Heineken Cup Round 6 Preview
Spread bettors trying to negotiate the complexities of the Heineken Cup qualifying process and its various permutations will know that it is quite a task. For any punter to have bought or sold any of Sporting Index's outright spread markets for the tournament, a brief summary: Toulouse, Northampton, Toulon and Leinster are already guaranteed a place in the quarter finals and will joined by the two remaining pool winners and the two group runners-up with the most points.
There are twelve matches for rugby union spread betting fans to pay attention to, starting Friday 22nd Jan until Sunday when round six of the pool stage concludes and the quarter-final fixtures will be clear.
First up is Pool Two, with Saracens hosting Clermont Auvergne. Sarries are a lost cause - although buyers of their pool index spread at 1.5pts will want to see the St. Albans based side finish in third place - but ASM Clermont have plenty to play for. Mathematically, they can still sneak into the quarters, provided things go to plan in pools three and four. Even so, buyers of their outright index spread at 2pts (60-40-20-10 index) can be considered brave as Challenge Cup rugby looks the next port of call for Aurelien Rougerie and his men. They go into this match as the underdogs, but sellers of Saracens' supremacy spread will note that Brendan Venter's men are yet to win at Vicarage Road in the Heineken Cup this season.
Racing Metro host Leinster, who are certain of topping the pool and require just a bonus point to ensure a home fixture in the quarter finals. Buyers of total tries spread in this match might like to take note.
Most interesting is Pool Four, where three teams are still in the mix to top the group. Buyers of Bath's pool index spread at 7.5 will need their team to snatch a try bonus against Biarritz and hope that Italians Aironi can do a job on Ulster to see a maximum profit - a long shot, but Sporting Index's traders have been caught out before. The Basques and the boys from Belfast are currently level on 17 points and spread buyers of Ulster's index at 15 will be aware that they will only profit if the side finish with more points than Biarritz, thanks to the French side's bonus point last week.
It's a similar story in Pool Five. Leicester and Perpignan are also level on 17 points, and spread buyers of the Tigers' outright index at 24 will currently be happier than buyers of their pool index spread at 17. The Catalans will win the group if they end up level on points with the English Champions, but it is likely that the Tigers will still progress as best runners up.
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