The Investec Champions and Challenge Cups continue to gather pace this week, and by Sunday evening we will know our final four in each competition.
The game of the week is undoubtedly at 5.30pm at the Aviva Stadium, where Leinster and La Rochelle meet for the fifth time in four seasons, the latest instalment of what's become the best rivalry in club rugby.
There's also plenty of Irish interest in the Challenge Cup, where Ulster and Connacht are away from home for the second week in a row, looking to follow up on last week's big wins over Montpellier and Pau respectively.
Richie Murphy's Ulster are away to three-time champions Clermont Auvergne on Saturday, while Connacht will get a second shot at Benetton on Sunday, having lost to the Italians in the URC a couple of weeks ago.
ONLINE
We'll have live blogs, live scoring, reports and reaction across the weekend on www.rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
TV
Leinster v La Rochelle (5.30pm) is live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with coverage getting under way at 5pm.
Clermont v Ulster (Saturday 12.30pm) and Benetton v Connacht (Sunday 12.30pm) will be shown on TNT Sports.
RADIO
There will be live commentary of Leinster v La Rochelle on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
WEATHER
It looks like it's going to be a dry track at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, with temperatures of around 12C. However, it's forecast to be a windy evening.
Ulster will be dealing with very challenging conditions in Clermont-Ferrand on Saturday afternoon, with sun and 26C predicted.
It will also be around 26C in Treviso on Sunday, where Connacht face Benetton.
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If history is anything to go by, Saturday's meeting of Leinster v La Rochelle is set up to be yet another classic.
Ronan O'Gara's side lead 3-1 across this recent rivalry, with an aggregate score of just 92-86.
Their gripping finals of both 2022 and 2023 were followed by a low-scoring and feisty pool encounter in La Rochelle back in December.
On that occasion, Leinster finally got one over their rivals, 16-9, but it will count for nothing if they don't back it up in this quarter-final.
Incredibly, La Rochelle haven't lost a knock-out game in this competition since the 2021 final against Toulouse, with last weekend's narrow win away to the Stormers making it 10 wins in a row in the latter stages of this competition.
The defending champions have spent the week in Cork leading up to this game, while it's been home comforts for Leinster, who saw off the Leicester Tigers in the Round of 16 at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday.
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Jason Jenkins; Ryan Baird, Will Connors, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Michael Milne, Michael Ala'alatoa, Ross Molony, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ciarán Frawley, Josh van der Flier.
La Rochelle: Dillyn Leyds; Jack Nowell, UJ Seuteni, Jonathan Danty, Teddy Thomas; Antoine Hastoy, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Louis Penverne, Tolu Latu, Uini Atonio; Ultan Dillane, Will Skelton; Judicael Cancoriet, Levani Botia, Greg Alldritt (capt).
Replacements: Quentin Lespiaucq-Brettes, Alexandre Kaddouri, Joel Sclavi, Thomas Lavault, Paul Boudehent, Yoan Tanga, Teddy Iribaren, Ihaia West.
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
While these sides have never met in the Challenge Cup, they have made regular acquaintance in the Champions Cup down the years, crossing paths eight times in the pool stages.
Ulster lead that head-to-head 5-3, with those scales being tipped in their favour courtesy of a 29-23 victory at Stade Marcel Michelin in 2021, the only time the away side has won between these two.
Clermont have good history in this competition, winning it three times, the most recent of which came in 2019.
The French side were given a bit of a scare by the Cheetahs in the Round of 16, having made it through Pool 3 with three wins from four games.
Christophe Urios' side have been enduring an inconsistent season in the French Top14, 11th in the table and just four points above the relegation playoff spot.
Clermont: Alex Newsome; Bautista Delguy, Léon Darricarrere, Julien Heriteau, Alivereti Raka; Anthony Belleau, Baptiste Jauneau (capt); Giorgi Beria, Yohan Beheregaray, Rabah Slimani; Thibault Lanen, Tomas Lavanini; Killian Tixeront, Peceli Yato, Pita Gus Sowakula.
Replacements: Etienne Fourcade, Daniel Bibi Biziwu, Giorgi Dzmanashvili, Rob Simmons, Alexandre Fischer, Sebastien Bezy, Theo Giral, Joris Jurand.
Ulster: Stewart Moore; Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Mike Lowry; Nathan Doak, John Cooney; Steven Kitshoff, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole; Alan O'Connor, Iain Henderson (capt); Harry Sheridan, David McCann, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Andy Warwick, Scott Wilson, Cormac Izuchukwu, Dave Ewers, Jake Flannery, Ethan McIlroy, Marcus Rea.
Referee: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
Sunday's meeting of these sides will come just 15 days after they played out a dramatic URC game at Stadio di Monigo.
On that occasion, a try in the final minute from Alessandro Izekor gave the Italians an 18-14 win.
The pair also have history in this competition, with Benetton giving Connacht a heavy 41-19 beating in the Round of 16 last season.
The Italians have enjoyed an impressive campaign in the Challenge Cup this season.
Marco Bortolami's side were beaten 43-34 by the Ospreys in their first pool game, but have since recovered to defeat Perpignan, Montpellier, Newcastle Falcons and most recently the Lions to advance to the quarter-finals.
Connacht, who dropped into the competition after a disappointing Champions Cup pool campaign, dug deep to defeat French side Pau away from home last week, on a scoreline of 40-30.
Meanwhile, the province have announced that scrum-half Matthew Devine and centre Hugh Gavin have signed senior contracts for the club.
Benetton: Rhyno Smith; Ignacio Mendy, Tommaso Menoncello, Nacho Brex, Onisi Ratave; Tomas Albornoz, Alessandro Garbisi; Thomas Gallo, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Simone Ferrari; Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza; Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro (capt), Toa Halafihi.
Replacements: Bautista Bernasconi, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosue Zilocchi, Eli Snyman, Alessandro Izekor, Lorenzo Cannone, Andy Uren, Jacob Umaga.
Connacht: Tiernan O'Halloran; Andrew Smith, David Hawkshaw, Bundee Aki, 1. Shane Jennings; JJ Hanrahan, Caolin Blade (capt); Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray; Cian Prendergast, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Paul Boyle.
Replacements: Eoin de Buitléar, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Matthew Devine, Cathal Forde, Tom Farrell.
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Elsewhere in the Champions Cup, Northampton Saints host the Bulls at Franklin's Gardens at 8pm on Saturday night, with the winner set to take on either Leinster or La Rochelle.
Bordeaux-Begles and Harlequins meet in the opening quarter-final of the weekend, with a 3pm start (Irish time) start at Stade Chaban Delmas. Toulouse and Exeter meet at Stade Ernest Wallon at 3pm on Sunday.
In the Challenge Cup, Gloucester hosted Ospreys on Friday night, with the winner to take on either Connacht or Benetton.
Ulster's potential semi-final opponents Sharks and Edinburgh kick off at 12.30pm on Saturday in Durban.
FULL LIST OF FIXTURES AND RESULTS FOR CHAMPIONS CUP AND CHALLENGE CUP
