Champions Cup Quarter-Final Preview as just ONE Premiership club remains

Tuesday, 08 April 2025 at 17:10

byTom Sansom

We are well and truly at the business end of the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup season, as knock-out rugby continues in the top flight of the cross-continental club competition. Just eight teams remain in as the tournament enters the quarter-final stage, with four high-octane fixtures set to light up the weekend across Ireland, England and France.

Just one Premiership side remains in the competition, with Northampton Saints flying the flag of the English first division into the final octet of the tournament. Half the playing field hails from the French Top 14, with Boardeux-Begles, Castres Olimpique, Stade Touolouse and RC Toulon optimising the position of power that French rugby has built itself up to.

Here is a preview of the four matches set to take centre stage this weekend, as we draw ever closer to the Champions Cup final at Cardiff Principality Stadium. All the matches will be shown live on Premier Sport, along with the four quarter-final matches in the EPCR Challenge Cup to boot. It's going to be a great weekend at the pinnacle of club rugby, so lets dive on into all the details.

Leinster Rugby vs Glasgow Warriors - Friday, April 11th, 20:00 KO, Aviva Stadium

Leinster went for broke in the Round of 16 victory, with Harlequins sent packing from the Irish capital with an immense 62-0 score-line. Leinster pulled no punches against the Premiership's resident entertainers, as the likes of James Lowe, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier, Joe McCarthy, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osbourne and Ross Byrne all got involved in the try-scoring action.

The strong contingency of Ireland's international stars certainly were too much for the Londoners to compete with, as the Leinster match-day squad bolstered over 900 Test caps for their Round of 16 win. Adding to the impressive nature of a devastating nine try victory, Leinster were able to hold out Harlequins for nil, a feat not witnessed since December - when Gloucester held Harlequins for a 14-0 win in the eighth round of the Premiership.

Glasgow Warriors enter the fray hot off the back of a win over Leicester Tigers, which despite not having the round score-line of a nilled opponent, was still an emphatic 43-19 statement of intent. Glasgow are the defending United Rugby Championship title holders, and would love nothing more than to add a long evaded Champions Cup trophy to the Scotstoun Stadium trophy cabinet. Glasgow face a trip across the Irish sea, with the Warriors taking a rare underdog role into this battle.

PREDICTION: LEINSTER PROGRESS TO SEMI-FINALS

Bordeaux-Begles vs Munster Rugby - Saturday, April 12th, 15:00 KO, Stade Chaban-Delmas

The first of the four French sides in action, Bordeaux-Begles get Saturday's action underway with a belter of a match in store against Munster. It was a matter of out-scoring the opposition this past weekend, as Bordeaux and Ulster traded blows in an eleven try barnstormer.

Bordeaux battled their way beyond the Belfast boys for a 43-31 victory, with Maxime Lamothe, Ben Tameifuna, Adam Coleman, Damien Penaud, Romain Buros and Rohan Janse van Rensburg all getting on the score-sheet for the French high flyers.

Munster are in the quarter-finals by the skin of their teeth, thanks to the accurate marksmanship of fly half Jack Crowley. The 25-year-old halfback slotted a wonderfully struck drop goal late on in the match against La Rochelle, to stretch the Irish province ahead for a 25-24 win. Crowley received plenty of plaudits, including a resounding seal of approval by a begrudged yet albeit impressed La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara.

A man who knew a thing or two about slotting match winners for Munster, O'Gara backed Crowley for greatness, as Munster progressed to the final eight.

PREDICTION: BORDEAUX-BEGLES PROGRESS TO SEMI-FINALS

Northampton Saints vs Castres Olimpique - Saturday, April 12th, 17:30 KO - Franklin's Gardens

Northampton Saints are set to host Castres Olympique in the Champions Cup on Saturday, and this encounter marks the second meeting between the two sides this season. Their previous clash in December saw Saints secure a commanding 38-8 victory at home, in what is a telling sign for the incoming quarter-final clash.

In that December fixture, Northampton's Juarno Augustus delivered an outstanding performance, contributing two tries to the team's six-try tally. Fly-half Fin Smith showcased exceptional game management, steering the Saints to a bonus-point win with four out of six conversions to boot.

Northampton advanced to the final eight of the Champions Cup with a 42-24 triumph over Clermont Auvergne. England wing Tommy Freeman was instrumental, recording a hat-trick of tries and earning the Man of the Match accolade that has put Andy Farrell and his British & Irish Lions selectors on notice. Castres Olympique, on the other hand, have demonstrated significant improvement since their last visit to Franklin's Gardens. Their journey to the quarter-finals included notable victories, such as a 49-10 win over the Vodacom Bulls and a 32-24 away success against Saracens.

Castres booked their place in the quarter finals in dramatic fashion, as replacement scrum half Jeremy Fernandez stole the win from Benetton. Fernandez scored a try in the dying embers of the match, and converted his own effort to secure a last-ditch win at 39-37.

As the sole English club remaining in the competition, Northampton Saints carry the hopes of the Premiership. Their recent form, bolstered by key players like Freeman and Smith, positions them as formidable contenders. However, Castres' resurgence and proven ability to secure crucial wins on the road suggest a fiercely competitive match is on the horizon.

PREDICTION: NORTHAMPTON PROGRESS TO SEMI-FINALS

RC Toulon vs Stade Toulousain - Sunday, April 13th, 15:00 KO - Stade Mayol

A heavyweight all-French affair wraps up the weekend’s quarter-final drama, as RC Toulon welcome defending Champions Cup title holders Stade Toulousain to a packed-out Stade Mayol on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is set for 15:00 local time, and it promises to be a bruising encounter steeped in history and passion upon the South of France.

Toulon have found their groove at just the right time, as after a Top 14 defeat to Castres, Toulon bounced back with a massive win over Saracens. A 30-point deficit racked up a monstrous 72-42 win against the Londoners, with a star-studded score-sheet including a hat-trick for Argentine wing Facundo Isa and a brace for fullback Melvyn Jaminet. Leicester Fainga'anuku, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Brian Alainu'uese, Baptiste Serin and Setariki Tuicuvu also got themselves across the whitewash for Toulon, as Saracens leaked 10 tries to the French powerhouse.

As for Stade Toulousain, the European champions are pushing on to make their way to their second consecutive Champions Cup final, and want to take one step closer this coming Sunday. Toulouse impressed all onlookers in their Round of 16 win over Sale Sharks, as the Southern French titans racked up a 38-15 victory. It was an outstanding showing of resiliency from Stade Toulousain, as Sale even lead at the half-time break some 15-7 to the good of their heavily favoured opponents.

A proper barn-burner is on the cards, with plenty of fireworks expected to close out this weekend of the Champions Cup quarter-finals. We can see this one coming down to the wire, with RC Toulon's 20-19 win from April of 2024, proving that they can get the job done against Stade Toulonais. With just seven points separating the first and third ranked Toulouse and Toulon in their respective league, this one could go either way come Sunday at the Stade Mayol.

PREDICTION: TOULOUSE PROGRESS TO SEMI-FINALS

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