On To The Quarters: Heineken Champions Cup Rundown
On To The Quarters: Heineken Champions Cup Rundown
A look at the stats and the matchups from the Heineken Champions Cup.
The Heineken Champions Cup quarterfinals matchups are set and will be live on FloRugby for fans in the Middle East and North Africa.
The games will be around the weekend of March 29, 30, and 31, with specific dates and times to be confirmed.
Here’s a rundown of Round 6:
• Saracens, the No 1-ranked club going into the quarterfinals, have won all six pool stage matches for the second time in their history. The 2016 and 2017 champions, who have reached the knockout stage for the eighth season in a row, first accomplished the feat in 2015/16 before going on to lift the trophy in Lyon.
• Five clubs from the Guinness PRO14, two from the TOP 14 and one from the Gallagher Premiership make up the quarterfinalists. Five is the PRO14’s best representation since 2011/12, when Leinster went on to win the title.
• Toulouse made the most offloads during the six pool matches with 90, while Cheslin Kolbe had the highest total of defenders beaten with 41.
• With Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors both reaching the last eight, two Scottish clubs have qualified for the knockout stage in the same season for the first time.
• Simon Zebo’s two tries in the win over Scarlets for second-ranked Racing 92 brings his total to 28 (Munster 23, Racing 5) and up to sixth place on the all-time list behind Chris Ashton (39), Vincent Clerc (36), Brian O’Driscoll (33), and Tommy Bowe and Dafydd James (both 29).
• The overall 139,456 attendance from last weekend’s matches was the highest for Round 6 since the number of clubs in the competition was reduced from 24 to 20 in 2014/15.
• All four Irish provinces have qualified for the quarterfinals of EPCR’s two main tournaments in the same season for the first time.
• Saracens’ 28 points equals their own record set in 2015/16 for the highest total for a pool winner since the tournament format was revised.
• Although Ulster Rugby’s qualification for the knockout stage dwarfed any individual achievement, Jacob Stockdale missed out on becoming the third player in history, after Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) in 2005/06 and Tommy Bowe (Ospreys) in 2009/10, to score a try in all six pool stage matches.
• Munster is through to quarterfinals for a record 18th time, followed by Toulouse on 17 and reigning champions Leinster, with 15.
• Exeter Chiefs’ Jack Nowell was the leading ground-gainer from the pool stage with 457 meters.
• Joey Carbery of Munster finished the pool stage as the leading points scorer with 68 while Leinster’s Sean Cronin and Jacob Stockdale of Ulster were the top try scorers with six apiece.
• Edinburgh’s Grant Gilchrist won the most lineouts with 27.
• Ulster’s 22 points is the highest total by a best runner-up since the competition format was revised in the 2014/15 season. The previous highest was 20 points by RC Toulon in 2015/16.
• Munster’s Tadhg Beirne made the most turnovers during the pool stage with 13.
• Scarlets’ Jonathan Davies made his 50th tournament appearance (Scarlets 39, ASM Clermont Auvergne 11) in the Welsh region’s defeat at Racing 92.