Connacht play their final European Challenge Cup Pool 5 game at home to Oyannax this Saturday (2.30pm) in the Sportsground, knowing they have already secured a home quarter final in the competition. At the moment, with 1 round to go, Connacht are the 4th ranked team going into the quarter finals, which means as things stand they would face Gloucester, the 5th ranked team but all that could change on Friday night when Gloucester host Pool 3 leaders Pau at Kingsholm. The full list of final round fixtures are listed below:
Following the pool stage, the clubs ranked 1 to 4 will have home advantage for the quarter-finals as follows:
Club 1 v Club 8 (QF1)
Club 4 v Club 5 (QF2)
Club 3 v Club 6 (QF3)
Club 2 v Club 7 (QF4)
NB - The format for the semi-final matches in the Challenge Cup recognises performances by clubs during the pool stages as well as the achievement of a winning a quarter-final match away from home.
The winner of QF1 will play the winner of QF2 in one semi-final, and the winner of QF3 will play the winner of QF4 in the other semi-final as follows:
Semi-final 1: winner QF1 v winner QF2
Semi-final 2: winner QF3 v winner QF4
The semi-final matches will be played at home venues, and the following clubs will have home venue advantage in their respective semi-final matches:
- For Semi-final 1
If the clubs ranked 1 and 4 win their QFs, the club ranked 1 will have home venue advantage
If the clubs ranked 1 and 5 win their QFs, the club ranked 5 will have home home venue advantage
If the clubs ranked 8 and 4 win their QFs, the club ranked 8 will have home venue advantage
If the clubs ranked 8 and 5 win their QFs, the club ranked 5 will have home venue advantage
- For Semi-final 2
If the clubs ranked 3 and 2 win their QFs, the club ranked 2 will have home venue advantage
If the clubs ranked 3 and 7 win their QFs, the club ranked 7 will have home venue advantage
If the clubs ranked 6 and 2 win their QFs, the club ranked 6 will have home venue advantage
If the clubs ranked 6 and 7 win their QFs, the club ranked 6 will have home venue advantage
2.5 The final match will be played at a venue designated by EPCR.
2.6 In the event of a tie at full-time in the quarter-finals, semi-finals or final, extra time of 10 minutes each way will be played. If the scores remain tied, the winner will be determined as follows:
(a) the club that scored the most tries in the match (including extra time) or
(b) if equal, by a place-kick competition.
