In the lead up to the 2024-25 Investec Champions Cup round of 16, City A.M. has put together a barometer in partnership with Investec to assess which teams are hot – and which are not – ahead of April’s knockouts.
Team of the week: Munster, Ireland
They may have been facing bottom-of-the-league Dragons in the URC last weekend but Munster followed up their agonising loss against Northampton Saints in the final round of pool games of the Investec Champions Cup with a 19-38 victory in south Wales.
Five different scorers – plus a penalty try – contributed to Munster’s haul, with 21 points coming in just four minutes at Rodney Parade.
It meant Munster were leading 31-0 at half-time, with their minds set on a round of 16 clash in the Champions Cup with former club great Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle on the continent.
Champions Cup who’s hot…
Having beaten Saracens to qualify for the knockouts in Europe, Castres backed it up with an impressive win in Paris against Racing 92. That’s back-to-back away victories for the French side, who host Benetton in the round of 16.
A hugely depleted Harlequins side beat Northampton Saints at the weekend to cement themselves in the Premiership top four race. Quins head to Leinster in the Champions Cup round of 16 and will need their depth to get a result.
…and who’s not
Benetton, having become the first Italian side to qualify for the knockouts, crashed down to earth in a humiliating 43-0 loss at Ospreys in the URC. They may have been without a number of their stars but they offered little resistance in Swansea.
Ulster have a tough gig in the Champions Cup knockouts, heading to Bordeaux, but a poor loss at home to Zebre in the URC last weekend would have done little for the confidence of the Irish province, who are in need of a run of form.