The final round of Heineken Cup Pool matches always stir the blood, but there will be even more at stake as the 2009 /10 tournament moves towards the end of Act 1 over the next few weeks.
The final two rounds of Pool matches - including London Irish's Round 6 clash with defending champions Leinster that will now be played at Twickenham Stadium on 23 January - will not only settle which eight teams will qualify for quarter-final action in April, but also determine which three sides join the five Amlin Challenge Cup Pool winners in the last-eight of that competition.
As usual, the six Heineken Cup Pool winners and the best two runners-up will make up the last eight for the Heineken Cup. But, for the first time, the next three best runners-up will join the race for the Amlin Challenge Cup crown.
With the carrot of more European competition dangling before them, and the possibility of potentially winning a coveted European title, there is bound to be an added edge to the final 24 Pool fixtures.
"We are used at this time of year to doing the maths to find out who might qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, but now the calculations will run even deeper with three more teams in the running to reach the last eight of the Amlin Challenge Cup," said ERC Chief Executive Derek McGrath.
"There is already a big battle going on in the Amlin Challenge Cup for the teams to top the Pools. It's Leeds Carnegie v Bourgoin in Pool 1, Connacht Rugby v Montpellier in Pool 2, Toulon v Saracens and London Wasps v Racing-Metro 92 in Pools 3 and 4 and Newcastle Falcons v Montauban in Pool 5.
"Whoever comes out on top in the Amlin Challenge Cup Pools will have home advantage over their Heineken Cup rivals and the quality of those games promises to be of the very highest standard."
