Twenty teams started on the road to glory in the 2018-19 Rugby Champions Cup and now only eight remain as the tournament reached the knock-out stage.
The quarter-finals will be played at the end of March, and they have thrown up some fascinating clashes, including an all-French clash between Racing 92 and Toulouse and an all-Irish affair with Leinster taking on Ulster in what should be a titanic struggle.
The Pool stage of this season’s competition saw some familiar names rising to the top, including the 2016-17 champions Saracens. With 28 points from their six Pool games, Saracens produced the best performance of the Pool stage, winning six from six and becoming the only team in this season’s competition that has yet to be beaten. As top seed for the last eight, they’ve also got the easiest draw, at home against Glasgow Warriors; a team they’ve already beaten twice this season.
Powerful French contenders Racing 92 were not far behind Saracens in terms of points, although they dropped one game, in Ulster. Although they have not been at their best in this year’s competition, Racing will be desperate to finally get their hands on Europe’s most prestigious rugby trophy after finishing as runners-up in 2016 and again last year. But they’ve been handed a tough quarter-final challenge against the in-form Toulouse, who won five out of six at the Pool stage.
Leinster eventually topped the same Pool that included Toulouse, their only defeat coming by a single point in France, and the reigning champions, who are the favourites to win the tournament according to the implied probabilities on the bigbetbookmakers.com site, will be aiming to surpass Toulouse as the tournament’s most successful club. Leinster have four wins to their name, and they have gone about their business with ruthless efficiency this season.
Scottish club Edinburgh are one of the rising powers in European rugby, and under their dynamic coach Richard Cockerill, they have been impressive throughout their Champions Cup campaign, coming through a tough Pool that included Montpellier. The manner in which Edinburgh out-scrummaged the powerful French side was particularly impressive and although they face a tricky quarter-final against fellow Pro-14 side Munster, they can’t be underestimated.
Montpellier’s exit was probably the talking point of the Pool stage, but although they were among the favourites when the tournament began, consecutive defeats at Newcastle and Toulon left them too much to do, and their loss in Murrayfield ensured they wouldn’t make the last eight. Also missing out on the quarter-finals are English champions Exeter, whose resilience and steadfast defence couldn’t quite make up for their lack of European experience in a tough Pool.
Munster have a solid European pedigree and plenty of strength in depth, though they weren’t at their best in the Pool stage, losing at Castres and only narrowly beating Exeter in their final game. But their formidable attacking talents, combined with the reliable kicking of Joe Carberry and abundant European experience will make them dangerous opponents for the remainder of the tournament.
