Heineken Cup bares its competitive teeth
18 clubs still in the running for European silverware
As many as 18 Heineken Cup clubs are still in contention for European silverware following a pulsating weekend of Round 5 action.
Please see attached a table of how the Heineken Cup clubs stand going into Round 6
Reigning champions, Toulon, as well as ASM Clermont Auvergne and Munster Rugby emerged as winners of Pool 2, Pool 4 and Pool 6 respectively to seal their places in the last eight of the Heineken Cup while Ulster Rugby, Leicester Tigers and Toulouse are also guaranteed coveted spots in the quarter-finals.
Three-time tournament winners, Leinster Rugby, need just one point from their Round 6 game against Ospreys at the RDS to top Pool 1, while if Saracens manage to see off the challenge of Connacht Rugby at Alliianz Park next Saturday, they will join Toulouse as qualifiers from Pool 3.
Meanwhile, Northampton Saints are still in the mix to secure their place in the knockout stage of Europe’s premier club rugby tournament but they will probably need to defeat Castres Olympique with a bonus point at Franklin’s Gardens in the their final Pool 1 fixture and hope that Leinster slip up.
With the third, fourth and fifth best Heineken Cup pool runners-up qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup, Northampton are also in contention here along with Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh Rugby, Harlequins, Connacht Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Scarlets, Gloucester Rugby, Exeter Chiefs and Castres Olympique.
They are in the running to join Bath Rugby and London Wasps who have already booked their spots in the Amlin Challenge Cup last eight.
With the top four ranked pool winners in the Heineken Cup securing prized home quarter-finals, and with €7 million (euro) to be shared in meritocracy payments among the countries of the clubs who qualify for the knockout stages of ERC’s tournaments, the stakes are as high as ever as the tension and drama of Round 6 approaches.
