Heineken Champions Cup

Connacht Rugby (4/1) – Leinster Rugby (2/13)

8 April 2022

• Leinster and Connacht will meet each other in the Heineken Champions Cup for the first time, Connacht are the only Irish province Leinster haven’t played in Europe, having previously faced both Munster (W1, L1) and Ulster (W2).
• This fixture marks the first time Connacht have contested a match in the knock-out stages of the Heineken Champions Cup, having failed to advance past the group stage in their previous six attempts.
• 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 knock-out 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 scored 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 his 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.

Union Bordeaux-Bègles (4/7) - Stade Rochelais (5/4)

9 April 2022

• This will be the first time Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Stade Rochelais have encountered each other in European competition. Union Bordeaux-Bègles have faced TOP 14 opposition on eight occasions in the competition (W2, L6) while Stade Rochelais have played just one such match (L1).
• Union Bordeaux-Bègles have won their two previous knock-out games at home in the Heineken Champions Cup, both games coming in last season’s competition, winning against Bristol Bears in the Round of 16 (36-17), before dispatching Racing 92 in the quarter-finals (24-21).
• Union Bordeaux-Bègles have won 60% of their home games in the Heineken Champions Cup (W9, D1, L5). However, three of their five defeats have come against French opposition (ASM Clermont Auvergne twice, Stade Français once).
• Stade Rochelais have won three of their previous five matches in the knock-out stage of the Heineken Champions Cup. However, they failed to win their only tie against French opposition (17-22 v Stade Toulousain in the 2020/2021 final).
• Stade Rochelais have won their three most recent Heineken Champions Cup away matches, after winning just one of their previous six; their last away game saw them score 38 points against Glasgow, the most they’ve ever scored away from home in the competition.
• Union Bordeaux-Bègles rank third in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup for both carries (126) and carry meters (901) per game, while only two teams have averaged more offloads than them (13, behind Bristol Bears and Leinster).
• Stade Rochelais have the lowest scrum success rate in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, retaining possession on just 77% of their own scrums; Union Bordeaux-Bègles, on the other hand, are one of six clubs to boast a 100% success rate on their own scrums this campaign.
• Bastien Vergnes Taillefer (Union Bordeaux-Bègles) has stolen three lineouts in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, only Munster’s Peter O’Mahony (6) has stolen more.
• Stade Rochelais’ Jonathan Danty is one of just two backs to win more than two jackal turnovers in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (3), alongside Leicester’s Matt Scott (4).
• No player has successfully completed more offloads in this season’s Champions Cup than Stade Rochelais’ Gregory Alldritt (7); Alldritt also ranks joint-fourth for carries made this season (45).

Sale Sharks (4/11) - Bristol Bears (37/20)

9 April 2022

• Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears have only met once in European competition, at the quarter-final stage of the Challenge Cup in 2001/02. Sale Sharks won that game by a margin of five points in front of their home fans (25-20).
• Sale Sharks have reached the knockout stage of the Heineken Champions Cup for the third time; they were eliminated at the quarter-finals in 2005/06 and 2020/21.
• Sale Sharks have won 47% of their previous home games in the Heineken Champions Cup (W15 L17). Bristol Bears, meanwhile, have won 44% of their away games in the competition (W4 L5).
• Bristol Bears have played just one match in the knock-out stage of the Heineken Champions Cup, losing 36-17 away to Union Bordeaux-Bègles in last season’s Round of 16.
• Bristol Bears have alternated between wins and losses in their last eight Heineken Champions Cup away matches; however, their last game away from home in the competition resulted in a 52-21 win against Scarlets, their largest margin of victory in the competition.
• Only Racing 92 (97%) have retained possession from a greater percentage of their own lineouts in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Sale Sharks (95%); however, Sale’s 82% scrum success rate is the third worst percentage amongst teams still left in the competition.
• Sale Sharks have been the most successful team when it comes to goal-kicking in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, slotting 92% of their attempts; Bristol Bears, by comparison, have been successful with 82% of their attempts.
• Bristol Bears have recorded an average carry distance of 8.5 meters in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, a competition-high and over 1.5m more than Sale Sharks have averaged from their carries (6.9 meters/carry).
• Sale Sharks’ Lood de Jager has conceded more penalties than any other player in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (9), whilst his teammate Ben Curry is joint-second for penalties conceded (7); no Bristol Bears player has conceded more than four.
• Only Jack Conan (16.5) and Gregory Alldritt (15) have averaged more carries per game in this season’s Champions Cup than Bristol Bears’ Semi Radradra (14.5); Radradra also features in the top 10 for carry meters per game this term (120.5).

Stade Toulousain (1/6) – Ulster Rugby (18/5)

9 April 2022

• This will be the 12th time Stade Toulousain and Ulster have played each other in the Heineken Champions Cup. The teams share an identical record against each other, with five wins each and one draw. At home, Stade Toulousain have won three, drawn one and lost one against Ulster.
  
• Of their previous 10 matches at home in the knock-out stages of the Heineken Champions Cup, Stade Toulousain have emerged victorious on nine occasions. Their only defeat 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), however, two of their three losses have come against French opposition.
• Ulster have lost four of their previous five games away from home in the knock-out stages of the Heineken Champions Cup. Their only win came against Munster in the quarter-finals in 2011/12 (16-22).
• Stade Toulousain have conceded more turnovers per game than any other team in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (20), whilst 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%), whilst Stade Toulousain are fourth from last amongst teams still in the competition when it comes to territory percentage (49%).
• Stade Toulousain’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 carry meters (171) or defenders beaten (11) per game in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Stade Toulousain 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 for 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 also ranks third for carry meters this season (379).

Stade Français Paris (33/20) – Racing 92 (11/25)

9 April 2022

• Stade Français Paris and Racing 92 have never met in European competition. However, Racing 92 have won on each of their last four Top 14 visits to Stade Jean Bouin by an average margin of 9 points. Racing 92 have also been leading at half time in each of those fixtures.
• Stade Français Paris have won three of the four knockout-stage games they’ve hosted in the Heineken Champions Cup, with their sole loss coming by a margin of just two points (14-16 v Munster in the 2001/2002 quarter-finals). Their three wins have come by an average margin of 38 points.
• Stade Français Paris have won 95% of their home games in the Heineken Champions Cup (W39 L2), including each of their three games at home against French opposition.
• Racing 92 have won two of their three previous away games in the knock-out stage of the Heineken Champions Cup, all of which were also against French opposition. Their sole defeat came against Union Bordeaux-Bègles in the quarter-finals of last year’s competition (24-21).
• Stade Français Paris have recorded the lowest percentage of time in opposition territory amongst all teams remaining in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (43%), Racing 92, on the other hand, possess the highest territory percentage in the competition (57%).
• Racing 92 have the best lineout success rate amongst all sides in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, successfully winning 28 of their 29 lineouts so far (97%); in comparison, Stade Français Paris have won 38 of their 43 lineouts (88%).
• No player has conceded more turnovers in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Stade Français Paris’ Nicolas Sanchez (9); his five turnovers conceded against Bristol Bears in Round 3 of the Pool Stage was the most by any player in a Champions Cup game this term.
• Stade Français winger Telusa Veainu has recorded 343 meters from his 26 carries in this season’s Champions Cup, giving him an average of 13.2 meters/carry, the highest of any player with more than 20 carries this term.
• Racing 92 fly-half Finn Russell has provided an average of 2.5 break assist passes for his teammates per game in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, the highest average of any player in the competition; his 1.5 try assists per game also ranks him joint-fourth this term.
• Racing 92 hooker Teddy Baubigny has the joint-best lineout throw success rate amongst all players in this season’s Champions Cup (min.12 attempts), having found his man with 25 of his 26 throws (96%, alongside Stade Toulousain’s Peato Mauvaka).

Exeter Chiefs (4/9) – Munster Rugby (31/20)

9 April 2022

•   This will be the third meeting between Exeter Chiefs and Munster Rugby in European competition and the first in the knock-out stage with Munster remaining unbeaten in their previous two encounters (W1 D1). The two previous games between these sides have resulted in an average of just 18 points scored.
• Exeter Chiefs have won three of their previous four home games in the Champions Cup knock-out stages (L1), with their only defeat coming against Irish opposition in last season’s quarter-finals (22-34 v Leinster).
• Exeter Chiefs have won 10 of their 11 most recent games at Sandy Park in the Champions Cup, with those wins coming by an average margin of 25 points. Munster, meanwhile, have won their three most recent away matches in the competition, coming back from a half-time deficit on two of those occasions.
• Munster have won five of their previous eight knock-out stage games away from home in the Champions Cup, including all three times they have been up against English opposition.
• Exeter Chiefs have conceded the most turnovers of any side in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (52), whilst no team have forced more turnovers than Munster (29).
• Exeter Chiefs 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 Chiefs’ Sam Simmonds is the Heineken Champions Cup’s top try-scorer this season, having crossed the white line 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 Chiefs lock Sam Skinner has hit more attacking rucks than any other player in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (118), whilst his 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); by comparison, the Exeter Chiefs player with the most breakdown steals is Luke 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 comparison, Exeter Chiefs’ most frequent kicker, Joe Simmonds, has landed 14 of his 17 attempts at goal (82%).

Montpellier Hérault Rugby (11/25) – Harlequins (33/20)

10 April 2022

• Although this will be the sixth time these two sides have faced-off in European competition, it will be their first meeting in the Heineken Champions Cup, with their previous five games all coming in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Harlequins won three of those fixtures, whilst Montpellier Hérault Rugby have won the most recent two, including the 2015/16 Challenge Cup final (26-19).
• This will only be Montpellier Hérault Rugby’s second match in the knock-out stages of the Heineken Champions Cup. They lost their only previous one away to ASM Clermont Auvergne by a margin of 22 points (14-36, 2012/13 quarter-final).
• Montpellier Hérault Rugby have won six of their previous nine games at home against English opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup. Harlequins, meanwhile, have won on six of their previous 10 trips to France and came from behind to win against Castres earlier this season (20-18).
• This will be Harlequins’ fifth match in the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup; they have lost all four of their previous knockout fixtures, with their heaviest defeat in that run coming away to French opposition (10-51 v Stade Toulousain in November 1997)
• Despite trailing at half-time in their last four Heineken Champions Cup matches away from home, Harlequins have gone on to win on three occasions during that run; their last seven away games have all seen them score more points in the second half than the first.
• No side has conceded more points per game than Montpellier Hérault Rugby in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (52); they have also conceded the most tries per game in the competition (7.7), with Harlequins not entering the top 10 in either category.
• Harlequins have scored more points in the last 20 minutes of games than any other side in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (46), whilst only Cardiff (48) have conceded more points in the final 20 minutes than Montpellier (44).
• Harlequins are the only side not to have conceded a scrum penalty in this season’s Champions Cup, whilst Montpellier Hérault Rugby are joint-third for scrum penalties conceded (9).
• Montpellier Hérault Rugby boast three of the four players to have averaged 20 or more completed tackles per game in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup amongst their ranks: Jan Serfontein (20), Paul Willemse (21) and Yacouba Camara (21).
• Only Munster’s Tadgh Beirne (6) has stolen more balls at the breakdown in this season’s Champions Cup than Harlequins’ Alex Dombrandt (5); Dombrandt is also the second-top try-scorer in this year’s tournament (6).

ASM Clermont Auvergne (8/13) – Leicester Tigers (6/5)

10 April 2022

• This match will be the eighth time ASM Clermont Auvergne and Leicester Tigers have played each other in the Heineken Champions Cup. The home side on the day has emerged victorious on six of the seven occasions so far, with the one anomaly being a Leicester win away to ASM Clermont Auvergne in January 2006 (27-40).
• ASM Clermont Auvergne have won both of their previous home knock-out stage ties against English opposition, including a quarter-final victory against Leicester Tigers in the 2013/14 season (22-16).
• ASM Clermont Auvergne have lost their three most recent Heineken Champions Cup knock-out stage games at home, after winning each of their previous four. Leicester Tigers have also lost all three of their most recent away games in the knock-out stages, although none of them came by more than a seven-point margin.
• Leicester Tigers have won on just two of their last 16 trips to France in the Heineken Champions Cup, with both of those victories coming by a margin of three points or fewer.
• Leicester Tigers have won just one of their last seven games in the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stage (L5 D1); however, that sole win came against French opposition, beating Stade Français Paris 41-13 in the quarter-final in 2015/16.
• ASM Clermont Auvergne have the second-best attacking ruck success rate amongst all teams in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, having lost only five of their 224 rucks (98%).
• ASM Clermont Auvergne are one of just three teams to have averaged 150+ successful tackles per game in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, while only three teams have missed fewer tackles per game than Leicester (14).
• Leicester Tigers have the slowest average ruck speed of any side left in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (3.9 seconds), whilst ASM Clermont Auvergne have the fifth fastest average ruck speed in the competition (3.13 seconds).
• Leicester Tigers fly-half George Ford has averaged 38 kicks from open play and 1,571 kicking meters per game in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, with both averages being over double that of any other player in the competition.
• No forward has beaten more defenders in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup than Leicester Tigers number eight Jasper Wiese (13); his 17 dominant contact carries are also a tournament high this term.