The all-Ireland Heineken Cup semi-final at Croke Park on Saturday, 2 May between defending champions Munster and Leinster should see the 14th tournament become the first to attract 1,000,000 fans through the turnstiles.
The 101,466 who were at last weekend's thrilling quarter-finals - including a Welsh home record gate of the 36,728 who saw Cardiff Blues beat triple champions Toulouse - pushed the season's total to 981,946 with the Croke Park semi-final followed by the Anglo-Welsh Millennium Stadium showdown between the Blues and Leicester Tigers set to smash the
seven-figure barrier way ahead of the Edinburgh 09 final on 23 May.
Already more fans have flocked to the 76 matches so far played in this tournament than the old mark for a season, the 964,853 who attended the 79 matches in 2005/06.