 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