With the 2013/14 Heineken Cup season only days away, Breakingnews.ie rugby correspondent, Daniel Pitcher takes a look at the weekend fixtures.

Munster’s double-header with Perpignan in December looks like being the key to qualification from the pool stages of the 2013/14 Heineken Cup following the release of the official fixture list yesterday.

The chief executive of the ERC has admitted the dispute over the Heineken Cup, which is threatening the tournament’s future, is unlikely to be resolved by the time the domestic rugby season kicks off in September.