Champions Cup: The Irish Fixtures

Connacht vs Leinster: 

 

The Sportsground will play host to another juicy Irish derby this weekend when the dark green jerseys of Connacht once again clash with the blue of the mighty Leinster. 

 

Leinster are faring well in the competition so far and currently occupy number 4 spot in Pool A after 3 victories from 4 outings. Their last taste of Champions Cup action was against Bath – a match the Irishmen dominated heavily. 

 

 

 

Connacht find themselves in fifth position in Pool B with a total of 10 points but boast just one victory from their 4 fixtures to date. Their most recent match saw them fall to Stade Francais: 

 

 

 

The occasion will mark the first time that Connacht and Leinster have met in the Champions Cup. 

 

“We’ve got some great challenges ahead now – at Connacht next week and Connacht back at the Aviva – two huge games for us in Europe,” Leinster boss Leo Cullen said. 

 

“It’s just making sure we prepare well. We’ve got a short turnaround and the week after. They are two huge weeks for the club. Hopefully we’ll get plenty of support on the road and then back at the Aviva. Down at the Sportsground it’s going to be a tough old challenge. 

 

“It’s great to be in the play-offs for Europe. Now it’s trying to just get through to the next round. Obviously, this time it’s slightly unusual in the fact that it’s a two-legged last 16 which we haven’t had before.” 

 

 

Match facts: 

•  Connacht have won 56% of their home games in the Heineken Champions Cup (W10 L8), while Leinster have lost just one of their previous nine away games in the competition (23-32 to Stade Rochelais in last year’s semi-final). 
• Leinster have won three of their previous seven matches away from home in the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup (W3 L4); only Toulouse and Munster (5 each) have won more knockout games away from home in the competition. 
• Connacht have conceded 51 penalties in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup; only Castres Olympique (55) have conceded more. Leinster, by comparison have conceded 27 penalties. 
• Leinster have averaged 66 points and 10 tries per game in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, both competition highs, and more than double Connacht’s averages (30 points and four tries per game). 
• Connacht have missed 88 tackles so far in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, the most of any side. Leinster (37), meanwhile, are one of four sides to have missed fewer than 40. 
• Connacht fly-half Jack Carty has made the most kicks in play of any player in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (60), recording the most kicking meters in the process (2,178). 
• Three of the five players to have made more than three try assists in the Heineken Champions Cup this season play for Leinster, with Jamison Gibson-Park recording the joint most (5, level with Billy Burns), one more than teammates Hugo Keenan and Ross Byrne (4 each). 
• Only Ulster’s Michael Lowry (8) has made more line breaks in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Leinster duo Jimmy O’Brien (7) and James Lowe (6), while no player has averaged more carries (17) per game in this season’s Champions Cup than Leinster’s Jack Conan. 

   

 

 

 

Toulouse vs Ulster: 

The men from Northern Ireland have a tough assignment ahead of them as they travel to Le Stadium to try their hand with the Top 14 giants, Toulouse. 

 

Ulster have had a strong campaign thus far, having yet to taste defeat. In round one, they bushed aside Clermont 29-23, then moved on to their Northampton fixture in which they fared well, 27-22. Thereafter, they notched up another, narrower victory over Saints at Franklin’s Gardens (24-20) while their last taste of action in the current tournament was, again, against Clermont: 

 

 

 

These two teams are no strangers in this competition, having met each other on 11 occasions in the past with five wins apiece and one draw. The most recent contest was back in 2020 – a 7-point victory for the French outfit: 

 

 

 

Ulster lock Alan O’Connor said his side are ready for anything that might be thrown at them.    

 

“We’re preparing for the win,” he said. “If there’s a situation late on when we have to be smart and go for points in the last five minutes, who knows? We will be thinking about that, but everyone is going into the game wanting to win, no matter what. If things change, we will have to change the way we think. 

 

“I think staying in the game is the main thing for me and not letting the game drift away from you. It’s important to try and dominate territory, and go well in the set-piece. 

 

“We need to make sure we play to our strengths and take away the opposition’s strengths. We need to be smart about how we go about our business. 

 

“Like most French teams, they have a massive pack,” O’Connor commented. “A couple of their forwards can really play with the ball as well. They have the guys who can run over you and guys who can offload and pass well. They’ve got a good set-piece, so we’ll be looking to go head-to-head with them and we’ll enjoy that challenge. 

 

“We’ll be looking to neutralise a lot of what they have and make sure we go over as a collective and use our collective as a strength to try to shut them down.” 

 

This from Ulster captain Iain Henderson: 

 

“We know we have put hard work in over the last fortnight and the buzz and excitement will start to grow this week as it always does around the European Cup.” 

 

Match facts: 

• Toulouse’s only defeat in their last 10 home knockout games in the European Cup came against Leinster at the quarter-final stage of the 2005/06 season (35-41). 
• Stade Toulousain have won each of their last 10 games at home in the Heineken Champions Cup, with an average winning margin of 15.7 points. Ulster, meanwhile, have won four of their last seven away games in the competition (L3), although two of their three losses have come against French opposition. 
• Ulster’s only win in the knockout stage of the European Cup came against Munster in the quarter-finals in 2011/12 (16-22). 
• Toulouse have conceded more turnovers per game than any other team in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (20), while Ulster have conceded the joint-fewest turnovers amongst all teams remaining in the competition (9). 
• Ulster have enjoyed the most possession, on average, of any side in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (56%). They also rank fifth for time spent in opposition territory (55%), while Toulouse are fourth from last amongst teams still in the competition when it comes to territory percentage (49%). 
• Toulouse’s Peato Mauvaka has the joint-best lineout throwing success rate amongst all players in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (min.12 attempts), having found his man with 25 of his 26 throws (96%, alongside Racing 92 hooker Teddy Baubigny). 
• No player has averaged more meters (171) or defenders beaten (11) per game in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Toulouse scrum-half Antoine Dupont. 
• No player has completed more tackles in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Ulster’s Nick Timoney (56), with his 89% completion rate also being the second highest of all players to have attempted at least 50 tackles this campaign. 
• Ulster full-back Michael Lowry has carried 563 meters in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, a competition-high and almost 200 meters more than second-placed Alivereti Raka (382). Ulster’s James Hume ranks third on 379. 

 

 

 

 

Exeter Chiefs vs Munster: 

A celebration of Anglo-Irish rivalry will manifest in the contest of Exeter Chiefs and Munster at Sandy Park. 

 

Munster have performed well in the competition thus far with four victories from as many outings, getting the better of Wasps twice and Castres twice. Their most recent action was against the English outfit on 23 January: 

 

 

 

The rivalry between these two teams in the Champions Cup is relatively new as they have locked horns only twice before – a brace of contests yielding one draw and, most recently, a narrow, two-point win for Munster in 2019. 

 

This from Munster flanker Peter O’Mahony:  

 

“They (Exeter) have threats all over the place, their back three, [Henry] Slade in the centre with whoever plays with him. Their halfbacks are incredibly dynamic.” 

 

Match facts: 

• Exeter have won three of their previous four home games in the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stage (L1), with their only defeat coming against Irish opposition in last season’s quarter-finals (22-34 v Leinster Rugby). 
• Munster have won five of their previous eight knockout stage games away from home in the Heineken Champions Cup, including all three times they have been up against English opposition. 
• Exeter have conceded the most turnovers of any side in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (52), while no team have forced more turnovers than Munster (29). 
• Exeter have scored more tries originating from scrums than any other side in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (6). However, Munster are one of six sides left in the competition to have not conceded a single try following a scrum. 
• Exeter’s Sam Simmonds is the Heineken Champions Cup’s top try-scorer this season, having crossed on seven occasions so far, over triple the amount Munster’s top try-scorers have managed (Jack O’Donoghue and Simon Zebo, two each). 
• Exeter lock Sam Skinner has hit more attacking rucks than any other player in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (118), while teammate Luke Cowan-Dickie has hit the most defensive rucks of any player (48). 
• No player has claimed more steals at the breakdown in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Munster’s Tadgh Beirne (6). In comparison, the Exeter player with the most breakdown steals is Cowan-Dickie (3). 
• Munster fly-half Ben Healy has the best goal-kicking success rate of anybody to have attempted at least 10 kicks (10/11, 91%). By contrast, Exeter’s most frequent goal-kicker, Joe Simmonds, has landed 14 of his 17 attempts at goal (82%).