The final four teams remain in the 2023/24 Investec Champions Cup, with the semi-finals set to take place this weekend. Two high stakes fixtures will light up Dublin and the South of France, as four of European rugby’s pinnacle clubs look to take that next step towards lifting the iconic Champions Cup trophy.
Two clubs from the Gallagher Premiership remain in the competition, as Harlequins and Northampton Saints have battled their way to the semi-finals. The two sides from the English first division have significant milestones ahead to set an all-Premiership finale, when the Champions Cup Final comes to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next month.
Here is a run through on this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup semi-final matches, including kick-off times and broadcast TV channels.
SATURDAY MAY 4TH
LEINSTER RUGBY vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS (17:30 KO, Croke Park, Dublin)
HOW TO WATCH: RTE / TNT Sports / beIN SPORTS / FloRugby / SuperSport
Northampton Saints continue on with their search for a Premiership and Champions Cup double, as they take on Leinster in the semi-final this Saturday. The Premiership leaders are in pole position for a favourable home semi-final come the end of the domestic league campaign, yet have a sizeable obstacle to overcome ahead of their trip across to Dublin. Northampton secured their place in the final four, following an emphatic win against the Vodacom Bulls.
The South African side was heavily criticised for leaving eleven Springbok-capped players out of the match day squad, as the Bulls took a 59-22 hammering at cinch Stadium. The Saints ran rampant with a nine-try hit-out, as first half scores from James Ramm, Ollie Sleightholme, Courtney Lawes, Alex Mitchell and Alex Coles established an unobtainable lead. Ramm and Mitchell secured their braces in the second half, along with a try from Juarno Augustus to further build the score-line. Fin Smith’s metronomic place kicking saw him send seven out of nine conversions through the posts, as the Saints enjoyed a memorable quarter-final triumph.
Leinster arrive at the semi-final stage of the Champions Cup, after putting to bed the three-year hex held over them by Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle. The former Munster halfback orchestrated a trio of champions Cup wins against the Dubliners, dating back to the semi-finals of the 2021 competition. La Rochelle would then go on to then triumph over Leinster in the 2022 and 2023 Champions Cup Finals, with an extra pinch of salt inflicted to the wounds, as last season’s finale was held in the Aviva Stadium. Johnny Sexton’s post-match referee altercation was in the spotlight of last season’s final fixture, with Stade Rochelais embossing a yellow and black bruise upon the Leinster players for the past three years.
However, ice has since been applied and Leinster took home the spoils from the recent quarter-final meeting. With Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Leinster pummelled their French opponents 40-13, as they ran in a five star performance through a quintet of tries. Scores from Jamison Gibson-Park, Ryan Baird and Dan Sheehan, coupled with a brace from flying Ireland wing James Lowe, inflicted significant scoring upon Stade Rochelais, which could not be recovered from. This sets up the semi-final meeting between Leinster and Northampton Saints, with both sides eyeing up a long-awaited European crown.
SUNDAY MAY 5TH
STADE TOULOUSAIN vs HARLEQUINS (15:00 KO, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
HOW TO WATCH: France TV / beIN SPORTS / TNT Sports / ITV / SuperSport / FloRugby
In what is one of those serial rugby statistics, Harlequins have now reached the final four of the Champions Cup for the first time in their history. The two-time Premiership champions have not been blessed with success on the European stage, with a milestone first achieved in the the famous quarters following the recent success in the quarter finals. In what was a sure-fire contender for match of the season, Harlequins travelled out to Bordeaux earlier this month, and achieved a stunning 42-41 win.
Bordeaux-Begles pulled no punches, as they fielded a star-studded side of French internationals. The likes of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Yoram Moefana and Maxime Lucu decorated the Bordelais back-line, yet Quins went toe-to-toe with some of the top talents of the England set-up. The end to end action resembled a basketball match in terms of the point scoring, with the two sides trading blows in an unforgettable 12-try thriller. Marcus Smith led Harlequins to success, with the all-important conversion following the 71st minute score from Tyrone Green.
the five-time Champions Cup winners, Toulouse join the fray after an emphatic victory over Exeter Chiefs, as the French juggernauts ran out a 64-26 battering of the Devonshire club. After a well-weighted first 40 minutes, Toulouse ran away with proceedings in the South of France, as they scored seven tries in the second half of the quarter-final. After leading the French sevens side to success on the HSBC SVNS series, Toulousian talisman Antoine Dupont was back on the 15s stage, and could not be contained by the Exeter defensive line.
The magician of Les Bleus supplied the ammunition, and through the tried and tested partnership with fellow countryman Romain Ntamack ran roughshod across the Chiefs in the latter stages. Ntamack contributed a score in the early jousting battle, before ex-England flanker Jack Willis got on the score-sheet. The floodgates opened after the 47th minute, as Blair Kinghorn, Pita Akhi and Juan Cruz Mallia each scored twice, along with a score from superlative inducing Dupont.