The quarter-final line up for this year’s Heineken Cup is now complete after Bath, Toulouse and Leinster booked their places in the last eight on Sunday afternoon.
They joined Cardiff Blues, Munster, Harlequins and Leicester in the knock-out stages, with the Ospreys also going through as the best runner up.
Cardiff Blues finished the pool stages as the top seeds thanks to six successive wins and a tally of 27 points from a possible 30. Their reward is a home tie against three-times European champions Toulouse, whose 3-3 draw with Bath saw them qualify in eighth place.
Reigning Heineken Cup winners Munster qualified as the second seeds after a bonus-point win against Montauban ensured their only blemish was an away defeat against Clermont Auvernge. The 2006 and 2008 champions will now face Welsh glamour side the Ospreys at Thomond Park after the Liberty Stadium outfit made it through having finished behind Leicester in Pool 3.
Having failed to win a single Heineken Cup fixture last season, Harlequins can now look forward to a home quarter final as a four-try win over the Scarlets set up a last-eight tie with Brian O’Driscoll’s Leinster. Leinster topped Pool 2 ahead of English champions London Wasps despite losing two of their six pool fixtures.
The final quarter-final sees 2001 and 2002 winners Leicester host Bath, who were the first English side to win the Heineken Cup back in 1998. Bath were the victors when the two sides met at the same stage of the 2005/06 season but the spoils have been shared so far in the two league meetings at The Rec and Welford Road.
Heineken Cup quarter finals
To be played April 10/11/12
Cardiff Blues vs Toulouse
Munster vs Ospreys
Harlequins vs Leinster
Leicester vs Bath
Europe’s second-tier competition is also down to the last eight, with five English teams still in with a chance of claiming Challenge Cup glory.
European Challenge Cup quarter-finals
To be played Apri 10/11/12
London Irish vs Bourgoin
Northampton vs Connacht
Saracens vs Newcastle
Worcester vs Brive
