Heineken Cup quarter-final dates and kick-off times announced
One of the most anticipated weekends in the rugby calendar will get underway with the all-French clash of ASM Clermont Auvergne and Montpellier at Stade Marcel Michelin on Saturday, 6 April following today’s announcement by ERC of the dates and kick-off times for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
Saracens will be up against last season’s beaten finalists, Ulster Rugby, in the second of the Saturday fixtures with a venue to be announced at a later date, while Sunday’s matches on 7 April will kick off with the meeting of pool stage top seeds, Harlequins, and two-time former Heineken Cup champions, Munster Rugby, at the Twickenham Stoop.
With all matches broadcast live, and with capacity crowds expected at every venue, the curtain will come down on the weekend when French heavyweights, Toulon, take on Leicester Tigers, who won the tournament in 2001 and 2002, in the first ever meeting between the clubs in Europe.
Five of the clubs in the last eight of the world’s most competitive club rugby tournament – Clermont, Harlequins, Leicester, Munster and Ulster – have European titles to their names, while Montpellier will be appearing in the knockout stage for the first time.
FIXTURES
(All kick-offs are local time)
Saturday, 6 April
Saracens v Ulster Rugby, Venue TBC 18.30
Sky Sports/Canal+/Sky Italia
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Montpellier, Stade Marcel Michelin 16.40
FR2/Sky Sports/Sky Italia
Sunday, 7 April
Harlequins v Munster Rugby, Twickenham Stoop 14.00
Sky Sports/Canal+/Sky Italia
Toulon v Leicester Tigers, Venue TBC 17.30
FR2/Canal+/Sky Sports/Sky Italia
QUARTER-FINAL NOTES
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Montpellier
• The match at Stade Marcel Michelin will be the first meeting of the clubs in a European tournament
• Clermont have now gone 54 matches unbeaten at home
• Clermont reached the last four last season before losing 19-15 to eventual champions, Leinster Rugby, in a memorable semi-final in Bordeaux
• Morgan Parra is the leading scorer from the pool stage with 90 points
Saracens v Ulster Rugby
• The game will mark Saracens’ third appearance in a Heineken Cup final
• Ulster bucked a tournament trend last season by with an away quarter-final victory over Munster at Thomond Park
• Owen Farrell set a tournament record of 10 penalties in a match during Saracens’ key win over Racing Metro 92 at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes in Round 5
• Saracens’ Director of Rugby, Mark McCall, was Ulster captain in the club’s Heineken Cup winning season of 1999 but missed the final through injury
Harlequins v Munster Rugby
• Harlequins came through the pool stage as No 1 seeds for the first time in the club’s history
• Munster have reached the knockout stage of the tournament 14 times in the past 15 seasons
• The last time the clubs met in European competition, Harlequins pulled off a famous 2011 Amin Challenge Cup semi-final victory at Thomond Park
• Munster have played in 13 Heineken Cup quarter-finals winning nine, and three of those wins were away from home: v Stade Francais Paris 2002, v Leicester Tigers 2003 and v Gloucester Rugby 2008
Toulon v Leicester Tigers
• Toulon’s only appearance to date in the last eight was in 2011 when they were defeated by Perpignan in front of a record quarter-final crowd of 55,000 at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona
• Leicester have played in 10 Heineken Cup quarter-finals, winning six and losing four
• Each club has one player in their Heineken Cup squads who have a tournament winner’s medal: Freddie Michalak (with Toulouse in 2003 and ‘05) and Tigers’ Geordan Murphy in 2001 and ‘02
• Leicester have won one of their 10 tournament quarter-finals away from home when they beat Leinster at Lansdowne Road in 2005
HEINEKEN CUP SEMI-FINALS
Matches to be played on weekend of 26/27/28 April
The winner of the first-named quarter-final match in each semi-final pairing will have home country advantage
Semi-final 1: Saracens or Ulster Rugby v Toulon or Leicester Tigers
Semi-final 2: ASM Clermont Auvergne or Montpellier v Harlequins or Munster Rugby
Heineken Cup final: Saturday, 18 May; Aviva Stadium, Dublin 17.00
