Leinster move Heineken Cup quarter final to the Aviva Stadium

Posted on Jan 25, 2011 in Rugby News

Leinster Rugby have announced the forthcoming Heineken Cup quarter final against Leicester, to be played on the weekend of 8-10 April, will be played in the Aviva Stadium.

The decision by the Leinster Professional Board to play the fixture in the Aviva Stadium was taken in consultation with the Leinster team management and squad. Having won two matches so far this season in the Aviva Stadium against Munster (Magners League) and ASM Clermont Auvergne (Heineken Cup), the Board is confident that this decision will give the opportunity to the greatest number of Leinster supporters to see the game.

Full ticket details for the Heineken Cup quarter final will be available in the coming days once the kick off time and date have been confirmed by ERC.

Leinster Chief Executive Mick Dawson commented: “I would firstly congratulate the entire team and management on reaching the quarter finals in what was, arguably, the toughest pool that the province has ever faced.

“To reach the knock-out stages – and achieve a home quarter final draw in the process – is an impressive achievement and due reward, not only for the team, but also for our loyal supporters who have followed the team across Europe at great expense and also established their own reputation as a significant element in the Leinster quest to regain the Heineken Cup. They once again added to this reputation last Friday night when over 1,000 supporters made the trip to Paris and gave wonderful vocal support throughout the game.

“In our two fixtures in the Aviva Stadium to date we have enjoyed two outstanding spectacles with the team having been inspired to victory by close to 100,000 supporters over the course of both games.

“Existing Leinster season ticket holders will be offered the priority option to purchase tickets for this game and information will be circulated shortly. There will also be a range of family packages and junior tickets on public sale.

“We will continue the increasingly popular ‘One Province’ scheme as we do for all of our home matches, a community ticketing initiative designed specifically for underage groups travelling to matches at discount prices.

“We remain committed to our home in the RDS, but given the manner in which our Leinster supporter base has grown in recent years, we believe that we have a duty to cater for as large an audience as possible for special one off matches such as this, which will be a local and international event.

“I would like to thank Martin Murphy and his team for facilitating our plans to play in the Aviva Stadium, a venue which is fast becoming one of the leading arenas in Europe.

“Over the coming days we will finalise competitive ticket prices, mindful of the difficult economic climate and the great commitment of our supporters, both at home and abroad, over recent seasons.”

Dallaglio tips English clubs to do well in Europe

Posted on Oct 8, 2010 in Rugby News

Amlin Rugby Ambassador, Lawrence Dallaglio, the only player to captain a team to both Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup glory, has tipped England’s clubs to dominate this season’s Amlin Challenge Cup.

The Premiership has provided eight of the last 10 winners of the Amlin Challenge Cup – including Dallaglio’s own London Wasps side in 2003 – and the English charge for the 2010/11 campaign will be led by three former winners in Gloucester, Sale Sharks and Harlequins and Dallaglio believes England will wrench the trophy from the holders, Cardiff Blues, this season.

“Traditionally, English clubs have done very well in this tournament. When you look at the history of the Amlin Challenge Cup, almost 99 per cent of the teams to have won it are English,” he said.

“There have to be reasons for that and it’s down to strength in depth and the way English clubs approach the competition.

“You can’t discount Bayonne and Montpellier, but with the likes of Harlequins and Sale involved, I’m fully expecting an English club to reach the final, if not two.

“Newcastle are very familiar with this competition and will be happy to start with a home game. They are a force up there in Newcastle and you have a great chance of progressing in Europe if you win your home games.”

Harlequins, winners in 2001 and 2004, meet Bayonne on the opening weekend in Pool 1 while Gloucester travel to Agen and Sale Sharks host the Spanish side, Cetransa El Savador.

“Gloucester have made a slow start to the season but they are looking to build some confidence in this competition and are very tough at home,” Dallaglio added.

“The biggest thing they have on their side is the wonderful support at Kingsholm. No opponent will enjoy playing in front of the Shed.”

Leeds Carnegie head to Romania, where they face Bucharest Oaks, while Exeter Chiefs will make their European debut against French Top 14 high-flyers Montpellier.

“It promises to be the best day in Exeter’s club history. Every game they play in Europe will be the most wonderful experience for everyone involved in the club, from the players to the fans,” explained Dallaglio.

“It’s great for rugby to have club like that involved. They have made a great start in the Premiership but some of their players will never have dreamed of playing European rugby.

“Montpellier are doing well in the Top 14, but they don’t have a tradition of travelling well in Europe and I know from personal experience that Sandy Park is not an easy place to play.”

Connacht step into unknown

Posted on Oct 5, 2010 in Connacht, Irish Rugby

Eric Elwood – Connacht Rugby’s record points scorer – faces his first Amlin Challenge Cup contest as the province’s new coach accepting they know precious little about their Round 1 opponents.

Italian club I Cavalieri Estra will be making their European debut when they welcome Connacht Rugby – who will be playing a record 93^rdtournament match – to Stadio Lungobisenzio on Saturday.

“We sent a guy over to Italy the weekend before last when they were playing Lazio in the Super 10 and video of that one game is what we will be working off in preparation for Saturday,” said former Ireland outside half Elwood, who scored 473 points in 53 Amlin Challenge Cup appearances for Connacht Rugby.

“That was the best we could do so we have to take our chances from that one game and then hope there are not too many changes in their team.

“However, what it has told us is that they have a couple of big, good ball carriers, big centres and a solid goal kicker.

“We will have to keep our discipline, not give away any silly penalties and easy points and, if we play to our full capabilities, we should be okay.

“But because it is their first game in Europe they will want to put on a good performance in front of their own fans and we expect them, like all Italian teams, to be very competitive

“I am not at all worried that we start away from home but with just the Pool winner going through into the quarter-finals we know we must get off to a winning start.”

Connacht Rugby have been the only ever-present team in the history of the tournament, reaching the knock-out stages seven times in 14 attempts, and if they can qualify for the semi-finals for the fourth time they will be the first team to play in 100 matches in the competition.

“It is really exciting to be going into another European campaign but we know we are in a tough group,” said Elwood.

“We have not played Bayonne before either but they were riding high in the Top 14 while I know Harlequins and John (Kingston) very well so there is a bit of history there.

“We know how tough the French teams are but we have never feared going to France and, after five Celtic League matches in a tournament that is very competitive and physically demanding, that is a great way to prepare for Europe.

“We hope to have our skipper John Muldoon back for his first game since breaking an arm on the Irish tour and we are very happy with how Ian Keatley is coming on – he is a work in progress but he is developing really well and working extremely hard on his game.

“We go into the Amlin Challenge Cup after losing 22-6 away to Cardiff Blues but were disappointed we did not get anything out of that match. We created a few opportunities but did not take them, and away from home in particular that is not acceptable.”

Rougerie targets HEC

Posted on Sep 29, 2010 in Rugby News

French champions ASM Clermont Auvergne are ready to spearhead Les Bleus’ assault on Europe – with the Heineken Cup the target of French wing ace Aurelien Rougerie and his star-studded squad.

Speaking at the French and Italian launch in Paris today (Tuesday, 28 September) Clermont captain Rougerie declared that contesting the tournament’s 16^thfinal at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on Saturday, 21 May, was the next challenge. 

“I hope we can make the step up from champions of France to champions of Europe, but it is an extremely demanding competition and it is going to be very difficult,” he said.

“Every team I have played against in the tournament has been a good side – the Heineken Cup is the top level of rugby – but we are a good side and have to believe in ourselves.”

After the all-French final in May, when Toulouse beat Biarritz Olympique 21-19 at Stade de France, now all roads lead to the Welsh capital.

The draw pitched Clermont in with 2009 Heineken Cup champions Leinster, and that means a clash with former Clermont coach Joe Schmidt, now head coach with the Irish province, when the teams meet in Rounds 3 and 4 with Leinster staging their home leg on 18 December at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

“We are in a tough group that includes Saracens, Racing Metro 9 as well as Leinster and obviously, while we hope to finish first, it is going to be very hard,” said the player who has scored 14 tries in 26 Heineken Cup appearances

“I am looking forward to meeting up with Joe (Schmidt) again and, although it hasn’t been the greatest of starts for him at Leinster, he has more internationals to come back into his team which will make them very strong and tough to beat.

“He brought a lot to our club as he taught us the basics and brought in our attacking lines – he will do well for Leinster.”

The tournament kicks-off the weekend after next with champions and four-times winners Toulouse starting their defence of the title with a home clash at Le Stadium against 2004 and 2007 winners London Wasps.

Lega celtica!

Posted on Mar 8, 2010 in Rugby News

Celtic Rugby has announced (Monday, 8 March, 2010) that from next season the Magners League will include two teams from Italy.

The 10th season of the tournament will see the Magners League expanded to four nations as Italy joins Ireland, Scotland and Wales in a high profile 12-team cross-border competition designed to considerably enhance both playing standards and commercial viability for the competing countries.

The three Celtic Unions have unanimously agreed to the introduction of two new Italian super sides and the four-year agreement will see Benetton Treviso and Aironi Rugby competing against defending champions Munster and the other nine Celtic teams on a home and away basis.

Benetton Treviso will have their headquarters at Stadio Comunale di Monigo while Aironi, who will be based at Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, will involve various clubs from the Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna regions.

The move to welcome Italian sides comes at the end of a year-long review of the viability of expanding the tournament, the detailed analysis and due diligence undertaken by the sports consultancy arm of Deloittes and focusing on the basis of long term financial capacity to support the teams and commit to the league.

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