Heineken Cup Betting Update - Indepth Pool Analysis

With five of the six Pool matches in the Heineken Cup having now been played, it remains far from clear exactly who will advance to the quarter finals, and who will be left concentrating on their respective domestic leagues. We thought we would go through the individual pools looking at the situation.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> The six Pool winners automatically progress, as do the two best runners up. Some teams are now definitely out of contention for a place in the knock out stages, and their lack of motivation should be considered when determining the likely outcomes. Heineken Cup Pool 1 The so-called Pool of death is going to the wire. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Biarritz played fantastic rugby to beat Leicester at Welford Road on Sunday, and now hold a three-point advantage over Wasps, with the Londoners travelling to South West France next week. Leicester are just one point behind them, and will be confident of picking up a win and bonus point at Calvisano in Round 6. It is possible for all three teams to finish on the same score if Wasps beat Biarritz by less than seven points and Leicester thrash Calvisano. It then goes down to who has the best record against one another. However, we expect Biarritz to overcome the defending champions at Park des Sports Aguilera, a ground where they have not been beaten this term. They are the 1/2 favourites to top the pool, with Leicester at 7/2 and Wasps at 9/1. All three will be fighting to the end, as a runners up place could be enough to get them through, and each is still quoted at 20/1 or shorter to win the competition. Heineken Cup Pool 2 Leinster became the first team to qualify for the next round with a stunning late rally at Bath on Friday night and so this Pool is done and dusted. Treviso have been the surprise success of the whole competition, and go to Dublin next week, but are very unlikely to have amassed enough points. Leinster will be keen to end with six wins out of six and so claim the top seeding. They are 9/2 secomd favourites for the Cup. Heineken Cup Pool 3 Tournament favourites Toulouse (3/1) are in a strong position on 19 points, and host Llanelli next week. The Starlets are out of contention after losing to Northampton, who themselves are in line for a runners up place. They are on 16 points and play Edinburgh at Franklins Gardens in the final group game. Heineken Cup Pool 4 The Ospreys are now out of the running, and so their match against Castres could be interesting. Munster appear to be in control, but with their game against Harlequins being played at Twickenham in front of a bumper crowd, Quins will be in no mood to surrender. Defeat for the Irish and a Castres win could see the perennially unlucky province ejected, with the French going through. The Ospreys will probably allow themselves a wry smile if their own defeat enabled the elimination of Munster, a side with whom relations are far from civil. Heineken Cup Pool 5 Along with Pool 1, this is the one which is most interesting, and which the bookies are offering prices for. Three teams are very much in contention, Newcastle leading on 17 points, with Perpignan and the Dragons both on 15. Newcastle entertain the Dragons at Kingston Park, and the welsh are still harbouring a grudge from the Round One match which saw the Falcons win in Wales, and sparked some critical comments from Rob Andrew. Without the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Jamie Noon, Matt Burke and Dave Walder, there could well be some sweet revenge for the Neath-Swansea side. They are 10/1 to win the Pool, but the difficulty could be that Perpignan probably have the easier game at whipping boys Edinburgh. The French are 5/2 to win the Pool, with the Falcons holding scant appeal at 4/9. Heineken Cup Pool 6 The only way that Stade Francais cannot top this group is if they allow Gloucester to beat them with a bonus point on Sunday, whilst failing to get one of their own. This is what they subjected the cherry and whites to in a thrilling Round One encounter, but they can now afford to keep things tight. Ulster are not in the race, but Glaws will be scrapping for a win even if their advancement is starting to look unlikely. Stade are priced at 8/1 to go all the way. We shall be providing pour usual in-depth analysis and previews of the live Heineken Cup matches so be sure to click back here later in the week.