Blues aim to topple Irish, Edinburgh target second chance to qualify

matthewrees - CROPPED

Tries, and plenty of them, will be the order of the day in European Challenge Cup Pool One this weekend, as London Irish and Cardiff Blues bid to top the group.

The two teams are currently level on points at the summit, with Irish holding a narrow head-to-head advantage over their Welsh opponents heading into the final round of fixtures.

Both sides are away from home this weekend, with Irish at Rovigo and the Blues at Grenoble, and each will be gunning for the bonus point win that will secure or snatch top spot.

The Blues must hope Irish do not achieve maximum points if they are to stand a chance of progressing as pool winners, but hooker Matthew Rees knows putting four tries past Grenoble will be no mean feat.

"We are in with a chance of making the quarter-finals and that's the most important thing for us," he said. "We know it is going to be a very tough game in Grenoble, but it is one we are capable of winning.

"A lot of us have tasted French rugby out there and we know that a difficult challenge lies ahead of us. But we are in a good place at the moment and we are looking forward to that challenge.

"We want to win things and it is important we make the quarter-finals in the Challenge Cup. We want to win silverware - that's what you are judged on."

Failure to topple Irish will leave the Blues hoping to advance as one of three best-placed runners-up.

Edinburgh missed out on a chance to seal their place in the last eight with a Pool Four match to spare when they lost 21-19 to Lyon at the weekend.

That leaves the Scottish side facing a winner-takes-all clash with Bordeaux on Friday, with third-placed Lyon also eager to swoop for second - or even first if the other fixture ends in a draw - with a win at beleaguered London Welsh.

Three quarter-final berths have already been decided, with Pool Five winners Gloucester looking set to progress as top seeds having won all five of their matches so far.

Gloucester visit Brive this weekend, while Oyonnax host Zebre.

In Pool Three, Newcastle Falcons will be eager to tie up their place alongside table-toppers Newport Gwent Dragons in the last eight with a win at Bucharest Woves, and Lyn Jones' Dragons are at home to Stade Francais, who could sneak into second.

The only matter left to be decided in Pool Two is whether Connacht can qualify amongst the best second-placed teams. The Irish province are at La Rochelle, while group-winners Exeter Chiefs are at home to Bayonne.

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