Potential Champions Cup semi-final venues confirmed

EPCR have confirmed the four venues that could be used to host the semi-finals for the Investec Champions Cup next month.

Which of the four selected venues – two in France, one in Ireland and one in England – will be used will depend on which club progresses with home country advantage from this weekend’s quarter-finals.

The four venues are Bordeaux’s Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Lyon’s Matmut Stadium de Gerland, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and Milton Keynes’ Stadium MK.

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The 42,115-seated Matmut ATLANTIQUE, which opened in May 2015, is the home of Championnat National 2 club FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Its record crowd was 42,071 for a match between Toulouse and La Rochelle in June 2019.

Lyon’s iconic Matmut Stadium de Gerland, opened in 1926 and renovated in 2017, is the home of Top 14 outfit LOU Lyon and can seat just over 35,000.

Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, which has a seated capacity of 51,700 and is home to Leinster, the Irish rugby team, and the Republic of Ireland’s football team, was completely rebuilt between 2007 and 2010.

Milton Keynes’ Stadium MK first hosted rugby in 2008 when Saracens played Bristol there as their normal home ground, Vicarage Road, was unavailable because of an EFL Championship play-off semi-final.

Fixture

Investec Champions Cup

Leinster

52 - 0

Full-time

Glasgow

All Stats and Data

A venue for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, it was also used by Northampton Saints to host Saracens in April 2015 before a record 27,411 crowd.

Last year’s semi-finals between Leinster and Saints at Dublin’s Croke Park and Toulouse vs Harlequins at Le Stadium in Toulouse saw unprecedented demand for tickets, with over 115,000 snapped up in under 24 hours.

The quarter-finals will kick off on Friday evening when Leinster host Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium while on Saturday Bordeaux-Begles entertain Munster at the Stade Chaban Delmas.

Also, on Saturday, Northampton host Castres at Franklin’s Gardens, and the fourth final tie will be on Sunday when Toulouse travels to the Stade Felix Mayol to face Toulon.

Possible Investec Champions Cup semi-final matches and venues – 2/3/4 May
(pool stage rankings in brackets):

Union Bordeaux-Bègles (1) v RC Toulon (4) or Stade Toulousain (5) – Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Bordeaux (capacity: 42,100)
Leinster Rugby (2) v Northampton Saints (3) or Castres Olympique (6) – Aviva Stadium, Dublin (capacity: 51,700)
Northampton Saints (3) v Glasgow Warriors (7) – Stadium MK, Milton Keynes (capacity: 30,500)
RC Toulon (4) v Munster Rugby (9) – Matmut Stadium de Gerland, Lyon (capacity: 35,000)
Stade Toulousain (5) v Munster Rugby (9) – Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Bordeaux (capacity: 42,100)
Castres Olympique (6) v Glasgow Warriors (7) – Matmut ATLANTIQUE, Bordeaux (capacity: 42,100)