We’re in the last eight of the Heineken Champions Cup as the greats and the good of European rugby compete for a spot at the Showpiece in Marseille on May 28th.
With another exhilarating weekend of KO drama ahead of us, we’re previewing every game of the quarter-finals, with all four games exclusively available to watch live on BT Sport.
Read on for TV channel info, team news and live stream details.
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Munster v Toulouse – 2.45pm, BT Sport 3HD & BT Sport Ultimate
Watch the live stream at 2:45 p.m
Our quarter-finals coverage begins with a truly delicious spectacle on Saturday lunchtime when Munster host reigning champions and five-time European champions Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium.
With no less than seven European titles, two founding members of the Heineken Cup will battle it out for a place in the last four at Saturday afternoon’s showdown in Dublin, making it the 19th appearance of either team at this stage of the competition.
In fact, the two sides have met six times in the knockout rounds, including the epic 2008 final at the Millennium Stadium, which defeated Munster 16-13 to secure their second European title.
More recently, Munster won the quarter-finals in 2014 and 2017 but Toulouse beat Munster in the round of 16 at Thomond Park last season en route to lifting the trophy.
No side have won more rounds of 16 in the history of the competition than Munster and Saturday’s win would take their tally to 15.
While hosts Munster have gone from strength to strength since the start of their European campaign, holders Toulouse fell after an unconvincing start to the quarter-finals, despite losing in the pool round to Wasp and a surprise home knockout defeat to Ulster.
However, Toulouse remain a team for the biggest stage and the French giants know what it takes to advance safely.
In Munster they meet what is arguably the most in-form side in the tournament, having defeated the likes of Wasps, Castres and Exeter en route to the last eight.
Back-to-back victories over Exeter, Ulster and Cardiff in all competitions mean the province are well placed to avenge last season’s 40-33 defeat at Thomond Park 13 months ago.
“We’ve been together for another year and a lot of guys have gained a lot of experience from a development point of view,” said Munster head coach Johann van Graan, who is moving to Bath at the end of the season.
“It’s the second time in a year that we’ve played Toulouse and a lot of guys have gained more experience on our journey as a group.
“We’d like to think we’re in a better place a year later, but every game is different. It’s a new challenge, a new venue, different teams, a new referee and it will certainly be a challenge on Saturday afternoon.”
While last April’s round of 16 defeat by Toulouse was played behind closed doors, the Aviva Stadium is the venue for Saturday’s second leg, which has already sold over 31,000 tickets.
“Another big difference this year is that we have our 16th man, we have the Red Army going to Dublin,” said Van Graan.
“That is already the second highest number of spectators for a quarter-final in Munster in our history. We are betting that our 16th man will make a big difference in Dublin on Saturday.”
Leicester Tigers v Leinster – 5.15pm, BT Sport 2HD
Watch the live stream at 5:15 p.m
World-class rugby never fails to return on Saturday afternoon when a test match in all but name follows the Munster v Toulouse highlight.
With coverage from 5:15pm on BT Sport 2HD, the eyes of the rugby world will be on Welford Road as Premiership pacesetters and two-time European Cup winners Leicester host four-time Heineken Cup champions and United Rugby Championship leaders Leinster an unmissable Anglo-Irish duel.
The last five meetings between the sides have resulted in two wins each, including Leinster’s 19-16 triumph in the final of the 2009 competition at BT Murrayfield.
The Tigers, who were back-to-back Heineken Cup champions in 2001 and 2002, are back at the top of European rugby for the first time in a decade in a remarkable transformation under rugby director Steve Borthwick.
The Tigers have won every game this season but Borthwick has no illusions about how difficult it will be for them to defeat a team of Leinster’s European descent and reach the semi-finals.
“I think everyone knows what a great team Leinster are and what an incredible record they have in Europe,” Borthwick told the club’s website. “It’s an organization with incredible resources and depth.”
More than 20,000 fans watched Leicester beat Bristol Bears 56-26 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday and Borthwick believes the crowd can make a big difference against Leinster.
6
Total number of Heineken Cup crowns won by Leinster & Leicester
“I want this club to play in big games and big occasions and we had one of those today,” he said.
“Next week is going to be another incredible day here with another big crowd from Leicester Tigers and we’re excited to see what that will be like. I hope the supporters are too.
“This is a support base that cares so much about the team, about every player, and the players care about every fan. I hope they see that, I hope they feel that, we’re in this together.”
Meanwhile, Leinster travels to the East Midlands after winning his last seven away games against English sides in Europe, including the last win of the season at Exeter Chiefs in the last eight of the competition.
In fact, the Irish giants have won five of their last six quarter-final games.
In the face of an epic confrontation, Leinster senior trainer and former England coach Stuart Lancaster has described Saturday’s heavyweight match as “one of Europe’s special games”.
“Leicester probably have international quality in every position, I think,” said Lancaster. “It’s not unlike our team. They have a lot of experienced players. It will definitely be one of the special European games.
“They have done incredibly well this season. They’ve only lost four games which is a great testament to how good Steve is [Borthwick] trained and improved the team last season.”
La Rochelle vs Montpellier – 5.15pm, BT Sport 3HD
Watch the live stream at 5:15 p.m
Last season’s defeated finalists La Rochelle continue their quest for back-to-back Heineken Cup finals at home to top-14 rivals Montpellier.
Beaten by Toulouse in last season’s Twickenham tournament, Ronan O’Gara’s side are hoping to do even better this year.
La Rochelle, currently seventh in the French league, are yet to be beaten in Europe this season and have the added advantage of playing in front of their home crowd at the Stade Marcel Deflandre.
‘Les Corsaires’ entertain a side from Montpellier who finished in the last eight despite a humiliating dismantling in 13 attempts by Leinster earlier in the tournament.
In fact, Philippe Saint-Andre’s side had to wait until the fourth round for their first win as a 37-26 win over 2020 champions Exeter ensured a safe passage into the last 16.
There, the French team defeated Premiership champions Harlequins in an upside-down two-legged classic to secure their quarter-final spot.
Hopes of making the last four were given a hammer blow in their quest for European glory with the news that second-row striker Paul Willemse is out for the remainder of the season.
The 29-year-old, who has been omnipresent in France’s Six Nations Grand Slam-winning side this year, tore his medial collateral ligament in Montpellier’s top-14 defeat in Lyon last weekend.
Another all-French clash with Racing or a semi-final showdown with Sale Sharks awaits the winner of this duel.
Racing 92 vs Sale Sharks – 2.45pm, BT Sport 2HD
Watch the live stream at 2:45 p.m
The semi-final line-up will be confirmed on Sunday afternoon when three-time Heineken Cup finalists Racing welcome two-time EPCR Challenge Cup winners Sale Sharks to the state-of-the-art La Defense Arena.
French giants Racing have played 81 European games in their history while Sale has played 71, but this weekend’s round of 16 will be their first in the competition.
Visitors to Sale will be keeping an eye on their first semi-final appearance after losing to Biarritz in 2006 and runners-up La Rochelle last season.
In contrast, hosts Racing are no strangers to European knockout rugby. This is the club’s fifth consecutive appearance in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup and seventh overall.
They have won three of their last six duels and lost three at this point. However, they only won one of the three home games.
Having reached the final in three of the last six seasons, the Parisians have twice fallen at the last hurdle against English opponents, in 2016 against Saracens and most recently in 2020 against Exeter Chiefs.
And with the spur of a semi-final encounter against La Rochelle or Montpellier, the winner of that duel will be crowned on 28 June.
While Racing is yet to suffer a defeat in the competition, Sale has reached the last eight for the second straight year despite suffering two defeats en route to the quarter-finals, making them big underdogs to progress.
However, Sharks rugby director Alex Sanderson says his side have played some of their best rugby games with the underdogs tag and believes it will need to do so again.
“We have the opportunity to show who we are in terms of our character, it’s very motivating,” he said.
“They showed their best qualities and played their best rugby as they had their backs to the wall and went into a hostile environment where we are the outsiders. It’s the same again.”
Manu Tuilagi has had an injury-plagued season for club and country but the wrecking ball center is unleashed against Racing after being rested for Sale’s recent Premiership stint.
Earlier this week, Sanderson described Racing’s offensive weapons as “lightning bolts,” but Sale is hoping to fight fire with fire with Tuilagi at the forefront of what’s sure to be an electrifying event.
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