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Timisoara Saracens will host English giants Harlequins London on Saturday afternoon, in the 3rd round of the European Rugby Challenge Cup. The match counts for Pool 5, where Timisoara is dead last, while Harlequins is second.
Timisoara made its debut in the challenge cup this season, after Romania were awarded a place in the competition for the Superliga champions – as opposed to fielding a divisionary side, like in the previous years. The Saracens feeder club did well to reach the group stage by demolishing Italian side Calvisano, but results in the first two rounds were humbling. Timisoara lost by 42 points at home against Edinburgh and followed that with a 0-27 loss to in Paris to Stade Francais. On the bright side, they were much better in the second half in both games, showing that they were able to learn from the experience of being exposed to top teams. Timisoara is on the first place in Romania right now with 5 wins and 1 loss, tied with Steaua.
Harlequins was the favorite to win the group before it started, but lost away to Edinburgh in a 35-36 thriller, before defeating Stade Francais at home by 22 points. The English giants are not having a particularly great season, sitting on the 6th place in the Aviva Premiership and on the back of a 6 point loss to Newcastle Falcons last weekend. The visitors have brought a surprisingly strong squad to Timisoara, even if a few key guys have been left out and will look for a bonus point win here.
Bet on Timisoara vs. Harlequins and get your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!Team news & lineups:
Timisoara will miss Rose and Rus, but will get a couple of important guys back from injury. Harlequins will rest key guys like Robshaw, Visser or Roberts, but they will still field a very strong lineup.
Timisoara: 1. Eddie Aholelei, 2. Eugen Capatina, 3. Horatiu Pungea, 4. Valentin Poparlan, 5. Marian Drenceanu, 6. Randall Morrison, 7. Daniel Ianus, 8. Stelian Burcea (c), 9. Valentin Calafeteanu, 10. Jack Umaga, 11. Fonovai Tangimana, 12. Paula Kinikinilau, 13. Brian Sefanaia, 14. Stephen Shennan, 15. Catalin Fercu
Harlequins: 1. Joe Marler, 2. Dave Ward, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. George Merrick, 5. Charlie Matthews, 6. George Naoupu, 7. James Chisholm, 8. Jack Clifford, 9. Danny Care, 10. Ruaridh Jackson, 11. Alofa Alofa, 12. Winston Stanley, 13. Joe Marchant, 14. Charlie Walker, 15. Aaron Morris
Harlequns is without a doubt at a completely different level than Timisoara and will actually send a strong team on the pitch today. However, there are a few things working in Timisoara’s favor.
One very important advantage for Timisoara is that they provide the nucleus of players for the Romanian national team. Romania has just completed a very successful test match period with convincing wins over Canada, USA and Uruguay, so Timisoara’s internationals will have matches under their belt together and a lot of confidence coming into this game.
The very cold weather and difficult pitch in Timisoara will also be an important edge for the hosts. The Romanians are mostly relying on their strong pack, so that will work well on a frozen pitch. Harlequins will try to exploit the immense quality difference on the wings, but it will be hard to do so on a a hard, difficult pitch.
Obviously, the hosts will be the more motivated side and in these weather / pitch conditions I can see the Harlequins stars avoiding to go into the highest gear, trying not to risk any injuries.
Results so far have been very poor for the Romanians, but improvements have been visible. Timisoara looked like complete amateurs in the first half hour against Edinburgh, but steadily got better and those beginner errors and infringements are unlikely to resurface. The Romanians have visibly improved with each passing minute, let alone each passing game – the last half they played, at Stade Francais, was actually excellent, as Timisoara barely lost it 0-5.
With very important experience acquired from those first two matches, with the nucleus of the squad confident after the Romania test matches and with the weather conditions being favorable, I can see a good performance from Timisoara here. Harlequins will surely take the foot of the gas after scoring 4 tries for the bonus point, so I believe Timisoara will keep this within 30 points.
My tip is Timisoara Saracens to cover the 36,5 handicap (37 point spread european handicap at Bet365). The line is already moving down, so you might want to take this early. I`d bet on any handicap over 32 – 33 points, but with decreasingly lower stakes. Prediction: Timisoara Saracens – Harlequins 11 – 40.
Pick: Timisoara +37 EH
Odds: 1.90 @ Bet365
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.20
Event date: 10 December
*match can be viewed on rugbytv.ro
