Munster to play Toulouse at Aviva Stadium due to Ed Sheeran concerts

Munster have confirmed their Champions Cup quarter-final against Toulouse will be played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin as thier home at Thomond Park is unavilable due to Ed Sheeran concerts.

The Irish province are scheduled to face the defending champions on the weekend of 6/7/8 May.

Sheeran will perform at Limerick’s Thomond Park on 5 and 6 May.

Muster chief operating officer Philip Quinn said it was not a decision “that was made lightly”.

“We have been vocal in our support for securing large-scale concerts for the venue for several years,” said Quinn.

“It has been nine years since we hosted concerts of this scale and we are fully aware of the huge economic benefit to the local economy, along with the stadium itself, that these concerts bring.

“We understand it’s frustrating for our committed and loyal support base, and we would love nothing more than to be playing in Thomond Park, however this decision was made prior to the season commencing and came at a time when economic factors were central to the decision-making process given the impact of the pandemic.

“We are now working through our plans to make our quarter-final as accessible as possible to all our supporters and will confirm details of these plans in the coming days once EPCR confirm the fixture details for the Aviva.”

Munster beat Exeter to reach the last eight while five-time winners Toulouse kept the defence of their title alive with a dramatic one-point aggregate win over Ulster.