The News Review:
- Regions have improved Welsh Heineken Cup hopes
- Provincial fortunes will shape Six Nations mentality
- Saint-Andre ready for Munster
Regions have improved Welsh Heineken Cup hopes
Walesnline United Kingdom
Narraway has been part of Gloucester teams humbled by Welsh regions during the last two Heineken Cup campaigns – the Cherry and Whites losing to both the Blues at the Millennium Stadium in ctober and also to the spreys in Swansea last season. Now Gloucester hope it’s third time lucky on Sunday when they host the unbeaten Blues in a Pool Six showdown at Kingsholm. But Narraway said: “The Blues are a great side with so many great players and the Welsh regions have certainly benefited from having their leading players with just the four sides. “So it is hard to single out individual threats as their squad is almost entirely international players. “But Andy Powell has come on really powerfully and played some great rugby.
Provincial fortunes will shape Six Nations mentality
Irish Times Ireland
Munster and Leinster go into their Pool ne and Two English-Irish summit meetings against Sale Sharks and Wasps still masters of their destiny writes Gerry Thornley. Victories for both would effectively ensure qualification for the quarter-finals and leave them well placed – with Montauban and Edinburgh to come the following weekend – to push on for home quarter-finals. Irish rugby could go into the Six Nations comforted in the knowledge that interest in Europe come March has again been secured and thus in relatively buoyant mood. Defeat for either Munster or Leinster this weekend however would leave them scrambling for survival in the pool finale as most probably one of the two best runners-up.
Saint-Andre ready for Munster
SkySports
html’>Rugby on Sky. Sale will travel to Thomond Park to take on defending champions Munster in a crucial Friday night contest. The Sale coach is relishing the clash. “We wanted to be in the Heineken Cup and to play the biggest games you can possibly imagine in top level rugby and we couldn’t dream of a better clash than facing teams like Munster” said Saint-Andre. “It doesn’t get much better than this.
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