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The two best placed runners-up will be determined by the following criteria:
i. Match Points;
ii. Tries scored in all Pool matches;
iii. Points difference in all Pool matches;
iv. Fewest number of players sent off in Pool matches;
v. The toss of a coin.
Please note that no more than two teams can qualify from any one Pool.
The eight qualifiers will be ranked by the above criteria and the draw for the quarter-finals will be:
TEAM 1 v TEAM 8
TEAM 2 v TEAM 7
TEAM 3 v TEAM 6
TEAM 4 v TEAM 5
POOL 1
Leicester Tigers have won the Pool. If they beat Neath then they will be guaranteed a home draw in the quarter-finals with 11 points. The best second placed team could be Neath with seven points if they win in Leicester.
FIXTURES
SATURDAY, 18 JANUARY
Leicester Tigers v Neath 1500 Alain Rolland (I)
Beziers v Amatori & Calvisano 1800 Donal Courtney (I)
POOL 2
One thing is certain - if Gloucester reach nine or 10 points, with a draw or win in Munster, they will win the Pool.
Otherwise, the key to winning this Pool will be the try count and points difference. If Munster win, Perpignan lose or draw and Gloucester and Munster are level on eight points, then the Pool winners will be determined on the basis of the results from the two fixtures between the sides.
In Round 1, Gloucester beat Munster 35-16 at Kingsholm and 4-1 on tries. It means that to top Gloucester in the two fixtures, Munster must win with three more tries than Gloucester and by 20 points or by four more tries.
For three teams to end on eight points Munster must beat Gloucester and Perpignan must beat Viadana. If that happens then the results and try counts of matches between those three teams will be taken into consideration.
This is how the three teams currently stand against each other:
Gloucester (3 matches to date) Tries - 9 For - 91 Against - 63 ( + 28)
Munster (3 matches to date) Tries - 5 For - 54 Against - 79 ( - 25)
Perpignan (4 matches played) Tries - 11 For - 91 Against - 94 ( - 3)
Gloucester can still come out on top with eight points if they lose in Munster. For that to happen they would have to score three tries to overtake Perpignan's 11 and hope Munster don't beat them by scoring seven or more tries.
For Munster to win the Pool, and reach the last eight for the fifth successive season, they have to beat Gloucester scoring seven tries and restricting the English side to no more than two tries.
They could also win the Pool by beating Gloucester, stopping them from scoring more than one try, scoring six tries themselves and winning by a margin of 23 points or more. Six tries would take them level with Perpignan on 11 and the 23 points would make up the difference in points aggregate between the two teams (Munster -25 and Perpignan -3).
Perpignan will win the Pool if they beat Viadana and Munster beat Gloucester by fewer than six tries. The best second placed team could finish on eight points - Gloucester, Munster or Perpignan.
FIXTURES
SATURDAY, 18 JANUARY
Viadana v Perpignan (Tele +) 1500 Roy Maybank (E)
Munster v Gloucester (RTE / BBC) 1445 Joel Jutge (F)
POOL 3
Llanelli will win the Pool if they win or draw in Glasgow. A win would take them to 10 points, a draw to nine.
Llanelli will also win the Pool if they lose in Glasgow and Sale Sharks win or draw in Bourgoin.
Bourgoin will reach the quarter-finals for the first time if Llanelli lose in Glasgow and they beat Sale Sharks because in the two matches between them Bourgoin have scored two more tries (8-6) and are + 1 on points difference.
The best second placed team could finish on eight points - Llanelli or Bourgoin.
FIXTURES
FRIDAY, 17 JANUARY
Glasgow Rugby v Llanelli (BBC Wales) 1930 Tony Spreadbury (E)
SATURDAY, 18 JANUARY
Bourgoin v Sale Sharks 1500 Alan Lewis (I)
POOL 4
Leinster Lions have won the Pool already and will guarantee themselves a home tie in the last eight with a win or a draw in Bristol.
Bristol Shoguns could finish as runners-up on eight points by beating Leinster Lions.
FIXTURES
SATURDAY, 18 JANUARY
Swansea v Montferrand 1500 Gregg Davies (S)
SUNDAY, 19 JANUARY
Bristol Shoguns v Leinster Lions (B Euro/RTE) 1345 Nigel Owens (W)
POOL 5
Toulouse have won the Pool already, reaching the quarter-finals for the sixth time in eight years, and will guarantee themselves a home tie in the last eight with a win or a draw at London Irish.
The runners-up in this Pool can reach a maximum of six points.
FIXTURES
SATURDAY, 18 JANUARY
Newport v Edinburgh Rugby 1430 Christophe Berdos (F)
SUNDAY, 19 JANUARY
London Irish v Toulouse 1345 Iain Ramage (S)
POOL 6
Northampton Saints will win the Pool if they win or draw in Ulster.
If Ulster beat them and move up to eight points, and Biarritz lose or draw at home to Cardiff to end on six or seven points, then top spot will be determined by the results of the two fixtures between Ulster and Northampton.
In Round 1, Northampton won 32-9, scoring two tries to nil, which means Ulster would have to score three tries more than the Saints or two more and win by 24 points.
If Ulster and Biarritz both win, to make it a three-way tie, then Northampton can still win the Pool if they score one try and concede less than three tries.
This is how the three teams currently stand against each other:
Northampton (3 matches to date) Tries - 6 For - 69 Against 46 ( + 23)
Biarritz (4 matches played) Tries - 6 For - 71 Against 70 ( +1)
Ulster (3 matches to date) Tries - 3 For - 42 Against 66 ( - 24)
Biarritz can only win the Pool if they beat Cardiff to reach eight points, Northampton Saints lose by 23 points without scoring a try and Ulster do not score more than three tries and 24 points.
Ulster will win the Pool if they beat Northampton, don't concede any tries and either score four or more tries or score three tries and win by 26 points
FIXTURES
FRIDAY, 17 JANUARY
Ulster v Northampton Saints (BBC NI / B Euro) 1905 Joel Dume (F)
SATURDAY 18 JANUARY
Biarritz Olympique v Cardiff (FR2) 1500 Giulio De Santis (It)
