Toulon are set to stage a first ever Heineken Cup quarter-final at home following confirmation that Stade Félix Mayol will host the hugely anticipated last-eight clash with Leicester Tigers on the Côte d'Azur on Sunday, 7 April.
The French club have satisfied tournament regulations by increasing their stadium capacity to over the required 15,000 for a Heineken Cup quarter-final, and with number one seeds, Harlequins, having also complied with the minimum requirement by boosting the capacity of the Twickenham Stoop for their tie against Munster Rugby, all venues are now confirmed for the knockout matches.
Toulon's contest against the two-time former Heineken Cup champions will be the biggest game played at Stade Mayol in the history of the club with the French aiming to go one better than in 2011 when they lost in the quarter-final to Perpignan at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.
April will see the return of European club rugby fever with sell-out crowds expected for the matches at Stade Marcel Michelin, The Stoop and Stade Mayol, while the attendance at Twickenham Stadium for the meeting of Saracens and Ulster Rugby could challenge the UK record of 37,881 for a Heineken Cup quarter-final set at Murrayfield last season.
Heineken Cup quarter-finals
(All kick-offs local time)
Saturday, 6 April
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Montpellier, Stade Marcel Michelin 16.40
FR2/Sky Sports/Sky Italia
Saracens v Ulster Rugby, Twickenham Stadium 18.30
Sky Sports/Canal+/Sky Italia
Sunday, 7 April
Harlequins v Munster Rugby, Twickenham Stoop 14.00
Sky Sports/Canal+/Sky Italia
Toulon v Leicester Tigers, Stade Félix Mayol 17.30
FR2/Canal+/Sky Sports/Sky Italia
Quarter-final notes
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Montpellier
• The match at Stade Marcel Michelin will be the first meeting of the clubs in a European tournament
• Clermont have now gone 54 matches unbeaten at home
• Clermont reached the last four last season before losing 19-15 to eventual champions, Leinster Rugby, in a memorable semi-final in Bordeaux
• Morgan Parra is the leading scorer from the pool stage with 90 points
Saracens v Ulster Rugby
• The game will mark Saracens' third appearance in a Heineken Cup quarter-final
• Ulster bucked a tournament trend last season with an away quarter-final victory over Munster at Thomond Park
• Owen Farrell set a tournament record of 10 penalties in a match during Saracens' key win over Racing Metro 92 at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes in Round 5
• Saracens' Director of Rugby, Mark McCall, was Ulster captain in the club's Heineken Cup winning season of 1999 but missed the final through injury
Harlequins v Munster Rugby
• Harlequins came through the pool stage as No 1 seeds for the first time in the club's history
• Munster have reached the knockout stage of the tournament 14 times in the past 15 seasons
• The last time the clubs met in European competition, Harlequins pulled off a famous 2011 Amin Challenge Cup semi-final victory at Thomond Park
• Munster have played in 13 Heineken Cup quarter-finals winning nine, and three of those wins were away from home: v Stade Francais Paris 2002, v Leicester Tigers 2003 and v Gloucester Rugby 2008
Toulon v Leicester Tigers
• Toulon's only appearance to date in the last eight was in 2011 when they were defeated by Perpignan in front of a record quarter-final crowd of 55,000 at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona
• Leicester have played in 10 Heineken Cup quarter-finals, winning six and losing four
• Toulon have two players, and Leicester one, who have tournament winner's medals: Freddie Michalak (with Toulouse in 2003 and '05), Simon Shaw (with London Wasps 2004 and '07) and Tigers' Geordan Murphy in 2001 and '02
• Leicester have won one of their 10 tournament quarter-finals away from home when they beat Leinster at Lansdowne Road in 2005
Semi-finals
Matches to be played on weekend of 26/27/28 April
The winner of the first-named quarter-final match in each semi-final pairing will have home country advantage.
Semi-final 1: Saracens or Ulster Rugby v Toulon or Leicester Tigers
Semi-final 2: ASM Clermont Auvergne or Montpellier v Harlequins or Munster Rugby
Heineken Cup final: Saturday, 18 May; Aviva Stadium, Dublin 17.00