The EPCR has confirmed the European venues that the DHL Stormers and Sharks will play at should they progress to the Champions Cup semi-finals.
As part of a pre-tournament agreement with SA Rugby, if a South African representative happens to qualify for a Champions Cup semi-final as a highest-ranked club, the match will be staged at a venue in Europe.
This means that even if the Stormers and Sharks, who play in the quarter-finals on Saturday, are ranked higher than their semi-final opponent, the playoff will still take place in the northern hemisphere.
The EPCR on Thursday confirmed the venues in line to host the semi-final matches on the weekend of 28/29/30 April.
The stadiums were selected following close consultation with Premiership Rugby, the United Rugby Championship and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, and the clubs with the highest rankings from the pool stage of the tournament will earn home country advantage for the matches.
If the Stormers beat Exeter Chiefs and Saracens beat La Rochelle in the quarter-finals, the Stormers would ‘host’ Saracens at Twickenham Stoop in London. However, if La Rochelle beat Saracens, the semi-final against the Stormers would be played in Bordeaux.
As for the Sharks, if they win their quarter-final against Toulouse and Leicester Tigers beat Leinster, the semi-final would be played at the StoneX Stadium in London. A win for Leinster would mean a trip to Dublin for the Sharks in the semi-finals.
Possible semi-final matches and venues – 28/29/30 April • Leinster Rugby (A1) v either Stade Toulousain (B2) or Sharks (A3) – Aviva Stadium, Dublin (capacity: 51,700). • Stade Toulousain (B2) v Leicester Tigers (B4) – Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Bordeaux (capacity: 42,100). • Sharks (A3) v Leicester Tigers (B4) – StoneX Stadium, London (capacity: 10,300) • Stade Rochelais (B1) v either Exeter Chiefs (A2) or DHL Stormers (B3) – Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Bordeaux (capacity: 42,100). • Exeter Chiefs (A2) v Saracens (A4) – Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol (capacity: 27,000). • Stormers (B3) v Saracens (A4) – Twickenham Stoop, London (capacity: 14,800)
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