Eight countries from seven different nations remain in the Challenge Cup as it reaches the quarter-final stage, with an Anglo-Welsh clash getting things underway on Friday night.
Gloucester and Ospreys kick things off as the hosts look to continue their brilliant cup form against the last remaining Welsh region in the two EPCR competitions.
That’s followed by a series of intriguing clashes, combining clubs with European rugby heritage against sides looking to make a long-awaited impact on the tournament.
Friday
Gloucester had to work to beat Castres at Kingsholm last weekend, but kept their superb record in cups this season going along with hopes of winning a third Challenge Cup trophy.
The Cherry and Whites victory made it 12 wins out of 12 in cup competitions, and despite a gutsy win in Bridgend against Sale, Ospreys will have a tough task to see off English opposition again for this 8pm kick-off.
The visitors have been proudly flying the flag for Wales in EPCR tournaments though, and will hope the solid form they’ve shown this season stands them in good stead to compete against a team that has shown frailty and inconsistency at times.
Saturday
At 12:30pm Ulster head to Clermont Auvergne to reignite a rivalry that has become increasingly noteworthy in recent years.
Ulster won both high-scoring, closely fought affairs when the pair met in the Champions Cup pool stages of the 2021/22 season, and after downing Montpellier last time out will hope they can once again see off a Top 14 outfit.
Like Montpellier, the threat of relegation from that league looms over Clermont, so the result may well depend on the strength of the team they are prepared to field.
Kicking off at the same time, albeit around 6000 miles away, is the Sharks clash against Edinburgh.
The Scottish side find themselves in Durban for the second time in as many weeks, hoping to avenge the 23-13 defeat they suffered on 30 March.
They’ll be hard pushed to end the Sharks 100 per cent home record across their two seasons in continental competition, but a promising second-half display against Bayonne last week will give them belief they can pull off an upset.
Sunday
The final game of the weekend pits the two teams with the longest odds to win the competition against each other, as Benetton face Connacht in another 12:30pm kick-off.
Benetton ran out 41-19 winners against their visitors in last year’s round of 16 stage, and like the Sharks the Italian side go into this game with a victory to boost their confidence against their quarter-final opposition less than two weeks ago.
That was a closely-fought 18-14 win, but whilst Benetton can go into the contest knowing they can beat the Galway-based outfit, the favourites tag is never an easy one to carry against a notoriously gritty side in European competition.
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