Round 5 and 6 Fixtures Announced for Heineken Cup

ERC have announced the dates, kick-off times and referees for the fifth and sixth rounds of Pool matches for this season’s Heineken Cup.

ERC have announced the dates, kick-off times and referees for the fifth and sixth rounds of Pool matches for this season’s Heineken Cup.

Munster’s fifth round Heineken Cup game against Benetton Treviso will not be available on any of the usual television outlets in this country. And no decision has yet been made about the televising of their final pool game against Bourgoin at Thomond Park.

There will be seven matches broadcast live in Round 5 with the Friday night clash at Lansdowne Road between Leinster Lions and Cardiff Blues being shown live on RTE and Sky Sports. That game will be a repeat of the semi-final in the inaugural year of the tournament when Cardiff triumphed in Dublin.

However, Martyn Williams’ side will be more mindful of the narrow defeat they suffered in Round 2 of this season’s competition when the Lions roared at the Arms Park to pick up a vital away win.

In addition, the game between Agen and Northampton Saints at Stade Armandie will also be shown live on the same night on Sport+ in France and delayed live on Sky. The Saints came out on top in the game at Franklins Garden’s and will be seeking to keep their quarter-final qualification hopes alive with a first win on French soil in the Heineken Cup. Friday night will also see the Celtic Warriors host Perpignan and Edinburgh Rugby entertain Neath-Swansea Ospreys.

The pick of the Saturday games will be in Paris when Stade Francais get set for a revenge mission against the recently crowned Celtic Cup winners Ulster. The Irishmen came out on top at Ravenhill in their earlier meeting in Pool 1, 22-20, and will be hoping for a notable double against the French champions. Chris White, of England, will take charge of that game, which will be broadcast live on both FR2 and Sky.

Sky Italia will also broadcast the Saturday clash between Benetton Treviso and Munster at Stadio Monigo, while Sunday’s Anglo-French matches between Leeds Tykes and Toulouse and Sale Sharks and Biarritz Olympique will be a double header on Sky, kicking off at 1.00pm and 3.00pm respectively.

The Round 6 fixtures have been set, along with the referees. But the TV portfolio has yet to be concluded. For the first time games within the same Pool will kick-off at exactly the same time and on the same day.

HEINEKEN CUP 2003 / 2004 FIXTURES FOR ROUNDS 5/6 (All kick-offs LOCAL time)

ROUND 5

FRIDAY 23 JANUARY Pool 2 Edinburgh Rugby v Neath-Swansea Ospreys 19.30 Eric Darriere (F) Pool 3 Leinster Lions v Cardiff Blues 19.45 Tony Spreadbury (E) RTE/SKY Pool 6 Celtic Warriors v Perpignan 19.15 Giulio De Santis (It) Pool 4 Llanelli Scarlets v The Borders 19.30 Dave Pearson (E) Agen v Northampton Saints 20.00 Alan Lewis (I) Sport+/SKY(delayed)

SATURDAY 24 JANUARY Pool 1 Stade Francais v Ulster 16.00 Chris White (E) FR2/SKY The Dragons v Leicester Tigers 17.00 David McHugh (I) SKY

Pool 5 Bourgoin v Gloucester 19.30 Donal Courtney (I) Benetton Treviso v Munster 14.30 Joel Dume (F) SKY Italia

SUNDAY 25 January Pool 2 Leeds Tykes v Stade Toulousain 13.00 Gregg Davies (S) SKY Pool 3 Sale Sharks v Biarritz 15.00 Alain Rolland (I) SKY/Sport+ Pool 6 London Wasps v Calvisano 15.00 Rob Dickson (S)

ROUND 6

FRIDAY 30 JANUARY Pool 1 Ulster Rugby v The Dragons 19:45 Joel Dume (F) Leicester Tigers v Stade Fran ais 19:45 Alain Rolland (I)

SATURDAY 31 JANUARY Pool 2 Neath-Swansea Ospreys v Leeds Tykes 15:00 Rob Dickson (S) Toulouse v Edinburgh Rugby 16.00 Dave Pearson (E) Pool 3 Biarritz Olympique v Leinster Lions 16:00 Nigel Williams (W) Cardiff Blues v Sale Sharks 15:00 David McHugh (I) Pool 5 Gloucester v Benetton Treviso 17:00 Eric Darriere (F) Munster v Bourgoin 17:00 Tony Spreadbury (E)

SUNDAY 1 FEBRUARY Pool 4 Northampton Saints v Llanelli Scarlets 15:00 Donal Courtney (I) The Borders v Agen 15:00 Huw Watkins (W) Pool 6 Perpignan v London Wasps 14:00 Alan Lewis (I) Calvisano v Celtic Warriors 14:00 Roy Maybank (E)

Heineken Cup Quarter-Finals: 9 / 10 / 11 April Heineken Cup Semi-Finals: 24/25 April Heineken Cup Final: Twickenham, Sunday, 23 May