Professional club rugby could make a return to Dublin’s iconic Croke Park if Leinster Rugby secure home country advantage for an Investec Champions Cup semi-final next month.
The superbly-appointed 82 300-capacity headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is among the venues selected by EPCR to stage a match in the penultimate round of this season’s tournament and to bridge a 15-year gap since the last time club rugby was played in the stadium when Leinster defeated Munster in a legendary 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final which generated a then world record attendance for a club match.
With the Aviva Stadium unavailable for the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals due to preparations for the Uefa Europa League final, No 2-ranked Leinster will play either Northampton Saints or the Vodacom Bulls at Croke Park on the weekend of 4/5 May if they manage to defeat holders, Stade Rochelais, in Saturday’s quarter-final.
If No 1-ranked Stade Toulousain qualify for the last four, they will play either Union Bordeaux-Bègles or Harlequins at Le Stadium in Toulouse.
If third-ranked Northampton Saints qualify with home country advantage, they will play Stade Rochelais at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, while if fourth-ranked Union Bordeaux-Bègles also qualify with home country advantage, they will take on the Exeter Chiefs at Matmut ATLANTIQUE in Bordeaux.
if Harlequins qualify to meet the Exeter Chiefs, the match will be staged at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol and if the Bulls book a semi-final place against Stade Rochelais, then the UK venue for that fixture will be announced pending results from this weekend’s quarter-finals.
The clubs with the highest rankings from the pool stage of the tournament will earn home country advantage for the semi-finals and the exact dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage for the matches will be announced as soon as possible following the quarter-finals.
The Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup season reaches its climax at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 May with the top clubs from each competition battling it out to win the coveted trophies. Tickets are selling fast with 65 000 already purchased for the showpiece finals weekend which is widely regarded as the pinnacle of international club rugby.
Possible Investec Champions Cup semi-final venues – 3/4/5 May
(Pool stage rankings in brackets)
• Stade Toulousain (1) v Union Bordeaux-Bègles (4) or Harlequins (5) – Le Stadium, Toulouse (capacity: 33 150)
• Leinster Rugby (2) v Northampton Saints (3) or Vodacom Bulls (6) – Croke Park, Dublin (capacity: 82 300)
• Northampton Saints (3) v Stade Rochelais (10) – Stadium MK, Milton Keynes (capacity: 30 500)
• Union Bordeaux-Bègles (4) v Exeter Chiefs (8) - Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Bordeaux (capacity: 42 100).
• Harlequins (5) v Exeter Chiefs (8) – Ashton Gate Stadium (capacity: 27 000)
• Vodacom Bulls (6) v Stade Rochelais (10) – UK venue TBC
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