What is the route to the final? Find out here
The Champions Cup group stage has drawn to a close and five English clubs have made it through to the last 16.
Saracens, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks have made it to the knockout stage.
However, not every English club who were in the pools qualified for the last 16. Exeter Chiefs and Bristol Bears finished bottom of their pools and so are out of European competition all together. Bath finished just outside the last 16 spots and so will compete in the Challenge Cup.
Despite the majority of English clubs progressing to the next stage, it was far from plain sailing for the sides. European clubs, particularly French and Irish sides, showed their muscle and that English clubs will have to find another gear or two if they are to go all the way in the competition.
For example, in the final round of the pool stage Leicester suffered an 80-12 capitulation to defending champions Toulouse. While a superb second half from Leinster meant they dumped Bath out of the competition with a 47-21 win.
Northampton Saints were also the only English club to top their group.
However, the results for the English clubs weren’t all seeing fans hide behind their sofas. Sale recorded an impress 33-7 win over Toulon and Harlequins beat the Stormers 53-16.
The last 16 draw has now taken place and so we know who each club will face in the next round. Here are the fixtures:
- Bordeaux v Ulster
- Leinster vs Harlequins
- Northampton v Clermont
- Toulon v Saracens
- Toulouse v Sale Sharks
- Castres v Benetton
- Glasgow v Leicester
- La Rochelle v Munster
Arguably the trickiest tie for an English club is Sale Sharks’ visit to Toulouse. The French club have been rampant in the competition so far but Sale’s director of rugby Alex Sanderson is excited for the game.
He said: “Going to Toulouse will be tasty, but we had a crack against them a couple of years ago and the score blew out. They’re clearly the best team in the world right now and are playing rugby from a different planet.
“But maybe, just maybe, we can drag them into something gritty. We’ll relish that challenge.”
The route to the final has also been mapped out and here is how each club can reach the all-important game.
Champions Cup quarter-finals
- Bordeaux/Ulster v La Rochelle/Munster
- Toulon/Saracens v Toulouse/Sale Sharks
- Leinster/Harlequins v Glasgow/Leicester
- Northampton/Clermont v Castres/Benetton
Champions Cup semi-finals
- Winner of QF 1 v Winner of QF 2
- Winner of QF 3 v Winner of QF 4
Final
- Winner of SF 1 v Winner of SF 2
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