MURRAYFIELD has been confirmed as the venue for an all-Scottish Champions Cup semi-final should Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors get through their last-eight ties at the end of this month. The Paris La Defense Arena, home of Racing 92, has also been lined up to host a semi after the board of competition organisers European Professional Club Rugby agreed to allow games to be played at the home ground of one of the competing clubs.
Previously, teams that reached the semi-finals and were drawn at home only got what was known as home-country advantage, meaning they could play anywhere in their own land other than their home venue. But the obvious suitability of Murrayfield for a Glasgow-Edinburgh match, among other reasons, encouraged the EPCR board to change their minds.
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The selection of Scottish Rugby’s home remains hypothetical, of course, with both Scots teams facing tough quarter-finals – Edinburgh at home to Munster, the Warriors away at Saracens. As Saracens are the top-ranked club among the last eight, they will have home-country advantage in the last four should they beat Glasgow, and will play either Edinburgh or Munster at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. If Glasgow win and Edinburgh lose, Munster will have home-country advantage in a semi to be played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Should they beat Toulouse in the quarter-finals, Racing will play at La Defense against either Leinster or Ulster. If Toulouse win the all-French tie, they will have to travel to the Aviva for their semi-final.
Heineken Champions Cup semi-final venues (weekend of 20/21 April) –
Semi-final 1:
If Saracens v Edinburgh – Ricoh Arena (Coventry).
If Saracens v Munster – Ricoh Arena.
If Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors – BT Murrayfield.
If Munster v Glasgow Warriors – Aviva Stadium (Dublin).
Semi-final 2:
If Racing 92 v Leinster – Paris La Défense Arena
If Racing 92 v Ulster – Paris La Défense Arena
If Leinster v Toulouse – Aviva Stadium.
If Ulster v Toulouse – Aviva Stadium.
2019 Heineken Champions Cup final –
Saturday, 11 May: St James’ Park, Newcastle (5pm)
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