Adam Williams presents his prediction for the European Rugby Champions Cup match.
La Rochelle is heavily favoured to win their upcoming match. The question is, by how much will they win?
La Rochelle
It's not guaranteed that they'll win, though. Back in the 2018/19 season, the French side faced Bristol Bears three times and lost one of their home matches (3:13). But that was during the 2018/19 season when La Rochelle were not as strong, and it was in the group stage of the Challenge Cup—the second-tier European competition from which they would have advanced anyway. Currently, they sometimes face unexpected setbacks, as in their recent Top 14 match where they lost to bottom-of-the-table Vannes (14:23). However, when La Rochelle are fully focused, even a team like Bath Rugby, who had won eight out of ten home matches prior, suffered a defeat in the first round (20:24).
Bristol Bears
One team that managed to defeat Bath Rugby was Bristol Bears (36:26). However, the Bears are susceptible to home losses too, like in their opening Champions Cup fixture against Leinster (12:35). The Dublin side are essentially half the Irish national team, now bolstered by Jordie Barrett. Does La Rochelle boast such stars? Well, they do have Uini Atonio, the French international hooker, and centre Jonathan Danty, who also represents France. But that's not the extent of their squad.
La Rochelle vs Bristol Bears Prediction
It’s clear that the home side are favourites to win. But what will be their upper limit? The maximum point difference between the sides was 24 points during the Challenge Cup quarter-final in the 2018/19 season (39:15). We don't expect it to exceed that now. Since then, it's Bristol Bears who have made significant strides.
