10 Facts ahead of the Challenge Cup quarter-finals

The Challenge Cup quarter-finals are upon us with the action kicking off on Friday.

Gloucester take on Saracens in the all-English quarter-final. Saturday's action kicks off with Edinburgh hosting Wasps before Glasgow face a tough trip to Lyon.

Toulon host Premiership club London Irish in the final match of the weekend on Sunday afternoon.

Here are10 facts ahead of the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals. 

• The clubs which have qualified for the quarter-finals have 11 European titles between them. Gloucester Rugby (2) and Wasps (1) are former tournament winners, while Edinburgh Rugby, London Irish and RC Toulon have been losing finalists.

• RC Toulon and Saracens are contenders to join the elite group of four clubs – Bath Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Northampton Saints and Wasps – who won have both the Heineken Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup.

• Edinburgh’s Emiliano Boffelli is this season’s leading scorer with 43 points from four matches, while Santiago Socino of Gloucester is top of the try scoring charts with five also from four matches.

• Lyon, the No 1-ranked club from the pool stage, will be making their first appearance in the knockout stage of the tournament.

• Gloucester and Saracens, and Lyon and Glasgow Warriors, will be meeting for the first time in the tournament.

• With the final set for Friday, 27 May in Marseille, RC Toulon will have extra motivation to make the 70-kilometre journey once again having lost a dramatic 2010 decider to Cardiff Rugby at the Stade Vélodrome in front of a record attendance for an EPCR Challenge Cup final of 48,990.

• Lyon’s Clément Laporte has made the most metres (441) and line breaks (6) this season, while his teammate, Colby Fainga’a, has made the most turnovers with eight.

• On the two previous occasions that Edinburgh came up against Wasps in the EPCR Challenge Cup in the 2019/20 season, Edinburgh won both pool stage matches.

• RC Toulon and London Irish also went head-to-head with during the 2019/20 pool stage, with Toulon winning home and away.

• Grant Gilchrist of Edinburgh is the tournament’s leading tackler with 62 from his five appearances to date.