This week has all been about the build-up to the Guinness Six Nations but when that concludes in March we now know what faces the four Irish provinces in the knock-out stages of European action.
Leinster and Munster have advanced to the Investec Champions Cup’s round of 16, setting up repeat fixtures in early April with Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints respectively.
Connacht and Ulster will both face French opposition in the EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16, traveling to Pau and Montpellier respectively over the weekend of April 5/6/7.
Three away trips is not exactly what would have been hoped for but that was the way the cards felt after disappointing weekend results and the shortened pool stage format of this year’s competition.
Leinster finished top of Pool 4 after winning 27-10 in Leicester on Saturday but will have home advantage for the teams’ play-off clash which will be played over the weekend of April 5/6/7.
Caelan Doris crashed over for a last-minute bonus point try against Tigers, adding to earlier efforts from Joe McCarthy, Jordan Larmour, and Dan Sheehan, as Leo Cullen’s men made it four pool wins out of four to progress as the second seeds.
Intriguingly, if Leinster can end Leicester’s interest in the tournament post-Easter, they will host the winners of the round of 16 encounter between the DHL Stormers and La Rochelle, the reigning champions whom they defeated 16-9 during last month’s first round.
Meanwhile, Munster reached the knockout stages with a fourth-place finish in Pool 3. They were on track for a higher finish, leading Northampton 20-10 thanks to Gavin Coombes’ early second-half try, but the Gallagher Premiership leaders battled back to win at Thomond Park for the first time.
Graham Rowntree’s side will be out for revenge when they visit Franklin’s Gardens, eager to regain the form that saw them win 29-18 in Toulon. Victory in the round of 16 would set up a quarter-final trip to either the Vodacom Bulls or Lyon.
Munster have positive memories from their most recent trip to Northampton, when they won a December 2022 pool game, 17-6, thanks to two Coombes tries, a terrific defensive display collectively, and a player-of-the-match performance from Tadhg Beirne.
The BKT United Rugby Championship title holders have come through an injury-ravaged run of matches, and endured some more setbacks on Saturday will illness forcing Conor Murray’s withdrawal before kick-off, and both Peter O’Mahony and Tom Ahern suffering knocks during the game.
There were fifth-place finishes for both Connacht and Ulster in their respective Investec Champions Cup pools, with Connacht’s hopes – raised by Friday night’s impressive 27-10 dismissal of Bristol Bears – ended by Saracens’ subsequent 39-24 victory over Lyon.
Ulster, meanwhile, bowed out of the Champions Cup disappointingly with a 47-19 defeat away to Harlequins. Ireland Six Nations squad members, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale, both touched down late on, adding to David McCann’s first-half try.
It is a second heavy loss for Dan McFarland’s men, coming on the back of a chastening home outing against Toulouse whose seven-try tally was matched by ‘Quins. They now enter the Challenge Cup for only the second time in their history.
Ulster’s previous involvement in the tournament was in the 2020/21 season when they overcame both Harlequins (57-21) and Northampton Saints (35-27) on English soil, before falling short against Leicester Tigers (33-24) at the semi-final stage.
Montpellier, that year’s Challenge Cup winners, will be their round of 16 hosts the week after Easter, with captain Iain Henderson saying: “Obviously things didn’t go the way we planned, and I think a lot of it was down to us. Down to our mistakes and not taking our opportunities.
Connacht will travel to play Pau for the first time since the 2003/04 tournament when they won a two-legged second-round affair, triumphing 29-7 at home before losing the away fixture (10-6). John Muldoon and Tim Allnutt, two members of the current management team, were part of the squad back then.
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