Weakened Leicester show why away sides need Champions Cup miracles
The odds on multiple away wins in this weekend’s Champions Cup last 16 are not terribly good.Since the single-leg concept was born three years ago there have been 24 matches, with the hosts losing only two.If that strike rate alters significantly this time it will certainly confound the bookmakers.Bordeaux Bègles, the defending champions, have even been quoted at 1-100 to beat Leicester on Sunday, a remarkable price for a two-horse race.It might be slightly different if the Tigers were at full strength but, as the bookies are keenly aware, that is very much not the case with, among others, Ollie Chessum, Joe Heyes and Nicky Smith all non-runners.
There is something seriously awry when a proud club such as Leicester find themselves approaching what should be a pivotal game with a weakened team.Their head coach, Geoff Parling, is required to give his key international forward trio a mandatory post-Six Nations break at some juncture and, accordingly, has chosen to prioritise a top-four domestic finish.At this point a year ago it was a similar story: Saracens rested their star men and duly shipped 72 points at Toulon.Sarries, Harlequins, Leicester and Sale conceded 215 points between them and bowed out with barely a whimper.The ability to fight on two fronts has become an English rarity, with the notable exception of Bath, whose squad depth continues to grow.
Is there a solution? Not a straightforward one, certainly.The current structure is technically set until 2030, albeit with a twist in 2028.In that season the eight Champions Cup quarter-finalists will pivot to face seven teams from Super Rugby Pacific and one from Japan, the idea being to anoint a world club champion every four years instead of retaining the traditional format.Even then, it is reasonable to ask if all the world’s top players will be available off the back of a demanding year, culminating in the 2027 World Cup in Australia and the 2028 Six Nations.Parling enjoyed the simplicity of the old Heineken Cup pool format but since then the calendar has grown ever more packed and the sport more intense.
“I just don’t know how you fit everything in,” said the former England forward this week.“That’s for the powers that be, but you’ve got to have some form of rest somewhere.The game is very physical now.We all want the best versus the best, but it is what it is.”The challenge is magnified by the need to win big knockout ties on consecutive weekends to progress to the last four.
If Northampton can see off Castres under the Friday night lights at Franklin’s Gardens, for example, their prize will be a trip to a fully stacked Bath next week, unless Saracens produce a startling turnaround from their recent 62-15 Prem drubbing at the Rec.Likewise Harlequins, if they beat Sale at the Stoop on Saturday, would be rewarded with another outing to Dublin, where they went down 45-28 to Leinster with a weakened team in the pool stages and lost 62-0 last April.A penny for Bristol’s thoughts, too, if they somehow pull off a miracle in Toulouse on Saturday only to set up a likely last-eight visit to Bordeaux.Hopefully there will be a joker lurking somewhere in the pack.The South African provinces have been gathering momentum lately and, in theory, the Stormers and the Bulls are better placed to silence the home supporters in Glasgow and Toulon respectively than they would have been in January.
Not that John Dobson, the estimable Stormers’ head coach, is getting ahead of himself,“What will it take us to win?” he asked wryly this week,“Venus to align with Uranus and Saturn,”Glasgow have certainly become fiendishly hard to beat at Scotstoun and recent history is firmly stacked against every away side,Let’s just say that if any of Northampton, Bath, Toulon, Glasgow, Toulouse, Quins, Bordeaux and Leinster fail to reach the last eight then their conquerors will be bucking the trend.
Australia says it won’t raise drug prices after Trump’s 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals imported into US
Australia will not cave in to pressure from pharmaceutical giants and the Trump administration by removing consumer price protections on common medications, the health minister, Mark Butler says.Donald Trump imposed a new 100% tariff on branded pharmaceuticals imported into the US overnight, Australian time, trying to force manufacturers to agree to drug-pricing deals or commit to making their products domestically.It is the latest challenge for Australian manufacturers selling products to American consumers and comes as the White House tries to force changes to Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which guarantees lower prices for prescription holders here.Under a new executive order signed by Trump, large pharmaceutical companies will have 120 days to announce plans to avoid the new tariff, while smaller companies have 180 days.Companies agreeing to move manufacturing to the US can see a reduced 20% tariff, with some carve-outs given to companies agreeing to preferred pricing deals for US consumers
Blue Owl Capital limits withdrawals after investors try to redeem $5.4bn
A major private credit investment firm, Blue Owl Capital, has imposed a cap on withdrawals after investors tried to pull $5.4bn from two key funds, in the latest sign of crumbling confidence in the unregulated lending market.The New York-headquartered firm released filings on Thursday that showed a surge in redemption requests, with investors asking to take back 21.9% of the cash stored in Blue Owl’s $20bn (£15bn) Credit Income Corp fund between January and March. Meanwhile, investors requested 40
Google to tap into gas plant for AI datacenter in sharp turn from climate goals
Google’s plan for a partnership with a natural gas power plant that could provide energy for one of its datacenters in Texas was unearthed by new research and confirmed by the company. The move is part of an ongoing about-face for the tech giant, which once pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030 and has long been seen as a pioneer in clean energy.The gas power plant is slated to be built in Armstrong county, a sparsely populated area in the Texas panhandle. According to a report by the research organization Cleanview, the project is being led by Crusoe Energy, which partnered with Google to develop the datacenter campus known as “Goodnight”, named after a nearby town.Crusoe filed for a permit in January to build the 933-megawatt power plant on the site of the Goodnight campus, which showed the facility would operate off the grid and provide energy to at least two buildings on the campus, according to Cleanview
Court dismisses former WhatsApp security chief’s lawsuit against Meta
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Alana King spins Australia to crushing win over West Indies to seal ODI series sweep
Alana King has spun Australia to a commanding nine-wicket victory over West Indies as the tourists completed an ODI series sweep in St Kitts.The leg-spinner ripped through the hosts with a stunning spell of 5 for 19 from 10 overs as the West Indies collapsed after a bright start to be bundled out for 136 in the third and final ODI in the series.Australia raced to their target inside 20 overs as opener Phoebe Litchfield (68 not out from 56) and veteran Ellyse Perry (33 not out) steered them home.King claimed her second-best figures in women’s one-day internationals in the crushing win over West Indies, after she claimed 7 for 18 at the World Cup last year.The 32-year-old leaves the Caribbean with 11 wickets across six white-ball matches after returning to the T20 team in style with five scalps from three games in the shorter format
Washington Wizards apologize after $10k April Fools’ prank draws backlash
The Washington Wizards apologized on Thursday after an April Fools’ Day in-game promotion during their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers prompted criticism on social media.During Wednesday night’s game at Capital One Arena, a fan was brought on to the court for a blindfolded half-court shot promoted as being worth $10,000. The shot missed, but arena staff and performers reacted as if it had gone in and briefly presented the fan with a ceremonial check as part of what later was revealed to be a scripted skit.Video of the sequence circulated online and led to questions about whether the fan had been misled.“To do this to a fan that chose to come see a 17-win team is unhinged,” Jemele Hill, a contributing reporter for the Atlantic, wrote on X
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