Euro semifinal to be played at Gaelic Football ground

NEWS: The European Professional Club Rugby organisation confirmed that Rugby Union could make a return to Dublin’s iconic Croke Park.

That will happen if Leinster secure home country advantage for an Champions Cup semifinal next month.

The superbly-appointed 82,300-capacity headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association 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 an Irish province played a Rugby Union game in the stadium – when Leinster defeated Munster in a legendary 2009 European Cup semifinal which generated a then world record attendance for a provincial match.

With Lansdowne Road unavailable for the Champions Cup semifinals due to preparations for the UEFA Europa League Final, No.2-ranked Leinster will play either Northampton Saints or the Bulls at Croke Park on the weekend of May 4 & 5 if they manage to defeat holders, Stade Rochelais, in Saturday’s quarterfinal.

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 No.4-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 semifinal place against Stade Rochelais, then the UK venue for that fixture will be announced pending results from this weekend’s quarterfinals.

The clubs with the highest rankings from the pool stage of the tournament will earn home country advantage for the semifinals, 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 Champions Cup and 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.

Possible Champions Cup semifinal venues – May 3/4/5

(Pool stage rankings in brackets)

Stade Toulousain (No.1) v Union Bordeaux-Bègles (No.4) or Harlequins (No.5) – Le Stadium, Toulouse (capacity: 33,150)

Leinster (No.2) v Northampton Saints (No.3) or Bulls (No.6) – Croke Park, Dublin (capacity: 82,300)

Northampton Saints (No.3) v Stade Rochelais (No.10) – Stadium MK, Milton Keynes (capacity: 30,500)

Union Bordeaux-Bègles (No.4) v Exeter Chiefs (No.8) – Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Bordeaux (capacity: 42,100).

Harlequins (No.5) v Exeter Chiefs (No.8) – Ashton Gate Stadium (capacity: 27,000)

Bulls (No.6) v Stade Rochelais (No.10) – UK venue TBC