BIG MATCH PREVIEW

THE BIG MATCH

Tigers welcome Ulster Rugby in the tournament’s last four... A place in a European final could be just 80 minutes away for the players of Leicester Tigers and Ulster as they run out at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

Two-time European champions Tigers are bidding to reach a sixth final in Europe - following appearances in the Heineken Cup showpiece in 1997, 2001, ’02, ’07 and ’09 - while Ulster also have pedigree as winners in 1999 and finalists in 2012.

Tigers reached the semi-final in their debut Challenge Cup a year ago while Ulster had never played in the competition until meeting Harlequins in the knockout stages this term.

Ulster are among a select group of visitors to have achieved European success at Welford Road, winning twice at this stadium, and have a 7-3 advantage over Tigers in terms of previous meetings. The men from Belfast followed up their big win over Quins with a defeat of Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens in the quarter-finals, while also finishing second in their PRO14 conference behind eventual champions Leinster. They kicked off their Rainbow Cup campaign last week with a narrow defeat at home to Connacht, but did welcome back international lock Iain Henderson for his first game since the Six Nations. Ulster were the last visitors to win in Leicester in a European fixture, clinching victory by a single point here in January 2019.

MOST RECENT MEETINGS FROM BOTH SIDES

Belfast-born fly-half Ian Humphreys had captained Ulster Under-21s before joining Leicester in 2005 from Belfast Harlequins. A leftfooted long-range kicker with a turn of speed ball in hand, he started the historic win over Munster at Thomond Park in 2007 and played for Ireland ‘A’ against England Saxons on his home ground before joining Ulster in 2008. A regular there for four seasons, he had two years at London Irish before ending his career as he’d started in his home province.

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ELSEWHERE IN THE SEMI-FINALS

CHALLENGE CUP

BATH RUGBY v MONTPELLIER

Winners of this trophy in 2008, when Steve Borthwick was captain, Bath came from 14 points down to beat Zebre in their Round of 16 last month and then beat an in-form London Irish in the last eight. They had started the season in the Champions Cup pool stages, losing 23-19 at home to the Scarlets and then having a declared defeat against La Rochelle when the fixture in France was cancelled. Montpellier beat Benetton Rugby in the only quarter-final without Gallagher Premiership representation to maintain hope of a repeat of their 2006 Challenge Cup win despite spending the season in the lower reaches of their domestic league. They beat Glasgow Warriors 26-21 in the Round of 16, with fly-half Alex Lozowski scoring 16 points, after starting the season with back-to-back defeats in the Champions Cup against Leinster and Wasps.

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP

LA ROCHELLE v LEINSTER RUGBY

With contrasting Heinken Cup history, first-time semi-finalists La Rochelle host four-time European champions Leinster in an intriguing clash in the last four. La Rochelle sit second in the French Top14 with 15 wins from 21 games and came through the Champions Cup pool stages with a 13-8 victory in Edinburgh and a declared win over Bath. Their knockout form accounted for two Gallagher Premiership teams, with an away win over Gloucester followed by an impressive 45-21 victory over a high-flying Sale Sharks, scoring six tries to reach the semi-finals. Leinster, winners four times since 2009, topped the poolstage seedings with bonus-point wins over Montpellier away and Northampton at home. After being awarded the Round of 16 win when the home game with Toulon was cancelled, they beat defending champions Exeter Chiefs away to make it to yet another semi-final.

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP

BORDEAUX-BÈGLES v TOULOUSE

France international Matthieu Jalibert was the hero of Bordeaux-Begles’ quarter-final against Racing 92, kicking all of the points including a last-minute 55-metre penalty kick in a 24-21 victory to secure a place in the semi-finals for the first time. The campaign started with a 16-12 win at Northampton, sealed with a try from former Exeter wing Santiago Cordero who capitalised on a 74th-minute penalty which came back off the post. A 47-8 win over the Dragons sealed a place in the knockout rounds, where they beat Bristol Bears 36-17 to set up the allFrench quarter-final with Racing. Another domestic tussle follows in the semi-finals, against a Toulouse team intent on rekindling memories of their serial triumphs in this competition. A 29-22 victory over Ulster in Belfast was followed by a declared win over Exeter in the pool stages, before victory over Munster at Thomond Park in the Round of 16. That strong form away from home continued in the last eight with a 21-12 win over Clermont Auvergne.

KEY DATES

Challenge Cup Final: Friday, May 21 Heineken Champions Cup Final: Saturday, May 22 Venues to be confirmed

RULES & REGULATIONS

IN THE EVENT OF A DRAW

If scores are tied at full-time, then 20 minutes (two periods of 10 minutes) of extra-time will be played. If scores are still level after extra-time, the winners will be the team which has scored the most tries. If the teams are level on points and tries at the end of extra-time, then the winners will be determined by a place-kicking competition.

PLACE-KICKING COMPETITION

• Each team will be asked to nominate THREE goalkickers from the players on the pitch at the final whistle. • No substituted or dismissed player will be permitted to take part. • The end at which the competition takes place will be determined by toss of a coin. • The team to kick first will also be determined by a toss of a coin. • Each kicker will have two kicks from designated positions. • If the teams remain level, the competition will continue on a sudden-death basis.

The three players from each team kick in the order and from the positions set out below: • Kicker 1 from Team A first to take his kick from Position 1, on the 22-metre line in a central position. • Kicker 1 from Team B as above. • Kicker 2 from Team A from Position 2, at the junction of the 15-metre and 22-metre lines on the right side of the pitch. • Kicker 2 from Team B as above. • Kicker 3 from Team A to take his kick from Position 3, at the junction of the 15-metre and 22-metre lines on the left side of the pitch. • Kicker 3 from Team B as above • Kicker 1 from Team A to take his kick from Position 4, on the 10-metre line in a central position. • Kicker 1 from Team B as above • Kicker 2 from Team A to take his kick from Position 5, at the junction of the 15-metre and 10-metre lines on the right side of the pitch. • Kicker 2 from Team B as above. • Kicker 3 from Team A to take his kick from Position 6, at the junction of the 15-metre and 10-metre lines on the left side of the pitch. • Kicker 3 from Team B as above.

After each of the three nominated players from each team has taken his two kicks, the referee will declare the winning team based on the number of successful kicks.

If there is an equal number of successful kicks, the competition continues on a ‘sudden death’ basis. All kicks will take place from Position 4 in the following order: · Kicker 1 from Team A then Kicker 1 from Team B · Kicker 2 from Team A then Kicker 2 from Team B · Kicker 3 from Team A then Kicker 3 from Team B

The competition will continue until one player succeeds and the player from the other team taking the corresponding kick misses. • Once a player has positioned the ball on the kicking tee, he must take the kick within one minute. Should he take longer, the referee shall declare the kick unsuccessful. • Whether or not the kick is successful is the sole decision of the referee, who may at his sole discretion rely on the assistance of his assistant referees. • If a selected kicker becomes injured, he may be replaced by another player who was on the pitch at the end of extra-time.