18 May, 15:44
It's down to the wire now for the five contenders who have been shortlisted for the ultimate individual accolade in northern hemisphere rugby, ERC European Player of the Year 2013.
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14 May, 15:49
With the build-up to the Dublin 2013 European club rugby finals intensifying by the day, the four elite clubs of ASM Clermont Auvergne, Toulon, Leinster Rugby and Stade Francais Paris, who are focused on their quest for Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup silverware respectively, won't be the only clubs with Europe on their mind over the weekend of 17 and 18 May.
2 May, 18:59
Benoit August of Biarritz Olympique and Perpignan's Daniel Leo have been suspended for four weeks and two weeks respectively following citing complaints arising from last weekend's Amlin Challenge Cup semi-finals.
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18 May, 21:07
No sooner had he lifted the Heineken Cup than Jonny Wilkinson switched his focus on to the next task - trying to keep Toulon on course for a European Cup and Top 14 double.
18 May, 20:59
Bernard Laporte celebrated Toulon's 21-year wait for another trophy - but admitted he had had his doubts they would go on and lift the Heineken Cup when ASM Clermont Auvergne went nine points clear with over half an hour to play.
18 May, 19:33
Delon Armitage scored Toulon's match-winning try - but never had a doubt that Jonny Wilkinson would kick the conversion that would give them the lead for the first time with just minutes to spare.
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Amlin Challenge Cup
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18 May, 10:54
This one is for Joe and Isa - that was the tribute Amlin Man of the Match Jonny Sexton paid to his coach and team-mate in the wake of their 34-13 Amlin Challenge Cup final triumph over Stade Francais Paris at the RDS.
17 May, 23:37
There was another dose of European disappointment for Sergio Parisse and his team but the Stade Francais Paris captain paid handsome tribute to Leinster following their 34-13 victory at the RDS.
17 May, 23:15
Now for the elusive double - that was the defiant message from Joe Schmidt after they had lifted the third European title of his reign.
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News
19 point deficit too much - O'Connell
8 April 2012 16:04pm
By Westgate
Paul O'Connell is tackled by Ruan Pienaar at Thomond Park
© Getty Images
Paul O'Connell has played his share of big Heineken Cup games for two-time champions, Munster Rugby, but in the wake of the 22-16 quarter-final defeat by Ulster Rugby he couldn't recall ever having to come back from as big a deficit as 19 points.
"It's cup rugby and you just should never be 19 points down and I can't remember that happening to us in all the time I've been with the club. It left us with too much to do and crucially, it gave them a bit of belief," said the captain as he reflected on what was only Munster's second defeat at home in the history of the competition.
"You can't beat yourself in a tournament like this and in a way, that's exactly what we did in the first 20 minutes. Frustratingly, we had more than enough possession to win the game, so to score just one try, that was really disappointing. We didn't make inroads, we weren't accurate enough with the ball and it was also very hard to stop them slowing the ball down.
"In fairness to Ulster, their defence was very good and when they got their opportunities they took them. We did concede a lot of penalties and we chatted to Romain Poite about it, and maybe things changed after about 25 minutes, but some of the penalties were right and maybe some were hard."
Latest ERC TV
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18 May 13
Get the final words pf both coaches and captains ahead of the biggest club game of their careers. Press Confernce with Toulon and ASM
16 May 13
Finals Edition: Listen to the best guide to the European Rugby Cup Finals weekend in Dublin, which sees Leinster Rugby take on Stade Francais Paris at the RDS on Friday night in the Amlin Challenge Cup Final and then ASM Clermont Auvergne tackle Toulon in an all-French affair at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
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