Anglo-Irish clash tops Euro quarters
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The Six Nations may have run its course, but the drama in Europe is far from over – with the European Cup play-offs less than a week away.
One of the great weekends in the game in the Northern Hemisphere will see eight top clubs with 16 European titles between them square off in the Champions Cup quarterfinals.
The drama that marked the conclusion of the pool stage is set to continue in Dublin, Paris, Clermont-Ferrand and Toulon as Europe's big guns representing the Premiership, the Pro12 and the Top 14 battle for the right to raise the new trophy at the London Final in early May.
The quarterfinals kick off on Saturday, April 4 with a mouthwatering Anglo-Irish clash between three-time European champions, Leinster and Bath.
Thirteen players from Leinster, who will be appearing in a quarterfinal for the 11th time, were in action as Ireland clinched the Six Nations championship last Saturday, so Bath's rising stars such as George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson are fully aware of the task ahead.
Next up on Saturday week is the much-anticipated confrontation between Clermont Auvergne and the reigning Premiership champions, Northampton Saints, at the French club, where they have won their last 21 European games.
Given that home teams have a 75 percent success rate in the past European Cup quarterfinals, Clermont will be many pundits' favourites to advance to the last four, however, Northampton who have this season's leading try scorer, George North, in their ranks, have plenty of firepower.
On Sunday week, the star-studded No.1 seeds, Racing Metro, will be making a first appearance in the knockout stage of a European tournament when they go head-to-head at home with last season's defeated finalists, Saracens.
Following that, the quarterfinal weekend will come to a close with a third Anglo-French tussle involving reigning champions, Toulon, and Wasps who have qualified for the last eight of Europe's top flight for the first time since 2007.
The atmospheric Felix Mayol stadium will be packed to the rafters as the home team continue their bid to become the first club in history to win European club rugby's most coveted prize three times in a row.
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