Quarter-finals dates and kick-off times
Major Dublin occasion to kick off Champions Cup quarter-finals
As the eyes of rugby in the Northern Hemisphere turn to this evening’s 6 Nations kick-off, fans of the elite European club game can also look forward to another series of major fixtures following the announcement of the dates for the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will be packed to the rafters for the opening shots in what is always a memorable weekend when Leinster Rugby take on Bath Rugby in the first of the Champions Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, 4 April.
When the three-time champions last played a quarter-final in Europe’s top flight at the Aviva Stadium in 2012 – defeating Cardiff Blues 34-3 before going on to retain the trophy – the *50,340 attendance was the second-highest for a last eight match in the tournament’s history.
Bath, who along with Wasps became the first club to qualify for the quarter-finals after losing their opening two pool games, will be fully aware of the task in hand as to date, Leinster have won all three of their matches staged at the Aviva in the tournament knockout phase.
The second of the quarter-finals on Saturday, 4 April pits Pool 1 winners, ASM Clermont Auvergne, against current Aviva Premiership leaders, Northampton Saints, at fortress Marcel-Michelin where Clermont have now won 22 European games in a row.
The road to the London 2015 final at Twickenham Stadium will be clearer by the time No 1 seeds and first-time quarter-finalists, Racing Metro 92, clash with Saracens at Stade Yves-Du-Manoir on Sunday, 5 April, before RC Toulon wrap up the Champions Cup schedule with another mouthwatering Anglo-French confrontation against Wasps in the holders’ Stade Félix Mayol cauldron.
The massive European weekend gets under way on Friday, 3 April when Challenge Cup top seeds, Gloucester Rugby, go up against Connacht Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium. The following day sees the all-Welsh meeting of Newport Gwent Dragons and 2010 champions, Cardiff Blues, and the all-Aviva Premiership clash of Exeter Chiefs and Newcastle Falcons.
The curtain will come down on the quarter-finals on Sunday evening with London Irish and Edinburgh Rugby going head-to-head at the Madejski Stadium.
All eight of EPCR’s quarter-finals will be broadcast live with the coverage shared by BT Sport, Sky Sports, beIN Sports and France Télévisions.
*The 55,000 attendance at the 2011 Perpignan v RC Toulon tie in Barcelona is the current record for a European quarter-final
European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-finals
(All kick-offs local time)
Saturday 4 April
Leinster Rugby v Bath Rugby, Aviva Stadium (15.15) BT Sport, beIN Sports
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Northampton Saints (18.45) beIN Sports, Sky Sports
Sunday 5 April
Racing Metro 92 v Saracens, Stade Yves-Du-Manoir (13.45) beIN Sports, BT Sport
RC Toulon v Wasps, Stade Félix Mayol (16.15) FR2, Sky Sports, beIN Sports
Semi-final 1: RC Toulon or Wasps v Leinster Rugby or Bath Rugby
Semi-final 2: ASM Clermont Auvergne or Northampton Saints v Racing Metro 92 or Saracens
(Matches to be played on 17/18/19 April)
Champions Cup final: Saturday 2 May, Twickenham Stadium (17.00)
European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-finals
Friday 3 April
Gloucester Rugby v Connacht Rugby, Kingsholm Stadium (19.45) Sky Sports, beIN Sports
Saturday 4 April
Newport Gwent Dragons v Cardiff Blues, Rodney Parade (12.45) BT Sport, beIN Sports
Exeter Chiefs v Newcastle Falcons, Sandy Park Stadium (20.00) Sky Sports, beIN Sports
Sunday 5 April
London Irish v Edinburgh Rugby, Madejski Stadium (17.45) BT Sport, FR4, beIN Sports
Semi-final 1: Gloucester Rugby or Connacht Rugby v Exeter Chiefs or Newcastle Falcons
Semi-final 2: London Irish or Edinburgh Rugby v Newport Gwent Dragons or Cardiff Blues
(Matches to be played on 17/18/19 April)
Challenge Cup final: Friday 1 May, The Twickenham Stoop (19.45)