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ERC have today (Thursday, 13 November) announced the dates, kick-off times and television portfolio for the first four rounds of matches in this season's Heineken Cup.
Llanelli Scarlets and Northampton Saints will have the honour of becoming the first of six matches in the first round of Pool matches in this season's Heineken Cup to be broadcast by ERC's new broadcast partners Sky Sports.
The game will provide the Scarlets with the perfect opportunity of taking revenge over the Saints for their heartbreaking last minute defeat in the 2000 semi-final at the Madejski Stadium, when Paul Grayson landed a penalty to give his side a 31-28 victory.
The latest meeting between two of the giants of Anglo-Welsh rugby will be at Stradey Park on Friday, 5 December. Kicking-off at 7.45pm it will be one of two matches in Wales on the opening night, with the Celtic Warriors getting the ninth Heineken Cup competition underway at the Brewery Field, Bridgend, at 7.15pm when they host Calvisano.
The Sky cameras will be out in force for the big kick-off, bringing 480 minutes of live, or as live, action to their viewers from five different countries.
And that is just a part of the television equation on the first weekend. The re-match of last season's quarter-final between Leinster Lions and Biarritz Olympique will be broadcast live by ERC's long-standing Irish broadcast partners, RTE, on Saturday, 6 December at 3.00pm. This game will also be shown live on Sky Sports.
Last season a crowd of more than 40,000 turned out at Lansdowne Road to see the Lions reach the semi-finals, and the game will once again be back at the home of Irish rugby as part of Leinster's European expansion plans this season in playing all their home Pool matches away from their home at Donnybrook.
In France, FR2 will be broadcasting the repeat of the 2001 Heineken Cup final when the French champions Stade Francais meet mighty Leicester Tigers. Once again, this game will also be available on Sky Sports.
The three-times finalists Leicester lifted the Heineken Cup for the first time at the end of an epic encounter with the Paris-based side at Parc des Princes, eventually triumphing 34-30 in one of the greatest games in the 503 match history of the tournament. On Saturday, 6 December, the re-match will be staged in the shadow of Parc des Princes at Stade's Jean Bouin stadium.
FR3 will join the Sky Sports cameras at Meadowbank Stadium on Sunday, 7 December to see Todd Blackadder's Edinburgh Rugby side tackle the reigning Heineken Cup champions Toulouse at 1.00pm.
Later that afternoon, the English champions London Wasps, who also won the Parker Pen Challenge Cup trophy last season, will host the 2003 Heineken Cup runners-up Perpignan in one of the ties of the first round.
'There are some mouth watering games for fans to savour on the first weekend of this season's Heineken Cup and we are delighted with the high level of live coverage we will be offering in conjunction with our broadcast partners, Sky Sports, France Televisions and RTE,' said ERC chief executive Derek McGrath.
'There are a lot of fixtures that have significant Heineken Cup history invested in them which is bound to make them even more appealing to the fans. There is also the prospect of the club's seeing their World Cup heroes returning en masse for the first time since their exploits in Australia.
'With 21 of the 48 games in the opening four rounds of Pool matches set to be broadcast by our partners, we feel we will be offering as large a slice of live action as ever before. There is a great season ahead of us and the Heineken Cup is set to dominate the rugby agenda in the northern hemisphere in December and January as the six rounds of Pool matches are played out in six countries.'
Away from the cameras there are plenty of other great games in the early rounds. Gloucester travel to Benetton Treviso on Saturday, 6 December, offering their army of fans the chance to taste the delights of nearby Venice, while Munster's many devotees will be heading to France for a first round clash with Bourgoin on the same day.
'While the Heineken Cup has developed massively on the field since its inception in 1995, one of the great things about the tournament has been the dramatic rise in the level of travelling support for teams across all nations,' added McGrath.
'There is a huge appetite for Heineken Cup rugby and we will be working with the clubs, our broadcast and commercial partners to maximise the potential of this season's competition.'
Added to all the live coverage being offered on Sky Sports, there will be an extensive, three hour highlights package offering a taste of the action from across Europe.
THE FIXTURES (All kick-offs LOCAL time)
ROUND 1
FRIDAY 5 DECEMBER
Pool 4 Llanelli Scarlets v Northampton Saints 19.45 Sky
Pool 6 Celtic Warriors v Calvisano 19.15
SATURDAY 6 DECEMBER
Pool 1 Stade Francais v Leicester Tigers 16.00 FR2 / Sky
Pool 3 Sale Sharks v Cardiff Blues 17.00 Sky
Pool 3 Leinster Lions v Biarritz Olympique 15.00 RTE / Sky
Pool 4 Agen v The Borders 19.30
Pool 5 Bourgoin v Munster 19.30
Pool 5 Benetton Treviso v Gloucester 14.30
SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER
Pool 1 Gwent Dragons v Ulster 14.30
Pool 2 Leeds Tykes v Neath-Swansea Ospreys 14.30
Pool 2 Edinburgh Rugby v Toulouse 13.00 Sky / FR3 Pool 6 London Wasps v Perpignan 15.00 Sky
ROUND 2
FRIDAY 12 DECEMBER
Pool 1 Ulster v Stade Francais 19.30
Pool 2 Neath-Swansea Ospreys v Edinburgh Rugby 19.30
Pool 2 Toulouse v Leeds Tykes 19.30
Pool 3 Cardiff Blues v Leinster Lions 19.45 Sky
SATURDAY 13 DECEMBER
Pool 3 Biarritz Olympique v Sale Sharks 18.30
Pool 4 Northampton Saints v Agen 15.00
Pool 5 Munster v Benetton Treviso 17.00 RTE / Sky
Pool 5 Gloucester v Bourgoin 15.00
Pool 6 Calvisano v London Wasps 14.30
Pool 6 Perpignan v Celtic Warriors 16.00 FR2 / Sky
SUNDAY 14 DECEMBER
Pool 1 Leicester Tigers v Gwent Dragons 15.00 Sky
Pool 4 The Borders v Llanelli Scarlets 13.00 Sky
ROUND 3
FRIDAY 9 JANUARY, 2004
Pool 2 Edinburgh Rugby v Leeds Tykes 19.30
Pool 3 Leinster Lions v Sale Sharks 19.45 RTE / Sky
Pool 4 Llanelli Scarlets v Agen 19.30
SATURDAY 10 JANUARY
Pool 2 Toulouse v Neath-Swansea Ospreys 16.00 FR2 / Sky
Pool 3 Biarritz Olympique v Cardiff Blues 18.30
Pool 4 Northampton Saints v The Borders 15.00
Pool 5 Benetton Treviso v Bourgoin 14.30
Pool 5 Gloucester v Munster 17.00 Sky
Pool 6 Perpignan v Calvisano 19.00
SUNDAY 11 JANUARY
Pool 1 Gwent Dragons v Stade Francais 14.30
Pool 1 Ulster v Leicester Tigers 13.00 Sky
Pool 6 London Wasps v Celtic Warriors 15.00 Sky
ROUND 4
FRIDAY 16 JANUARY
Pool 2 Neath-Swansea Ospreys v Toulouse 19.45 Sky
Pool 4 The Borders v Northampton Saints 19.30
Pool 6 Celtic Warriors v London Wasps 19.15
SATURDAY 17 JANUARY
Pool 1 Leicester Tigers v Ulster 15.00
Pool 3 Cardiff Blues v Biarritz Olympique 14.30
Pool 4 Agen v Llanelli Scarlets 16.00 FR2 / Sky
Pool 5 Munster v Gloucester 17.00 RTE / Sky
Pool 6 Calvisano v Perpignan 14.30
SUNDAY 18 JANUARY
Pool 1 Stade Francais v Gwent Dragons 15.00
Pool 2 Leeds Tykes v Edinburgh Rugby 13.00 Sky
Pool 3 Sale Sharks v Leinster Lions 15.00 Sky
Pool 5 Bourgoin v Benetton Treviso 15.00
ROUND 5
23 / 24 / 25 JANUARY
Pool 1 Stade Francais v Ulster
Pool 1 Gwent Dragons v Leicester Tigers
Pool 2 Leeds Tykes v Toulouse
Pool 2 Edinburgh Rugby v Neath-Swansea Ospreys
Pool 3 Sale Sharks v Biarritz Olympique
Pool 3 Leinster Lions v Cardiff Blues
Pool 4 Agen v Northampton Saints
Pool 4 Llanelli Scarlets v The Borders
Pool 5 Bourgoin v Gloucester
Pool 5 Benetton Treviso v Munster
Pool 6 Celtic Warriors v Perpignan
Pool 6 London Wasps v Calvisano
ROUND 6
30 / 31 JANUARY, 1 FEBRUARY
Pool 1 Ulster v Gwent Dragons
Pool 1 Leicester Tigers v Stade Francais
Pool 2 Toulouse v Edinburgh Rugby
Pool 2 Neath-Swansea Ospreys v Leeds Tykes
Pool 3 Biarritz Olympique v Leinster Lions
Pool 3 Cardiff Blues v Sale Sharks
Pool 4 Northampton Saints v Llanelli Scarlets
Pool 4 The Borders v Agen
Pool 5 Gloucester v Benetton Treviso
Pool 5 Munster v Bourgoin
Pool 6 Perpignan v London Wasps
Pool 6 Calvisano v Celtic Warriors
