Toulouse and La Rochelle both booked their spots in the Champions Cup semi-finals with confident victories over international opposition.

The two best sides in the Top 14 cruised into the last four, keeping alive dreams of claiming another European title and could yet meet each other in the final.

By comparison, it was a weekend to forget for the South African contingent. The Stormers were knocked out by the Exeter Chiefs, who put in a spirited performance to topple the reigning URC champions. 

This result came off the back of Toulouse’s triumph over the Sharks, which meant the quarter-finals became the end of the road for South Africa’s first foray in the Champions Cup.

In the other game of the weekend, Leinster comfortably stormed past Leicester, which means all four teams remaining in the competition have lifted the title in the last five years.

Ramos runs riot for Toulouse against the Sharks

Thomas Ramos followed up his player of the match performance last week with another sublime display at the Stade Ernest-Wallon, scoring 29 points to help Toulouse beat the Sharks 54-20.

The France fullback and Juan Cruz Mallia both crossed the whitewash twice in what eventually became a bit of a romping.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Toulouse. For the first 50 minutes, the Sharks remained intact on the scoreboard, with tries from Grant Williams and Boeta Chamberlain keeping them afloat.

Just four points separated the two at the break, and then, in much the same fashion as last week, Toulouse barraged their South African opponents, entering another dimension.

The Sharks will rue the travel disruption which marred their mid-week preparation, but in the end, they just couldn’t keep pace with the rumbling behemoth, as Toulouse scored four tries in the final 12 minutes.

Leinster brush past Leicester Tigers in Friday night hammering

Leinster put in a ruthless display in Dublin to book their spot in the semi-finals with a 55-24 battering of Leicester Tigers.

Leo Cullen's side took the lead within two minutes after Garry Ringrose darted over and never looked like squandering that advantage. Valiant defending from the Tigers kept their Irish counterparts at bay for much of the first half, and when Anthony Watson touched down in the corner before the break, the reigning English champions looked within range.

But any hope of a fightback was soon put to bed with a clinical second-half display from Leinster, in which they scored 24 unanswered points.

In the aftermath, Leicester head coach Richard Wigglesworth commented on the gap between the two sides.

“They are an outstanding team with quality internationals and quality coaches that have been together a long time,” he said.

“None of that is in question, but the gulf is in what you have available to spend. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong. I’m not asking to spend more money. I’m just being clear.”

Leinster have won 21 games in all competitions and are showing no signs of slowing down. To maintain that winning run, Leinster will have to beat Toulouse in the next round, where they will once again have home advantage.

Exeter fairy-tale run continues following success at Sandy Park

Exeter Chiefs continued their hunt for an unlikely trophy with a brilliant 42-17 win against the Stormers. The English side came out of the block firing and built a sizable first-half lead with tries from Tom Wyatt, Jack Nowell and Olly Woodburn.

The South African visitors failed to lodge a single point in the first 40 minutes of action but can blame their poor start on travel disruption, which resulted in the team travelling to Exeter on delayed flights in three separate convoys.

It was far from ideal preparation, and things got worse at the start of the second period when Sam Simmonds scored a fourth for Exeter. The Stormers would eventually claw a couple of tries back, as Damian Willemse, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Marvin Orie all got on the scoresheet, but it would prove too little too late.

Their exit from the competition brought an end to South African hopes in the tournament.

For Exeter, the dream of repeating their 2020 title win is still alive, and to actualise it they will now need to overcome reigning champions La Rochelle in Bordeaux.

La Rochelle overpower Saracens to set up a semi-final clash with another English opponent

La Rochelle were at their clinical best on Sunday as they beat Saracens 24-10 in a physical encounter.

The French side wasted no time in building a lead, opting to take the point early. Three successful penalties from Antoine Hastoy and a smart finish from scrum-half Kerr-Barlow put the hosts in the driving seat come halftime.

Another try from Kerr-Barlow after the break cemented what already looked certain, as the scrum-half willingly received a pass from Levani Botia to race clear.

Eroni Mawi powered over to give Saracens a shred of hope, but in the end, the faultless kicking of Hastoy, who clocked 14 points in total, ensured the game was already out of reach.

With minutes remaining, Brice Dulin was sin-binned for a high tackle, forcing La Rochelle to complete the game with 14 men. They did so admirably and put in some extraordinary try-line defending to limit Saracens to just ten points across the full 80 minutes.

The reigning champions will face Exeter in the last four as they attempt to reach their third consecutive European final in a row.