Champions Cup Preview
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 22: Antoine Dupont, captain of Toulouse celebrates with team mates after their victory during the Heineken Champions Cup Final match between La Rochelle and Toulouse at Twickenham Stadium on May 22, 2021 in London, England. A limited number of fans will be allowed into the stadium as Coronavirus restrictions begin to ease in the UK following the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
The Heineken Champions Cup returns for the final round of pool fixtures this weekend, with clubs needing a top eight finish to progress into the knockout stages.
Racing 92, Ulster and La Rochelle have already qualified from pool A, while Harlequins, Leicester Tigers, Munster and Bristol Bears are also already through.
Last year's Challenge Cup winners Montpellier, Northampton Saints, Bath and Ospreys need wins if they are to progress in pool A.
While in pool B French giants Stade Francais, Castres and Scarlets are running a high risk of not making it through to the next round as they make up the bottom three.
Cardiff's Champions Cup tie against Toulouse has been cancelled due to “significant” positive Covid cases in the French club's squad.
The Welsh side have been awarded a 28-0 win and five match points, taking them to eighth and are now in a good position to qualify despite not winning a match.
Friday – Harlequins vs Castres – 8:00 PM
Having already progressed through to the knockout stages, Harlequins head coach Tabai Matson has made 11 changes to his starting XV from last week's 36-33 win over Cardiff.
Nevertheless, Matson has picked a competitive side to win as five points could secure top spot and a home advantage at the quarter-final stage.
Matson told the club website: “Having spoken to some of our senior players over the weekend, they want to finish top in Europe. So, we roll into this Friday night against Castres with an opportunity to play well again with a different group. It's a great opportunity for guys who have been working furiously for months now to play at The Stoop in front of a sold-out home crowd and cement our European aspirations, which is a pretty exciting opportunity.”
The match is a must win for Castres who are in ninth, three points behind eighth place Wasps, so will need results to go in their favour to qualify.
Saturday – Bath vs Leinster – 1:00 PM
Stuart Hooper's side will need a miracle if they are to qualify for the next round as they require a win and results to go in their favour to progress.
In all competitions Bath have won just one game in 14 and were thrashed 45-20 in the reverse fixture in December.
Bath's Arthur Cordwell will earn his first European start after debuting against the Irish side in the first round of the competition.
Leo Cullen's formidable Leinster are in fourth in pool A after two wins and one defeat and welcome back captain Johnny Sexton to their starting 15.
Last time out Bath fell to a 39-21 defeat away to La Rochelle, while Leinster thrashed Montpellier 89-7 at the RDS Arena.
Saturday – Leicester Tigers vs Bordeaux Begles – 3:15 PM
Having already progressed to the last 16, Steve Borthwick has made six changes to his starting XV after last week's 29-28 victory over Connacht.
But second placed Tigers will be hoping to secure top spot and a home quarter-final with a bonus point win.
Bordeaux will qualify for the next round if they pick up at least a losing bonus point or if Castres fail to secure a bonus point win against Harlequins on Friday night.
Saturday – Ulster vs Clermont – 5:30 PM
A sold-out crowd at Kingspan Stadium awaits this mouth-watering clash as Ulster attempt to win pool A and secure a home quarter final.
Ulster are level on points with Racing 92, so must better the French sides result against Northampton Saints on Sunday.
It's a game Ronan O'Gara's Clermont must win to qualify as they lie in seventh, just two points and two places above dropping into the Challenge Cup.
Saturday – Scarlets vs Bristol Bears – 5:30 PM
Scarlets require a miracle if they are to qualify for the knockout stages as they lie in 12th in pool B on just two points.
Dane Blacker and Rhys Patchell link up in an exciting half back combination, while Shaun Evans makes his European debut and Ryan Conbeer returns to the wing.
Pat Lam's Bristol have already qualified for the last 16 but will be wanting to finish as high up the table as they can.
Daniel Thomas will play his 100th game for the club, while Bryan Byrne returns to the starting XV and Siva Naulago is named amongst the replacements.
Saturday – Glasgow Warriors vs La Rochelle – 8:00 PM
Danny Wilson's Glasgow Warriors need a win if they are to progress into the last 16 as they lie in eighth on five points and are ahead of Montpellier on just points difference.
Head coach Wilson told the club website: “We're looking forward to being back at Scotstoun tomorrow night.
“Having been in the lead 17-14 after 50 minutes we were really disappointed with the final 30 minutes of the game against Exeter. We have the opportunity to put that right on Saturday night against La Rochelle.
“It's great to welcome back Rufus McLean, Richie Gray and Simon Berghan into the 23.
“La Rochelle are a powerful team with a quality player base and one of the big European team over recent years. We're looking forward to the challenge of welcoming them to Scotstoun.”
The visitors have already qualified for the knockout stages but will be hoping to improve on their current third place.
Written by Ben Jaycock
