Munster’s Euro path is unveiled

MUNSTER’S Heineken Cup Pool One fourth-round clash with Perpignan will go ahead at the French club’s Stade Aimé Giral, and not in Barcelona.

The French Top 14 champions had hoped to take the pool’s key match across the Pyrenees to Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium, Estadi Montjuic.

However Perpignan officials yesterday informed Heineken Cup organisers, ERC, that the game will now take place at Stade Aimé Giral.

The 55,926-capacity Montjuic Stadium hosted the 1992 Games and, up until last season, played host to La Liga side Espanyol. It holds about four times the capacity of Perpignan’s home ground, but the Catalan club’s decision to stage it at their own base is likely to create a ticket frenzy as the stadium’s capacity stands at just 14,593.

Before all that, Munster open their Heineken Cup campaign with a Saturday evening clash against 2009 Challenge Cup champions, Northampton, at Franklin’s Gardens. The meeting will rekindle memories of the 2000 Heineken Cup final between the sides, which the Saints won by the narrowest of margins, 9-8.

Since that Twickenham final, personnel on both sides has changed though Munster’s squad survivors from that day, including Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara, David Wallace, John Hayes, Alan Quinlan, Donncha O’Callaghan and Marcus Horan, should be fit for this round one clash.

Northampton’s squad is likely to have a number of Irish players in its ranks, including former Munster player James Downey and ex-Ulster stars Roger Wilson and Neil Best.

After their trip across the water, Tony McGahan’s men face Italian champions Benetton Treviso in round two at Thomond Park with back-to-back fixtures against the Catalan club awaiting them in December. The reverse games against the Top 14 champions aren’t exactly supporter-friendly, with the Thomond Park meeting fixed for a Friday evening, two weeks before Christmas, while the clash in France kicks off on a Sunday at 4pm.

Leinster will launch the defence of their Heineken Cup title against London Irish on Friday, October 9 at the RDS. Exiles captain Bob Casey takes his troops back to his native province in what will be the first meeting between the sides in the competition.

Leinster’s most difficult assignment comes in round two when they travel to the home of 1997 champions Brive, who return to the competition for the first time in 11 years.

Ulster, meanwhile, can look forward to a glamour tie in Brussels after Stade Francais decided to take the fixture to the famous Stade du Roi Baudoin. Stade owner Max Guazzini is expected to pull out all the stops in a bid to create a pre-Christmas extravaganza in the Belgian capital.

Ulster, who haven’t qualified for the knockout stages since winning the Heineken Cup in the 1998-99 season, find themselves in a formidable pool alongside the Parisian giants, Bath and Edinburgh. Head coach Bryan McLaughlin takes charge of his first Heineken Cup game against Bath at Ravenhill.

Pool Five has already been christened ‘The Pool of Death’ with Toulouse, Sale Sharks, Cardiff Blues and Harlequins all vying for top spot. Two tasty round one ties see the Blues host Quins at their new home, the 26,000-seater Cardiff City Stadium, while Sale travel to Toulouse for a Sunday afternoon glamour fixture.

Former double champions Leicester Tigers, beaten 19-16 in the 2009 final at Murrayfield two months ago, open their 2009/10 tournament challenge in Pool 3 at the revamped 24,000-capacity Welford Road against the Ospreys.

Sky Sports and the ERC also announced 37 live televised fixtures from the first four rounds with Leinster and Munster both being shown in each of the opening four rounds, while Ulster will be featured on three occasions.

Viewers can watch all 24 competing teams feature at least twice, with up to 10 live ties scheduled from each of the first four rounds. There are also more high definition matches on offer, with 23 matches available to Sky+ HD subscribers.

At least one match will be screened each Friday, with four each Saturday, and two on every Sunday, with extra select Heineken Cup matches available live to Sky digital viewers through the interactive function by pressing the red button on the Sky remote control.

Meanwhile the knockout stages of 2009-10 European Challenge Cup will include three teams who will qualify through the Heineken Cup.

Three teams who finish as Pool runners-up in 2009-10 Heineken Cup (the third, fourth and fifth ranked Heineken Cup Pool runners-up), will meet the five European Challenge Cup Pool winners in the quarter-finals.