What is all this nonsense of having the draw in Neuchâtel?
I know it is their new HQ but that is no reason to have media events there. ERC used to host them in whatever stadium the final was to be played in.
Or even just take the cheap option and have it in the BT Sport studio. Doing it in Switzerland serves no purpose other than to reinforce the fact they are not ERC.

Of the English Teams would love Newcastle

Can't see them being overly pushed and potentially great away trip

That said I'd take any bar Gloucester (assume Quins are top seeds)

London irish would be a great weekend too

What you used to see with the old Challenge Cup was French teams would only half bother with it at the pool stage (which often was still good enough to qualify), then if they got through they would decide how seriously to take the knockout stage. Teams with not much chance of top 6 but safe from relegation went gung-ho to try and get into the HC.
This season, with less on offer, they didn't bother much at all, right from the start. Some clubs didn't even register their top players.
Next season might see more of a return to the approach they took before, so I would expect a bit more of an effort from them at the pool stage, but I still expect all to be beatable, especially with Bordeaux and Montpelier out of the equation.

Really interested to see who we get. When you see the French Top 14 winners Stade lose twice to Dragons, lose to Newcastle and scrape past Bucharest you know the French aren't too pushed. No French team in the last 8 in 2014/15. Ok this competition does guarantee European Cup qualification this time around but once we avoid any of the bigger name English sides I'll be happy.

We've earned top seeding, we must be due a bit of good karma with the draw after Cardiff and Gloucester.

I shall make my prediction entirely on the basis of where I want to go.
Grenoble, Newcastle, Calvisano.

biffo77 wrote: draw is tomorrow?

Yep. Lunchtime.
www.epcrugby.com/europeanrugbychallengec...992.php#.VYAC3kaTLHg

draw is tomorrow?

The draw before a draw format makes a prediction hard but I'm going to guess at one of the two the most likely (or least unlikely) draws:
Gloucester, Castres, Calvisano.

(the other most likely group is Brive, Newcastle, Calvisano).

pinky wrote:

Fourdogs wrote: My prediction for our pool is;
Brive, Newcastle and Agen.

Interesting idea. A pool prediction contest. Whoever gets closest wins some fantastic prize or something.

Maybe the prize is me or you organizing (not paying, of course) the winners travel arrangements for an away match, we'll send them the most round about way, without leaving Europe.

I'd like a pool with teams we know we can beat. Unfortunately Toulouse and Leinster are in the other competition.

Fourdogs wrote: My prediction for our pool is;
Brive, Newcastle and Agen.

Interesting idea. A pool prediction contest. Whoever gets closest wins some fantastic prize or something.

Weekends for the matches have been anounced.

Round 1: 12/13/14/15 November
Round 2: 19/20/21/22 November
Round 3: 10/11/12/13 December
Round 4: 17/18/19/20 December
Round 5: 14/15/16/17 January 2016
Round 6: 21/22/23/24 January 2016

My prediction for our pool is;
Brive, Newcastle and Agen.
Going to spend the weekend on Booking.Com

I'm stuck in Cork, so I assume London or Paris will be my real starting point for trips to France, as I don't fancy the trip to Dublin, it usually costs more in parking, tolls and fuel, than the Cork to London flight.

I found CDG pretty easy going to Toulouse, got of EI from Dublin, at 10am, 1pm Flight to TLS with AF, for the first match.
On that trip, we knew the date of the match so we could organize better, so we left Toulouse by train on Sunday, went to Lourdes, lit a candle for the Mammy, and continued by TGV to Paris, flew home from Paris CDG on the Monday.

St Placide wrote: It's not so complicated to get to Pau: The simplest option is to take a Transavia flight from Dublin to Orly, and these are great value at the moment, and change to Air France or HOP (inexpensive) from there to Pau. Et viola...

CDG is not as easy as it sounds: 90% of flights to Toulouse, like all internal French flights, depart from Orly Airport on the other side of the city. Transfers between the two are a pain in the neck.

www.hop.fr
www.transavia.com

Cheers St Placide, I had no idea there were flights to Orly from Ireland. Timetable shows them stopping in late October though, so looks like a seasonal job. Would be very useful if they extended it though as you can get pretty much anywhere in France from Orly.

It's not so complicated to get to Pau: The simplest option is to take a Transavia flight from Dublin to Orly, and these are great value at the moment, and change to Air France or HOP (inexpensive) from there to Pau. Et viola...

CDG is not as easy as it sounds: 90% of flights to Toulouse, like all internal French flights, depart from Orly Airport on the other side of the city. Transfers between the two are a pain in the neck.

www.hop.fr
www.transavia.com

pinky wrote:

biffo77 wrote:

pinky wrote: Toulouse is handy for a few of them alright (Agen especially), but there are no direct flights from Ireland to Toulouse in winter AFAIK, and if you are going to go indirect, you may as well get as close as possible.

ah, but you can switch to Toulouse in CDG, so you can get a flight from Dublin and not leave the airport.
Also easyjet fly to Toulouse from London, Paris, etc.

Fair enough. Two flights followed by a three hour train ride wouldn't be my idea of a fun weekend, then again I did go to Bayonne via the Canaries so I'm hardly a model of transportation efficiency.

I should mention I love train travel!!