EDF Energy Anglo Welsh Cup / Geoffrey Riddle / 24 October 2008 / Leave a comment

Geoffrey Riddle looks at the clash between the English and Welsh titans.

After the glorious highs of the Heineken Cup this past fortnight, rugby punters must try to eke out a living by betting on what can only be described as the dross of the EDF Energy Cup this weekend.

The Anglo-Welsh Cup was treated with utter contempt by the English teams in the first round, when all four Welsh regions won against Premiership opposition. It was interesting to see that unfold, especially when you consider that the winner of this Mickey Mouse competition gets a place in Europe, provided only that they are English. With such a prize in the offering, and the stipulations that go with it, why then are the Welsh regions taking it so seriously, while Premiership clubs seem not to care less? If the clubs believe that their other interests take priority, perhaps then the tournament should be scrapped?

Wily Eddie Jones, who is always worth listening to provided he isn't winding someone up, has been saying for a while that it should be replaced in favour of an under-23 tournament, but then what about the Guinness A League as a breeding ground? It's a complete mess, and until it is rectified, broadcasters must be pretty peeved at buying the rights to this.

That said, the Beeb may just be getting their money's worth on Saturday when they screen what is undeniably the pick of this weekend's games when Cardiff host Leicester in the Welsh capital. Such is this tournament's profile that the Blues felt it necessary to play out this fixture at the Arms Park, rather than in the Millennium Stadium where they saw off Gloucester 37-24 last week in the Heineken Cup.

And maybe when the Cardiff executives took that decision, they also had in mind the last time these two teams met in October 2006, when the Tigers scalped Cardiff 21-17 in the Millennium Stadium. That hard-fought victory was aided considerably by the sending off of Blues' prop Gary Powell in the 50th minute as Leicester's record against Welsh teams in the principality is surprisingly poor. Their win record there stands at just under 50%, whereas Cardiff's all-time win record against English teams at home stands proudly at around 66%, and they have won eight of their last nine such matches. That is reflected in the early match prices, which sees Dai Young's men trade at [1.7] and their visitors at [2.04].

Cardiff have made six changes to the side that picked off the Cherry and Whites last week. Young has brought in Robin Sowden-Taylor for the old war-horse Martyn Williams at open-side, which he may have got away with had Xavier Rush been available at No.8. That is not the case however, and Leicester's back-row of Martin Corry, Tom Croft and Jordan Crane look the more dynamic.

The fact that Tom Shanklin sits on the bench is also a worry, especially as Leicester seem to have rolled out the big guns for this fixture. Coach Heyneke Meyer has brought South African fly-half Derrick Houggard back into the fold. This may be seen by some as a prosaic choice, but his skills set is balanced by the presence of Toby Flood, who moves out one to inside-centre. The tight-five also looks strong.

Cardiff have a solid record at home in recent times, and they haven't suffered a defeat there since their 11-10 reversal to Edinburgh just after New Year. That alone is probably enough to see them shade this titanic contest.