John Barclay names the English club he expects to go furthest in the Investec Champions Cup

By Ben Hart

Saracens are the English team best equipped for a deep run in the Investec Champions Cup according to former Scotland captain John Barclay.

Barclay is part of the Premier Sports team providing exclusive coverage of every game from the Investec Champions Cup, including Saracens’ 27-5 round one victory over the Bulls.

The Bulls advanced further than any other South African side in last year’s competition and Barclay believes Saracens’ emphatic win augurs well for their hopes of capturing a fourth star.

Asked which Premiership side he thinks can have a deep run in the tournament, Barclay said: “You can't look too much further than the Saracens result against the Bulls.

“You go through the Bulls team and the quality there is pretty frightening. To put in a victory in the manner they did and to completely dominate the Bulls, almost a full international team, I think Saracens were brilliant. They've also got pedigree in the competition.”

Bulls had lost just once prior to their defeat on Saturday and Barclay feels the ease with which they were dismantled by Saracens underlines the nous in Mark McCall’s side.

“You look at the quality in that squad, the experience, they know how to get it done in Europe,” said Barclay.

“Stade Francais [Saracens’ next opponents] were pretty disappointing at the weekend against Munster who struggled themselves.

“I think Saracens are always one of the teams you look at - they’ve won it in the past, they’re in the conversation. Even though they've not won it for a number of years, they’ve got outrageous quality and depth across that squad.”

Barclay believes that round one started with a bang and the former 76-cap Scotland forward saw the opening games provide just a flavour of what's to come.

The respected broadcast TV pundit will be on duty again on Friday night to open another big weekend in the tournament as Sale Sharks take on Racing 92 live on Premier Sports from 7.30pm.

“It’s only the first week and it’s been broadcasted differently but we’ve already seen the quality of the games, the weather clearly didn't help as best it could, but I still think there was a really great level of excitement and we’re only one round in, which is a great sign," said Barclay who is part of a 37-strong team delivering the Champions and Challenge Cup for Premier Sports, the new broadcasters of the premier European competitions, which are celebrating their 30th anniversary.

Barclay also believes his old side, Glasgow Warriorsshowed their Champions Cup credentials in a statement win against Sale Sharks but insists tougher tests lie ahead.

Barclay is part of the Premier Sports team providing coverage of every game live from the Investec Champions Cup, including Glasgow’s 38-19 win over Premiership side Sale in round one.

Barclay hailed the success as the ‘result of the first round’ and hoped it could be a stepping stone in the Glasgow's quest to secure a maiden European triumph.

“Certainly, the first half was some of the best attacking rugby I've seen from any team so far this season,” said Barclay, who enjoyed an eight-year stay at Scotstoun.

“I think the challenge for Glasgow was always how they can transfer their form from the end of last year in terms of winning the league and the next step is to take that form up to the highest level in Europe.

“They just completely dominated Sale across the board. The speed of their attack, the intensity, everything to do with their attack, was fantastic.”

Rugby on another level - Premier Sports is the new home of Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup with 80 games live throughout the competition. Premier Sports is available in the UK from £10.99 a month and is available on Sky, Virgin and Amazon Prime. Premier Sports also streams online via dedicated apps on a wide range of devices and platforms. Visit: www.premiersports.tv to sign-up.