round 1 will know that another defeat this coming weekend will leave them with a mountain to climb when the competition resumes in December.

Pool 1
London Irish 5
Cardiff Blues 5
Grenoble 0
Rovigo 0

Results
Cardiff Blues 37-14 Grenoble
London Irish 70-14 Rovigo

Fri: Grenoble v London Irish
London Irish will hope to build on their 10 try demolition of Rovigo away to a Grenoble side who will know another defeat will effectively spell the end of their interest in the competition.

Sat: Rovigo v Cardiff Blues
Cardiff will expect to make it 10 points from 2 games as they visit Italy to face Rovigo


Pool 2
Connacht 5
Bayonne 4
Exeter 1
La Rochelle 0

Results
Connacht 48-12 La Rochelle
Bayonne 30-24 Exeter Chiefs

Fri: La Rochelle v Bayonne
After a smash and grab victory over Exeter Chiefs in Round 1 Bayonne travel to French Top 14 rivals La Rochelle knowing a win will put them firmly in the mix for a quarter final spot.

Sat: Exeter v Connacht
After letting a winning position slip late on away to Bayonne, Exeter will be aware that a win is vital if they are to remain in contention in the pool.

Pool 3
Newcastle 5
Dragons 5
Stade Francais 0
Bucharest 0

Results
Newcaste 43-19 Bucharest
Stade Francais 22-38 Dragons

Fri: Dragons v Newcastle
After a shock bonus point win away to Stade Francais ignited Dragons season, they will be keen to put themselves at the head of the group ahead of the double header with Bucharest in December. Newcastle coming off 3 wins on the bounce will know that a win will tilt the balance of the group in their favour

Sat: Bucharest v Stade Francais
After collapsing at home to Dragons, Stade Francais will be wary of the trip to Bucharest who scored 3 tries in their defeat away to Newcastle.

Pool 4
Lyon 5
Edinburgh 4
Bordeaux-Begles 1
London Welsh 0

Results:
Bordeaux-Begles 13-15 Edinburgh
Lyon 28-18 London Welsh

Thurs: London Welsh v Bordeaux-Begles
After letting an 8 point lead slip late on at home to Edinburgh, Bordeaux-Begles face an uphill task to qualify from Pool 4 and will be looking to get back on track against winless London Welsh

Fri: Edinburgh v Lyon
Both sides enjoyed victories in Round 1. After a late smash and grab away to Bordeaux-Begles, Edinburgh will believe that another win here will put them in the driving seat to win Pool 4.

Pool 5
Gloucester 5
Oyonnax 4
Zebre 0
Brive 0

Results:
Gloucester 55-0 Brive
Zebre 24-33 Oyonnax

Fri: Brive v Zebre
After an embarrassing hammering away to Gloucester in Round 1, Brive will look to make amends on home soil against a Zebre side who let a 24-16 lead slip to lose 33-24 at home to Oyonnax in Round 1.

Sat: Oyonnax v Gloucester
After a 7 try thumping of Brive, Gloucester will travel to Oyonnax knowing another win will put them in control of Pool 5.

Edit: Maybe this could be put in the Challenge Cup thread. Leave it to the Moderators to decide.

The Challenge Cup kicks off on Thursday evening with Gloucester and Brive getting the ball rolling. In total 10 matches will be played over 5 pools. 8 teams will qualify for the quarter finals with no drop outs from the European Cup meaning the 5 groups winners and 3 best runners up will progress to the knock out stages. Below is how the groups line up and a look at the opening round fixtures.

Pool 1
London Irish
Rovigo
Cardiff Blues
Grenoble

Sat: Cardiff Blues v Grenoble
Cardiff who are 10th in the Pro 12 host Grenoble who are 6th in the French Top 14. Grenoble beat Brive 26-25 in their last league match while Cardiff lost 26-15 in a Welsh derby against Ospreys

Sun: London Irish v Rovigo
London Irish 9th in the Premiership host Rovigo. Rovigo beat Tbilisi 46-39 over two legs to progress to this stage. London Irish lost 44-24 to Exeter Chiefs last Saturday.

Pool 2
Connacht
La Rochelle
Bayonne
Exeter

Sat: Connacht v La Rochelle
Connacht 5th in the Pro 12 host 11th place Top 14 side La Rochelle. La Rochelle lost 30-10 to Clermont on Saturday while the previous evening Connacht won 9-6 away to Treviso.

Sat: Bayonne v Exeter
Bayonne 10th in the Top 14 lost 24-19 away to Lyon at the weekend and host Exeter who beat London Irish 44-24 on Saturday to move into 3rd in the Premiership

Pool 3
Newcastle
Bucharest
Stade Francais
Dragons

Fri: Newcastle Falcons v Bucharest
Newcastle 11th in the Premiership fresh from 2 wins in a row, the latest of which was a 23-3 win away to London Welsh on Sunday host Bucharest who beat Calvisano 28-26 on aggregate to qualify for the competition

Sat: Stade Francais v Dragons
Stade Francais, 5th in the Top 14 and off the back of a win over local rivals Racing Metro host Dragons who are 9th in the Pro 12 and lost their last match 24-10 away to Edinburgh.

Pool 4
Bordeaux-Begles
Edinburgh
Lyon
London Welsh

Fri: Bordeaux-Begles v Edinburgh
Edinburgh 8th in the Pro 12 and off the back of a 24-10 at home to Dragons travel to France to face a Bordeaux-Begles side flying in 3rd place in the Top 14. Bordeaux Begles thumped Castres 59-7 on Saturday.

Sat: Lyon v London Welsh
Lyon 9th in the Top 14 and off the back of an important 24-19 win at home to Bayonne host a London Welsh side bottom of the Premiership with 1 4 try bonus point and a -225 scoring difference from their 6 games to date.

Pool 5
Gloucester
Brive
Zebre
Oyonnax

Thur: Gloucester v Brive
Gloucester and Brive kick off the Challenge Cup for 2014/15 on Thursday. Brive 13th in the Top 14 lost 26-25 to Grenoble last Friday travel to face Gloucester who picked up a losing bonus point away to Saracens in a 28-21 defeat to leave them 6th in the Premiership.

Sat: Zebre v Oyonnax
Facing their 4th home game in a row Zebre 11th in the Pro 12 host Oyonnax who are bottom of the Top 14. Zebre lost 3-20 to Leinster at the weekend while Oyonnax lost 25-9 away to Montpellier in Round 9 of the Top 14.