Edinburgh break attendance record

Tickets sales for the Easter weekend encounter raced past the previous record of 17,174 (which the club set against Ulster in the 2003 Celtic Cup final) with 20,000 supporters booked up to watch the club face the four-time champions on Saturday 7 April (kick-off 3.00pm).
With demand for tickets still exceptionally high, Edinburgh Rugby now enter uncharted territory for the club and the professional game in Scotland.
Chief Executive Craig Docherty was delighted by the enthusiasm for the first ever quarter-final to be staged on Scottish soil. He said: "The rush for tickets in this past week has been extraordinary, it's a case of getting in quick to grab the best seats for the hottest ticket in town."
The club have enjoyed steady growth in crowd numbers throughout the season but, with Scottish records falling by the wayside, the next landmarks lie across the border.
The top Heineken Cup quarter-final attendances in England and for the whole of the UK sit at 32,500 (Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby, Walkers Stadium 2006) and 36,728 (Cardiff Blues v Toulouse, Millennium Stadium 2009) respectively.
However, with still more than a month to go, Docherty welcomed the challenge to put Edinburgh Rugby at the top tier of rugby in Europe.
He said: "To be in a position to consider challenging a UK record crowd is a credit to the enthusiasm of the Edinburgh Rugby fans and the greater Scottish rugby community. We're working exceptionally hard to make this a massive event, on and off the pitch, and at this rate we could reach another significant milestone for the club and the professional game in Scotland come kick-off.
"This is now undeniably the biggest club rugby match in Scottish history and we need to pull on every available resource, none more so than the power of the crowd, as we take on Toulouse for a place in the semi-finals."

ERC Chief Executive, Derek McGrath, said: "The ERC has been delighted to see the Edinburgh Rugby fan-base increase this season and those supporters are now embracing the unique opportunity to experience what will be a truly memorable European club rugby occasion when they clash with four-time Heineken Cup champions Toulouse at Murrayfield. It is very good news that the quarter-final will be the biggest game in Scottish club history."
With the top and bottom tiers of the east stand and trackside standing area all sold out, and the lower tiers behind the goals close to capacity, the club has opened more sections of the stadium to offer fans an even greater choice of location and price, while retaining the cut-price ticket offer.

Edinburgh Rugby v Toulouse Heineken Cup quarter-final notes

• Edinburgh are the first Scottish club to win a Heineken Cup pool in the 17-season history of the tournament.
• Toulouse have won the Heineken Cup a record four times with the club's 2005 triumph taking place at Murrayfield.
• Edinburgh last reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals in 2004 when they lost 36-10 to Toulouse at Le Stadium.
• Vincent Clerc and Jean-Baptiste Poux, who start for France last weekend, played for Toulouse in the 2004 quarter-final. Hooker William Servat was a replacement.
• Edinburgh's Mike Blair and Allan Jacobsen also played in the 2004 game, as did Nathan Hines who could feature when Clermont meet Saracens in this season's Heineken Cup quarter-final.
• The Toulouse hooker from the 2004 game, Yannick Bru, is now France's forwards coach.
• Vincent Clerc is currently the Heineken Cup's leading try-scorer with 32.
• Toulouse have a 50% record in away Heineken Cup quarter-finals, beating Dax (1997) and Biarritz (2011), but losing to Ulster (1999) and Cardiff Blues (2009).
• 11 Scots have won the Heineken Cup: Dave Hilton (Bath 1998), Nathan Hines (Leinster 2011), Simon Holmes (Northampton Saints 2000), Don Mackinnon (Northampton Saints 2000), Richard Metcalfe (Northampton Saints 2000), Mark McMillan (London Wasps 2007), Craig Moir (Northampton Saints 2000), Andy Nicol (Bath 1998 capt), Eric Peters (Bath 1998), Budge Pountney (Northampton Saints 2000), Mattie Stewart (Northampton Saints 2000).