Champions Cup – Round 5 preview

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  Round 5 Notes

  • If holders Saracens manage to defeat Scarlets on Sunday, they will set a new tournament record of 14 consecutive wins eclipsing Munster Rugby’s run of 13 victories between 2005 and ’07.
  • A win at Parc y Scarlets would also guarantee Saracens top spot in Pool 3 and a place in the quarter-finals for the sixth season in a row.
  • If Pool 5 leaders ASM Clermont Auvergne come away with a win against Bordeaux-Bègles from Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday, they will be guaranteed a quarter-final spot for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
  • Leinster Rugby’s Johnny Sexton is poised to reach 500 tournament points during Friday evening’s game against Montpellier at the RDS. Sexton is currently on 495 points (Leinster 439, Racing 56) and is in line to become the ninth player to pass the half-century milestone along with Ronan O’Gara (1,365), Stephen Jones (869), Dimitri Yachvili (661), Diego Dominguez (645), David Humphreys (564), Owen Farrell (537), Neil Jenkins (502) and David Skrela (500).
  • If selected, RC Toulon’s Mathieu Bastareaud and Chris Wyles of Saracens are set to make their 50th appearances in Europe’s top flight this weekend. Bastareaud has appeared 36 times for the three-time champions and 13 for Stade Francais Paris, while Wyles has 46 appearances for Sarries and three for Northampton Saints.
  • If Munster manage to win at Scotstoun in the top of Pool 1 clash with Glasgow Warriors on Saturday, they will book their place in the knockout stage for the 16th time in 22 attempts.
  • Glasgow Warriors, Connacht Rugby and Bordeaux-Bègles are all in contention to reach the knockout stage of the tournament for the first time.
  • If Leinster get the better of Montpellier, they will top Pool 4 and book a place in the knockout stage for the 13th time in their history.
  • Andrew Trimble has made the most appearances (67) in the tournament for Ulster Rugby who travel to Exeter in Pool 5 on Sunday.
  • Clermont’s Wesley Fofana leads the statistics in defenders beaten (26) and clean breaks (12).
  • Munster’s first try by Simon Zebo in last Saturday’s win over Racing 92 in the rescheduled Round 1 match was the province’s 400th in Europe’s top flight.
  • If Scarlets cross the whitewash against Saracens, it will be Welsh region’s 300th try in the tournament.
  • Keith Earls, who came off the bench against Racing 92 last weekend, is the 14th player to make 50 or more appearances for Munster in Europe’s top flight.

    Fixtures

    Round 5

    Date

    Time*

    Pool

    Home

    Away

    Venue

    Referee

    13/01/2017

    19:45

    4

    Leinster Rugby

    Montpellier

    RDS Arena

    JP Doyle (Eng)

    14/01/2017

    13:00

    2

    Connacht Rugby

    Zebre Rugby

    The Sportsground

    Tom Foley (Eng)

    14/01/2017

    13:00

    4

    Northampton Saints

    Castres Olympique

    Franklin’s Gardens

    Andrew Brace (Ire)

    14/01/2017

    15:15

    2

    Wasps

    Toulouse

    Ricoh Arena

    John Lacey (Ire)

    14/01/2017

    17:30

    1

    Glasgow Warriors

    Munster Rugby

    Scotstoun Stadium

    Luke Pearce (Eng)

    14/01/2017

    20:45

    1

    Racing 92

    Leicester Tigers

    Stade Yves-Du-Manoir

    Ben Whitehouse (Wal)

    15/01/2017

    13:00

    3

    Scarlets

    Saracens

    Parc y Scarlets

    Alexandre Ruiz (Fra)

    15/01/2017

    14:00

    5

    Bordeaux-Bègles

    ASM Clermont Auvergne

    Stade Chaban-Delmas

    Nigel Owens (Wal)

    15/01/2017

    16:15

    3

    RC Toulon

    Sale Sharks

    Stade Félix Mayol

    George Clancy (Ire)

    15/01/2017

    17:30

    5

    Exeter Chiefs

    Ulster Rugby

    Sandy Park Stadium

    Romain Poite (Fra)

    Round 6

    Date

    Time*

    Pool

    Home

    Away

    Venue

    Referee

    20/01/2017

    20:45

    4

    Castres Olympique

    Leinster Rugby

    Stade Pierre Antoine

    Greg Garner (Eng)

    20/01/2017

    20:45

    4

    Montpellier

    Northampton Saints

    Altrad Stadium

    John Lacey (Ire)

    21/01/2017

    13:00

    5

    Ulster Rugby

    Bordeaux-Bègles

    Kingspan Stadium

    Matthew Carley (Eng)

    21/01/2017

    14:00

    5

    ASM Clermont Auvergne

    Exeter Chiefs

    Stade Marcel-Michelin

    Andrew Brace (Ire)

    21/01/2017

    15:15

    3

    Sale Sharks

    Scarlets

    AJ Bell Stadium

    Pascal Gauzere (Fra)

    21/01/2017

    15:15

    3

    Saracens

    RC Toulon

    Allianz Park

    Nigel Owens (Wal)

    21/01/2017

    17:30

    1

    Leicester Tigers

    Glasgow Warriors

    Welford Road

    Mathieu Raynal (Fra)

    21/01/2017

    17:30

    1

    Munster Rugby

    Racing 92

    Thomond Park

    Marius Mitrea (Ita)

    22/01/2017

    16:15

    2

    Toulouse

    Connacht Rugby

    Stade Ernest Wallon

    Wayne Barnes (Eng)

    22/01/2017

    16:15

    2

    Zebre Rugby

    Wasps

    Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi

    David Wilkinson (Ire)

    *KO times are local

    Pool Tables

    Pool 1

    Pos

    Team

    Pl

    W

    D

    L

    PF

    PA

    Diff

    TF

    TA

    TB

    LB

    Pts

    1

    Munster Rugby

    4

    3

    0

    1

    124

    42

    82

    14

    3

    3

    1

    16

    2

    Glasgow Warriors

    4

    3

    0

    1

    105

    72

    33

    12

    9

    1

    0

    13

    3

    Leicester Tigers

    4

    2

    0

    2

    58

    113

    -55

    3

    12

    0

    0

    8

    4

    Racing 92

    4

    0

    0

    4

    45

    105

    -60

    6

    11

    0

    0

    0

    Pool 2

    Pos

    Team

    Pl

    W

    D

    L

    PF

    PA

    Diff

    TF

    TA

    TB

    LB

    Pts

    1

    Wasps

    4

    2

    1

    1

    152

    71

    81

    20

    8

    2

    1

    13

    2

    Toulouse

    4

    2

    1

    1

    131

    64

    67

    17

    7

    2

    1

    13

    3

    Connacht Rugby

    4

    3

    0

    1

    112

    78

    34

    15

    9

    1

    0

    13

    4

    Zebre Rugby

    4

    0

    0

    4

    42

    224

    -182

    5

    33

    0

    0

    0

    Pool 3

    Pos

    Team

    Pl

    W

    D

    L

    PF

    PA

    Diff

    TF

    TA

    TB

    LB

    Pts

    1

    Saracens

    4

    4

    0

    0

    149

    62

    87

    16

    5

    2

    0

    18

    2

    RC Toulon

    4

    2

    0

    2

    90

    78

    12

    8

    7

    1

    1

    10

    3

    Scarlets

    4

    2

    0

    2

    96

    107

    -11

    8

    10

    0

    0

    8

    4

    Sale Sharks

    4

    0

    0

    4

    29

    117

    -88

    3

    13

    0

    0

    0

    Pool 4

    Pos

    Team

    Pl

    W

    D

    L

    PF

    PA

    Diff

    TF

    TA

    TB

    LB

    Pts

    1

    Leinster Rugby

    4

    3

    0

    1

    146

    60

    86

    20

    7

    3

    1

    16

    2

    Montpellier

    4

    2

    0

    2

    91

    75

    16

    11

    5

    1

    2

    11

    3

    Castres Olympique

    4

    2

    0

    2

    99

    95

    4

    10

    13

    1

    0

    9

    4

    Northampton Saints

    4

    1

    0

    3

    46

    152

    -106

    4

    20

    0

    0

    4

    Pool 5

    Pos

    Team

    Pl

    W

    D

    L

    PF

    PA

    Diff

    TF

    TA

    TB

    LB

    Pts

    1

    ASM Clermont Auvergne

    4

    3

    0

    1

    154

    99

    55

    20

    14

    4

    1

    17

    2

    Bordeaux-Bègles

    4

    2

    0

    2

    86

    89

    -3

    9

    10

    1

    0

    9

    3

    Ulster Rugby

    4

    2

    0

    2

    90

    116

    -26

    10

    12

    1

    0

    9

    4

    Exeter Chiefs

    4

    1

    0

    3

    53

    79

    -26

    4

    7

    0

    2

    6

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