A warm welcome to this Round 3 match in the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup and a Happy New Year to all as we reach the business end of the tournament’s pool stage.
Following the historic introduction of the leading South African clubs, it comes as no surprise that the Cell C Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers have already made a major impact and all remain in contention to book coveted places in the knockout stage.
With the top eight clubs in each pool guaranteed qualification, there’s an important incentive in that the four highest-ranked clubs in each pool will earn home matches in the Round of 16. In addition, the clubs which finish ninth and 10th in each pool will qualify for the Round of 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup. So, after what promises to be more world-class action this month, we’ll have a clearer idea of the pathway to the eagerly-anticipated Finals weekend at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium next May for which nearly 70,000 tickets have already been sold.
We are delighted to be joined on the journey to Dublin by our long-standing title partner, Heineken, by our official partners, DHL, IHG and Tissot, by our official supporters, Gilbert and Kappa, and also by our official airline partner in South Africa, Qatar Airways.
Our long-standing broadcast partners, BT Sport, beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions, continue to provide superb coverage of the Heineken Champions Cup in the UK, Ireland and France respectively, while SuperSport in South Africa, ITV and RTÉ in the UK and Ireland, S4C in Wales and FloRugby in the USA and Canada are already making valuable contributions to the growth of tournament.
We hope that you enjoy the match and best wishes to you, the fans, as well as to your club’s players and staff as we anticipate the joy and the occasional heartache that comes when qualification for the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stage is on the line!
Yours in rugby, Dominic McKay, EPCR Chairman
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to everyone as we commence the 2022/23 Heineken® Champions Cup.
Rugby in the UK is known for bringing people together to enjoy the incredible atmosphere and top-class sporting performances, and so it is with the memory of some truly unforgettable encounters that we excitedly mark the 27th year of our partnership with EPCR.
I would also like to commemorate another momentous anniversary, as this month Edinburgh Rugby celebrate 150 years of representative rugby and a proud sporting history. Cheers to them, and the very best of luck today to all the players, officials and supporters of these fine teams.
We at Heineken® are immensely proud to be sponsor of Europe’s leading club rugby competition, a tournament that means so much to rugby fans across the UK and beyond. Enjoy the game today with a cold, refreshing Heineken® or Heineken® 0.0% and as always, please do so responsibly.
6Boudewijn Haarsma Managing Director Heineken UK
8This week we welcome Montpellier Hérault to the Swansea.com Stadium for our next Heineken Champions Cup match.
We're expecting a bounce back performance from Montpellier after we won at their place. They're a physical team and will be seeking revenge but the boys are prepared and will be ready.
In partnership with Philtronics Ltd, Ospreys in the Community have raised over £8000 towards their £25,000 target with their recent raffle.
The money is being raised to help contribute to the On Target Programme OitC and Action for Children are carrying out which helps young people’s mental health and wellbeing through engaging workshops.
The next big fundraiser will be the Nestless Night sleep out which is being held at the Swansea.com Stadium on the 17th of February. Everyone is welcome to join and each participant will be tasked to raise £150 in the lead up to the event.
Ospreys in the Community, in collaboration with Action for Children and Philtronics will be holding their "Nestless Night" sleep out at the Swansea.com Stadium again in February and are looking for people to take part and help them reach their fundraising goal.
After a tough game against Leinster, the boys have their sights set on a difficult fixture at home to Montpellier Hérault. We took a quick look at the French Champions and how they've been getting on recently.
Toby Booth was appointed as Head Coach for the Ospreys just under two years ago.
Before joining the Ospreys, Toby enjoyed a successful tenure at London Irish, including as Head Coach and Director of Rugby, guiding them to English Premiership and Challenge Cup Finals and three successive Heineken Cup qualifications.
Toby also served as First Team Coach at Bath Rugby from 2012 until June 2019 where the team again reached Premiership and Challenge Cup Finals.
Watch the video to learn about Toby’s role at the Ospreys
With a big game in the Heineken Champions Cup just around the corner, we looked at the numbers around Ospreys and Montpellier Hérault.
The two teams have been some of the best tackling outfits in the tournament so far.
GARETH ANSCOMBE MATTHEW AUBREY SCOTT BALDWIN ADAM BEARD
TOM BOTHA MICHAEL COLLINS SAM CROSS ALEX CUTHBERT
RHYS DAVIES BRADLEY DAVIES CAI EVANS DAN EVANS
TOMAS FRANCIS KEELAN GILES WILL GRIFFITHS JOE HAWKINS
RHYS HENRY WILL HICKEY ALUN WYN JONES OSIAN KNOTT
DEWI LAKE
DAN LYDIATE
HARRI MORGAN JAC MORGAN LUKE MORGAN REUBEN MORGAN-WILLIAMS
MORGAN MORRIS STEPHEN MYLER MAX NAGY GEORGE NORTH
SAM PARRY GARYN PHYILLIPS MAT PROTHEROE JACK REGAN
NICKY SMITH
ETHAN ROOTS ELVIS TAIONE GARETH THOMAS
TIAAN THOMAS-WHEELER
JUSTIN TIPURIC JACK WALSH BEN WARREN
OWEN WATKIN
RHYS WEBB
KEIRAN WILLIAMS OWEN WILLIAMS
As the boys get set to player Montpellier Hérault for a second time this season, it’s the perfect time to look back at the match report from that famous win in France.
approaching, we took a look at Montpellier Hérault’s danger men. winner, here’s this week’s Ones to Watch.
Teresa, Wayne, Nick and Kelly
We will always love and cherish you
“ A dedicated Ospreys fan in a family full of scarlets.
In the build up to the game we sat down with rapid winger, Keelan Giles to discuss his thoughts on the Montpellier Herault game and the importance of fans at big games.
