Tag Archives: Heineken Champions Cup 2019/2020

Munster welcome Racing 92 to Thomond Park this weekend for a real heavyweight clash in the Heineken Champions Cup. The pair last met two seasons ago when the French giants overpowered Munster in the tournament semi-final en route to their final defeat by Leinster. That semi-final defeat just happened to be Simon Zebo’s last European game for the southern province …

Munster have issued an injury update ahead of their Heineken Champions Cup clash with Racing 92 at Thomond Park on Saturday (KO 5.30 pm).  The southern province enter this game off the back of a bonus-point 32-13 over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium. The Parisian side also secured a bonus-point in their match with Saracens at the Paris La …

Leinster have issued an injury update ahead of their Heineken Champions Cup clash with Lyon on Saturday (KO 3.15 pm).  The eastern province have a number of concerns after they got their European campaign off to a great start with a bonus-point win over Benetton at the RDS at the weekend. Joe Tomane, who was ruled out of the win …

Racing 92 rounded off the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup in style with a 30-10 victory over Saracens in Paris.  It was all one-way traffic from the get-go as the French outfit dominated a largely second-string Saracens from start to finish. Virimi Vakatawa got Racing off the mark with their first try after nine minutes before Maxime Machenaud …

“It was a rough time in my life,” Paddy McAllister says with absolutely no hesitation, like a man who has had a long time to reflect on the often difficult journey which has brought him to the west coast of Ireland in the green colours of Connacht Rugby.  The 30-year-old prop signed for the western province ahead of the 2019/20 …

Leinster 33 Benetton 19 Sean McMahon reporting from the RDS  Leinster began their quest for a record-breaking fifth Champions Cup title off to the best possible start as they swatted away a stubborn and brave Benetton side at the RDS to emerge with a bonus-point victory.  A first-half brace from Garry Ringrose, which came on either side of a Dean …

Stuart Hogg is really making his presence felt with his new club. The international full-back linked up with new side Exeter Chiefs following Scotland’s disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign and is today making his Champions Cup debut with the English Premiership side. Exeter currently lead La Rochelle, led by Ronan O’Gara, 14-0 following a try from Dave Dennis. However, the …

One of the biggest talking points ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup was the omission of stalwart Devin Toner in Joe Schmidt’s 31-man squad.  33-year-old Toner played a crucial role in Ireland’s superb 2018 and although he struggled with injuries in 2019, his experience and excellence at the setpiece were traits which many expected were too good to ignore …

There were a few notable omissions when Leinster announced their matchday 23 for Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup clash with Benetton at the RDS (KO 3.15 pm).  Ireland internationals Robbie Henshaw, Tadhg Furlong and Rob Kearney have all been left out for the visit of Kieran Crowley’s side. Henshaw’s absence is not that surprising considering the powerful centre suffered from some …

Leinster and Munster have both issued injury updates ahead of the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup this weekend.  Both provinces emerged victorious from the round of Interprovincial action in the PRO14. Leinster secured a bonus-point 42-11 victory over Connacht in Galway and the good news for the eastern province is that Robbie Henshaw returns to training this week …

For Johnny Sexton, getting back out on the pitch can’t come quickly enough as he and the rest of his international teammates look to get their disappointing World Cup campaign out of their system.  The onset of the first round of Interpros this weekend, in addition to the beginning of the Heineken Champions Cup a week later will prove to …

Munster will have to plan for some crucial fixtures without the services of their star out-half Joey Carbery.  Carbery is currently sidelined with an ankle injury which he originally picked up in the Rugby World Cup warm-up game against Italy at the Aviva Stadium back in August. The 24-year-old missed the remainder of the preparatory fixtures against Wales and England …

EPCR, the governing body of European club rugby, have released a brief statement stating their disappointment with Saracens not attending the official launch of the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup today in Cardiff.  Today’s event in Cardiff sees all participating teams in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup represented by respective coaches and players where among other things, they …

The draw for the 2019/2020 pool stages of the Heineken Champions Cup took place on Wednesday as clubs from across Europe learned their fate as to who stands between them and the knockout stages of the competition.  It’s a special year for the Irish teams as it’s the first time that all four provinces have qualified for Europe’s premier club …

The draw for the 2019/2020 edition of the Heineken Champions Cup was made on Wednesday afternoon in Lausanne, Switzerland.  All four of the Irish provinces are competing in next season’s edition of the Champions Cup and today they learned who stands between them and European glory. Here we discuss some of the biggest talking points from Wednesday’s draw. Pool Of …

The draw for the 2019/2020 Heineken Champions Cup has been made in Lausanne, Switzerland.  20 clubs from across Europe will compete in next season’s edition of the competition. This is the first time since the 2016/17 season in which all four Irish provinces have qualified for the competition on their own merits – prior to the 2016/17 season, Connacht only …

The draw for the 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup takes place today at 1.20 pm in Lausanne, Switzerland.  20 clubs have qualified for next season’s premier European club rugby competition. Before the main pool draw can take place, the 20 qualified clubs must first be placed into four tiers of five teams based on their ranking: Tier 1 The three domestic …