I think it's pretty unlikely that Edinburgh will win the challenge cup. La Rochelle and Ospreys have both been on a rampage, and Bath and Gloucester are still there too. I still think aiming to finish lower is dumb but this has been done really poorly. Why not give the team that wins away in round 1 a home semi with it reverting to a draw in the unlikely event both away teams win?

Mark Mostyn wrote:
Not if Edinburgh win the Challenge Cup! They have a home quarter against La Rochelle who aren't going to be bothered and then a home semi so it's very possible

Edinburgh are away if they win their quarter final, regardless of opponent.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016%E2%80%9317_Eu..._Cup#Knock-out_stage

But good point. 9th seed might not get to play at all, which is reason enough to aim to be 8th seed.

For us it's much of a muchness, the fact that if we finish 8th seed we're away in the final is softened by being in France (where we have a great record) rather than England (where we have an awful one) in the semi.

For Cardiff on the other hand, whose record in England and France is pretty appalling (2010 notwithstanding), playing to lose would almost make sense.

ConnachtCows wrote: I think I understand their logic

The English Team are ranked higher than the French team
So 7th in England is considered the 1st seed
7th in the French league is considered 2nd seed
8th in Pro 12 is considered the 3rd seed
9th in the Pro 12 is considered the 4th seed

Semi Finals
1st seed vs 4th seed
2nd seed vs 3rd seed

Expected Final:
1st seed vs 2nd seed

There is no logic to that. Whatsoever.

(1) the EPCR say this was done by a draw, and even if we don't believe them...
(2) there is no Euro ranking for teams like there was in the HEC days and...
(3) we don't know the teams yet so even if there was we couldn't rank them.
Finally and most importantly (4) how exactly would you rank the unknown English team (and hence the English league) over the French team/league, and why would the French league agree to this undocumented non-rule?

Bazzo wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote:

connemara man wrote:

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so Connacht would be better of finishing below the other qualifier

Bizarre in theory but in practice it's very unlikely that Cardiff will go to England and win if they continue to be as rubbish as they have been for the past few months

Still better off finishing below them. If we finish above Cardiff we have to play away twice to go through, if we finish below it would be away followed by home.

Not if Edinburgh win the Challenge Cup! They have a home quarter against La Rochelle who aren't going to be bothered and then a home semi so it's very possible

pinky wrote:

Mark Mostyn wrote: Bizarre in theory but in practice it's very unlikely that Cardiff will go to England and win if they continue to be as rubbish as they have been for the past few months

Makes no difference, the higher ranked team are away either way.

Right, I was talking about the possibility of getting Cardiff away in the "final" not really sure why though. Back to sleep with me

Mark Mostyn wrote:

connemara man wrote:

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so Connacht would be better of finishing below the other qualifier

Bizarre in theory but in practice it's very unlikely that Cardiff will go to England and win if they continue to be as rubbish as they have been for the past few months

Still better off finishing below them. If we finish above Cardiff we have to play away twice to go through, if we finish below it would be away followed by home.

I think I understand their logic

The English Team are ranked higher than the French team - I imagine that this was agreed in the re-design of the Heineken Cup
So 7th in England is considered the 1st seed
7th in the French league is considered 2nd seed
8th in Pro 12 is considered the 3rd seed
9th in the Pro 12 is considered the 4th seed

Semi Finals
1st seed vs 4th seed
2nd seed vs 3rd seed

Expected Final:
1st seed vs 2nd seed


Not sure I understand the problem. Have I missed something?

Not only have the odds on our playing CC next season lengthened dramatically, but we can't even enjoy the rest of this season properly.

Mark Mostyn wrote: Bizarre in theory but in practice it's very unlikely that Cardiff will go to England and win if they continue to be as rubbish as they have been for the past few months

Makes no difference, the higher ranked team are away either way.

connemara man wrote:

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so Connacht would be better of finishing below the other qualifier

Bizarre in theory but in practice it's very unlikely that Cardiff will go to England and win if they continue to be as rubbish as they have been for the past few months

Evil_g wrote: Did someone in the Pro12 agree to this?

I would imagine so, presumably after a half bottle of absinthe at the local distillery.

It's staggering incompetence.

Which games should we throw?

Accidentally Onside wrote: I'm sure they were aware

You're not suggesting they don't care, are you?

Did someone in the Pro12 agree to this?

Holy flip, I was just about to compliment the EPCR on having the foresight to do the draw early so that teams and fans can maybe get a head start on their planning and then I read the details.
It's a freaking comedy show!
There was also no advance notice that a draw was taking place and thus no opportunity for external scrutiny.

www.epcrugby.com/news/35199.php

Like if they'd announced the draw process in advance, someone would have pointed out the glaringly obvious flaw.

salmson wrote:

connemara man wrote:

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so Connacht would be better of finishing below the other qualifier

Took you all of, what, half a second, to work that out? [strike]Lonely bloke in Neuchatel[/strike] The EPCR hasn't twigged yet.

TBF to the EPCR there was a 50-50 chance this would happen, so I'm sure they were aware