Wednesday 10 January 2018 21:05, UK
The Champions Cup is back this weekend and with just two rounds of fixtures to go in this year's pool stages, the competition is heating up.
Across all five pools progression is in the balance, but where do things stand ahead of rounds five and six? We take a closer look at each group to see who is well placed and who needs to get motoring ahead of European club rugby's return...
The first of this year's Champions Cup pools looked to be heading only one way after the first three rounds, as tournament debutants La Rochelle dispatched Harlequins at the Stoop and both Ulster and Wasps at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre.
The fourth round saw the Top 14 high-flyers, who were much changed, comfortably beaten by Wasps in Coventry though, and that has thrown their cruise to the top of Pool 1 into some doubt.
Ulster's back-to-back wins over Harlequins in December has put them right into the mix to top the group, and their clash with La Rochelle in Belfast on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Action, is perhaps the biggest of the entire weekend.
The winner will take pole position in the pool with one round of games left. Wasps know anything less than a victory at Quins will see them knocked out, and they will be seeking a bonus-point win.
With Wasps to host Ulster on the final weekend, three teams could yet top this pool and two are likely to progress to the last eight.
The story of Pool 2 has been the struggles of defending champions Saracens this season, who know they are one more poor result away from elimination.
As one of only two teams - along with Leinster - to have a 100 per cent record so far in the competition, Clermont are all but in the quarter-finals, and could seal their place a week early at Northampton on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Arena.
But will the Ospreys or Saracens join them in the knockout stages? The two meet in Swansea on Saturday and the loser would be in serious danger of elimination, while the winner would remain alive.
Saracens will be favourites up against an Ospreys team who have been dreadfully poor domestically this season, but the pressure will be intense.
We headed into this year's Champions Cup with Pool 3 tagged as the unofficial 'Group of death' as Leinster, Montpellier, Exeter and Glasgow faced off.
Leinster have emerged as the king of this particular jungle with a bit to spare, however, and should they defeat a Glasgow Warriors team already certain of a pool stage exit in Dublin on Sunday, and Exeter beat Montpellier, they will seal their quarter-final spot.
Despite having only won two games so far, Montpellier have collected 13 points due to their bonus-point wins over Glasgow in December, losing bonus-point at Leinster and two points in defeat at home to Exeter.
Two wins should be enough for Montpellier to join Leinster in the quarter-finals, while Exeter know they will need two bonus-point wins to stand any chance of getting out. Expect plenty of twists and turns yet in this one.
Champions Cup Pool 4 has been and is still the tightest of the lot so far.
Munster have taken some semblance of control with their successive victories over the Leicester Tigers in the back-to-backs, but have to visit second-placed Racing 92 next on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Action.
If Munster harbour hopes of a home quarter-final at Thomond Park they need to win in Paris, if Racing want to progress, they dare not lose.
EPCR uses a head-to-head system to differentiate pool teams with equal points come the end of the pool stages, so should Munster lose at Racing without picking up a bonus point, and finish level on points with the Parisians, they would drop into second place in the pool.
Castres too are not yet mathematically out of things. Two bonus-point wins could possibly see them squeeze through.
Scarlets visit Bath on Friday night where the loser is almost certainly out, while Toulon travel to a much-improved Benetton - though that has not translated into pool stage points for the Italians unfortunately.
Wayne Pivac's Scarlets will know should they beat the top two in their final two fixtures - Bath away and Toulon at home - they will be through.
Whoever wins their final two games will progress, and they may be the only ones out of this pool.
Indeed if things are still level come the end, Bath would only finish above Toulon courtesy of them losing by less points at the Stade Mayol than the French side did at The Rec - Bath lost by four points in France, while Toulon by five points in the south west.
So a single point would separate the two: therein lies the margins.
