Ulster joined Munster in the quarter-finals of the European Cup by virtue of their 23-21 win over Edinburgh Reivers in Myre side yesterday. And thanks to Ebbw Vale's stunning win over Toulouse on Saturday, Ulster will enjoy home advantage against Toulouse in the quarter-finals. Munster travel to Colomiers.
A 69th-minute intercept try from Sheldon Coulter and a Simon Mason conversion secured Ulster the dramatic win. Coulter gambled, pouncing on Iain Sinclair's pass and galloping 60 metres to touch down under the posts. Edinburgh and Scotland out-half Craig Chalmers failed with a drop-goal attempt and with a long-range penalty in the final 10 minutes.
"To be honest I thought we were gone," admitted Ulster coach Harry Williams. "But there's great character in the side and it was a tremendous comeback. This is absolutely brilliant."
Ulster now entertain the inaugural European Cup winners, whom they beat by 29-24 in the pool stages at Ravenhill, on Friday, December 11th. "It should be a sell-out," Williams said.
Meanwhile, Munster's 35-21 win over Padova in Italy yesterday ensures them of fifth place and a quarter-final away to Pool D winners Colomiers.
It is the first time both provinces have qualified for the knockout stages in four attempts. Had Munster lost to Padova, they would have ended up with a sixthplaced ranking and an all-Irish quarter-final against Ulster. But perhaps that can be kept until the semi-finals, for which there is an open draw. The disappointment is Leinster's failure to qualify after their 34-27 defeat at home to Llanelli on Friday night.
Three Irish qualifiers in the last eight would have greatly enhanced the IRFU's bargaining power for next season's European Cup. Should the English clubs come back into the ERC Ltd fold next year, it's likely that Ireland's representation will be reduced to two in the European Cup and increased to two in the Shield. In that case, Leinster will join Connacht in that competition.
It will be a further source of angst to Leinster that Stade Francais' defeat of Begles-Bordeaux on Saturday meant that a draw on Friday would have sent Leinster through to the quarterfinals as well.
Instead the quarter-final line-up - with all matches to be played on the weekend of December 11th-13th - features two teams from Ireland and Wales and four French sides.
The pairings for the European Shield have to be finalised pending the result of the MontferrandRoma Pool B tie on Wednesday. However, it is certain to feature seven French sides and Caerphilly, conquerors of Connacht in Pool A.
Presuming Montferrand beat Roma, the quarter-finals will see Narbonne, Montferrand, Brive and Bourgoin enjoying home advantage against Dax, Agen, Pau and Caerphilly. Jeremey Davidson's club, Castres, were edged out of a quarter-final place after their 15-9 defeat to Dax.
