Friday 16 January 2015 12:35, UK
With just two more rounds to go in the Champions Cup, the outcomes of this weekend's fixtures become vital for all teams. For some sides, a loss in Round 5 would spell the end of their competition. We take a look at all the pools, to see what the possible results would mean for each club.
Pool 1
There is a chance for Munster to top Pool 1 if they take five points from Saracens and Sale shock Clermont at the AJ Bell. Neither are unlikely, but it is only Saracens and Clermont who have their respective fate in their own hands as the pool stage draws to a close. The two face off in Round 6 and if both are victorious this week, it will be winner-takes-all for that automatic quarter-final place when they meet in France. A Munster loss at Allianz Park would spell the end of their Champions Cup campaign.
Sale are the only team out of the reckoning in this pool, but with narrow losses to both Saracens and Clermont in earlier rounds - as well as a win over Northampton in the Premiership last week - they will be a difficult task for the French club in Manchester in their game, live on Sky Sports. With the top two teams currently only a point apart, bonus points will have a big part to play in this pool.
As it stands:
Clermont: 14
Saracens: 13
Munster: 10
Sale: 2
Pool 2
Pool 2 is the most closely-fought pool, with three of the four teams still able to qualify for the automatic quarter-final spot by finishing top of the table after Round 6. Harlequins face off with Wasps at the Stoop on Saturday, with the loser bowing out of the race to win the pool.
Leinster host Castres this weekend live on Sky Sports, with Castres the only team with no chance of qualifying. Still, with the likes of Rory Kockott and Sitiveni Sivivatu in their ranks, Leinster will not want to take the task lightly as they seek all five points and a healthy points difference from their French guests in Dublin. Any less than five points will be a bit of a blow to Leinster's hopes in the competition.
Harlequins and Leinster are both on 14 points, with Quins slightly ahead on points difference. Wasps are only one point behind them. A Leinster win this weekend and a win for Wasps will set up a showdown between the two at the Ricoh Arena next week, where the winner would claim the quarter-final place.
As it stands:
Harlequins: 13
Leinster: 13
Wasps: 12
Castres: 1
Pool 3
Toulon are the high flyers in Pool 3 and a bonus-point win this weekend over Ulster would see them all but mathemacticaly qualified for a quarter-final place by the end of this round.
Leicester host Scarlets on Friday night and the loser of that encounter will not progress any further in the competition. The winner will need to win with a bonus point if they have any chance of chasing Toulon down in the final round.
It's Scarlets who then face the unenviable task of playing Toulon in the final round of competition - a game that will be do-or-die for them, even with a heavy win over Leicester this weekend.
If Ulster manage to shock the defending champions, then whoever wins at Welford Road between the Tigers and the Scarlets will have more control over their progression into the quarter-final, but a win for the French giants on Saturday would mean the pool is theirs to lose.
As it stands:
Toulon: 13
Leicester: 8
Scarlets: 8
Ulster: 6
Pool 4
If Bath manage to beat Toulouse this weekend, they will be doing themselves a big favour in the race for qualification. The problem for Mike Ford's men is that they would also be opening the door for Glasgow, who will be looking to continue Montpellier's European woe with a big win at Scotsnoun Stadium on Sunday.
Toulouse are currently six points clear of Glasgow and Bath, so a win over Bath would put them almost completely out of reach. A bonus-point win for the French would earn them an early quarter-final qualification with no team able to relieve them of top spot. With Toulouse facing Montpellier in the final round - a team as yet unable to register a win - any amount of points this weekend would push Toulouse into a likely qualification place.
Glasgow face Montpellier this weekend on Sky Sports and a bonus-point win could potentially set up a game against Bath in which the winner claims one of the three wilcard qualification places.
As it stands:
Toulouse: 16
Glasgow: 10
Bath 10
Montpellier: 2
Pool 5
Pool 5 is likely to produce one of the three runner-up qualifiers as Racing Metro, who are in second place, are sitting on 14 points. Racing play Benetton Treviso on Sunday in a game in which they will feel they need to claim a bonus-point win.
Northampton will need to keep the pressure on Racing with a win at the Liberty Stadium over third-place Ospreys. Ospreys are unable to top the pool but theoretically can still qualify through a runner-up place if they claim 10 points form the next two matches.
The winner of this pool will likely be determined in Round 6, when Racing travel to Northampton, but a loss for Saints this weekend would mean a win alone in Round 6 would not be enough, as bonus points will come in to play.
As it stands:
Northampton: 15
Racing Metro: 14
Ospreys: 8
Treviso: 0
