The stakes just got higher for Leinster Rugby ahead of Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup Quarter Final against La Rochelle.
If they gain revenge on Ronan O’Gara’s men for the last two seasons they will stage a home semi-final at Croke Park in Dublin.
GAA HQ is among the venues selected by European Professional Club Rugby to potentially stage a match in the penultimate round of this season’s tournament and to bridge a 15-year gap since the last time club rugby was played in the stadium.
On that occasion, Leinster defeated Munster in a legendary 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final which generated a then world record attendance for a club match.
With the Aviva Stadium unavailable for the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals due to preparations for the UEFA Europa League final, number two-ranked Leinster will play either Northampton Saints or the Vodacom Bulls at Croke Park on the weekend of 4/5 May if they manage to defeat holders, Stade Rochelais, in Saturday’s quarter-final.
If number one-ranked Stade Toulousain qualify for the last four, they will play either Union Bordeaux-Bègles or Harlequins at Le Stadium in Toulouse.
If third-ranked Northampton Saints qualify with home-country advantage, they will play Stade Rochelais at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, while if fourth-ranked Union Bordeaux-Bègles also qualify with home-country advantage, they will take on the Exeter Chiefs at Matmut ATLANTIQUE in Bordeaux.
if Harlequins qualify to meet the Exeter Chiefs, the match will be staged at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, and if the Vodacom Bulls book a semi-final place against Stade Rochelais, then the UK venue for that fixture will be announced pending results from this weekend’s quarter-finals.
The clubs with the highest rankings from the pool stage of the tournament will earn home country advantage for the semi-finals, and the exact dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage for the matches will be announced as soon as possible following the quarter-finals.
The Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup season reaches its climax at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 May with the top clubs from each competition battling it out to win the coveted trophies. Tickets are selling fast with 65,000 already purchased for the showpiece finals weekend which is widely regarded as the pinnacle of international club rugby.
Sport for Business Perspective:
If Leinster get the win it will open up Croke Park to Rugby, two weeks before it plays host to Bruce Springsteen and two and a half before potentially hosting a massive fan zone for Liverpool fans if they qualify for the final of the UEFA Europa League. That represents a multi-million euro revenue swing for the GAA depending on results in what were once deemed to be ‘foreign sports’.
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