The battle for qualification for the knockout stages of the 2011/12 Heineken Cup will resume on Friday, 13 January 2012 when Round 5 of Europe’s elite club rugby tournament gets under way with the clash of Ulster Rugby and Leicester Tigers.

HEINEKEN CUP FIXTURES – Rounds 5 and 6

The Pool 4 meeting of the two former champions will guarantee a sell-out at Ravenhill, while on the same night the qualification picture in Pools 2 and 5 is also likely to become clearer when Racing Metro 92 take on leaders, Edinburgh Rugby, at Stade Yves du Manoir in Paris, and when Ospreys go up against Benetton Treviso at the Liberty Stadium.

The dates and kick-off times for Rounds 5 and 6 of the Heineken Cup were announced today (Wednesday, 21 December 2011) by ERC, and Munster Rugby – the only club with four wins in the pool stage to date – will continue their push for a coveted place in the last eight when they host Castres Olympique at Thomond Park on Saturday, 14 January 2012 before rounding off their Pool 1 campaign a week later against Northampton Saints at stadium:mk in Milton Keynes.

Meanwhile, reigning champions Leinster Rugby who are unbeaten in Pool 3, travel to Firhill on Sunday, 15 January where they meet a resurgent Glasgow Warriors, while in Round 6 they will look to reach the knockout stages once again when they host Montpellier at the RDS on Saturday, 21 January.

Following Harlequins’ outstanding Round 4 victory over Toulouse at Le Stadium, the outcome of Pool 6 remains on a knife-edge and the one definite place in the last eight will be determined on Friday, 20 January next when Harlequins take on Connacht Rugby at the Sportsground in Galway and when four-time champions, Toulouse, travel to Kingsholm for a meeting with Gloucester Rugby.

In Round 6, matches in the same pool will kick off at the same time.

A full schedule of live television coverage for Rounds 5 and 6 will be announced at a later date.