The knockout stage of the Investec Champions Cup is here, and for the first time since the revamped format in 2021, we only have one Irish side involved.
Leinster are flying the flag for the IRFU in the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition this Easter weekend, while the Challenge Cup has a rare heavy Irish presence for this time of year.
Leo Cullen's side will have to wait until Sunday evening to get out on the pitch, with a 5.30pm kick-off against Edinburgh on Easter Sunday. If they win against their URC rivals, they know they will have Premiership opposition at home in the quarter-finals, in the form of Harlequins or Sale Sharks.
Connacht are the first of the Irish sides in action this weekend, as Stuart Lancaster's side look to keep up their impressive form at home to the Sharks in the Challenge Cup Round of 16.
Munster and Ulster are both in action on Saturday; Munster are away to the Exeter Chiefs early on Saturday afternoon in their first Challenge Cup game since 2011, while Ulster host the Ospreys in Belfast on Saturday night.
Online
We'll have live scoring, reports and reaction on RTÉ.ie/sport
Radio
Listen to live commentary of Leinster v Edinburgh on an extended Easter Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
TV
All games involving the Irish provinces in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup are live on Premier Sports.
WEATHER
It's forecast to be dry but very windy in Galway on Friday night for Connacht v Sharks in the Challenge Cup, with temperatures around 8C, and gusts of up to 40 km/hr.
Saturday in Exeter should also be dry for the Chiefs v Munster, with temperatures around 14C for the lunchtime kick-off, although the wind is expected to pick up during the game with the arrival of Storm David.
There will be challenging conditions in Belfast on Saturday night for Ulster v Ospreys, with rain and wind expected and temperatures around 9C for kick-off.
Temperatures will be similar in Dublin on Easter Sunday for Leinster v Edinburgh at Aviva Stadium, although it's forecast to be a dry evening.
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While it's only two months since these sides met each other in the URC, the stakes will be a lot different this weekend.
Both sides were heavily depleted for the pre-Six Nations URC clash at Aviva Stadium in January which Leinster won 28-20, which was their seventh win in a row against the Scottish side dating back to March 2019.
Annual opponents in the URC, this will be their first time meeting in the Champions Cup since the 2008/09 season when they were pool stage opponents. Leinster won both of those games, giving them a 4-3 lead in their head-to-head history in this competition, while they also drew 34-34 back in January 2001.
Leo Cullen's side have been to a semi-final or better in eight of the last nine seasons, while this is Edinburgh's first time reaching the knockout stage since 2023, when they were defeated by Leinster Tigers in the Round of 16.
Edinburgh progressed to this stage as the 14th seed after finishing fourth in Munster's Pool 2, defeating Toulon and Gloucester at home, however they suffered two heavy defeats away from home, 33-0 against Castres and 63-10 against Bath.
The Scottish side have lost nine of their 10 games away from home in all competitions this season.
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O'Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, Jimmy O'Brien; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Tom Clarkson, Brian Deeny, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ciaran Frawley, Robbie Henshaw.
Edinburgh: Piers O'Conor; Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, James Lang, Malelili Satala; Ross Thompson, Charlie Shiel; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D'arcy Rae; Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (capt); Liam McConnell, Dylan Richardson, Ben Muncaster.
Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Boan Venter, Paul Hill, Glen Young, Freddy Douglas, Ben Vellacott, Mosese Tuipulotu, Jack Brown.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Last week's win against Ospreys gave Connacht their fifth win in a row, and they're now looking to make it six in a row for the first time in 10 years.
The province have only ever won six games twice in their professional history - both coming in the title-winning 2015/16 where they enjoyed an eight and seven game winning streak.
This will be the sixth meeting of Connacht and the Sharks, and the Irish province have won four of those five, including a 44-17 victory at Dexcom Stadium in November.
The South Africans, winners of the Challenge Cup in 2024, haven't won away from home in any competition since beating Ulster in Belfast at the end of April 2025, although they are on a two-match winning run after home victories against Munster and Cardiff.
The winner of this weekend's tie will face either Perpignan at home in the Round of 16, or Montpellier away.
Connacht: Sam Gilbert; Shane Jennings, Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Chay Mullins; Josh Ioane, Matthew Devine; Billy Bohan, Dave Heffernan, Sam Illo; Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray; Josh Murphy, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Cian Prendergast (capt).
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Finlay Bealham, Niall Murray, Paul Boyle, Colm Reilly, Sean Naughton, John Devine.
Sharks: Hakeem Kunene; Edwill van der Merwe, Le-Roux Malan, Marnus Potgieter, Makazole Mapimpi; Jean Smith, Ross Braude; Ox Nche, Eddie Swart, Vincent Koch; Eben Etzebeth, Deon Slabbert; Tino Mavesere, Jannes Potgieter, Nick Hatton (capt).
Replacements: Ethan Bester, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Mawande Mdanda, Corne Rahl, Vincent Tshituka, Ceano Everson, Siya Masuku, Ethan Hooker.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
After the disappointment of their Champions Cup pool stage, Munster find themselves in the Challenge Cup for just the second time ever this season.
Their only previous experience of this competition was the 2010/11 season when they were similarly parachuted into the knockouts after a Champions Cup pool stage elimination, beating Brive in the quarter-finals before losing to eventual winners Harlequins in the semis.
Exeter are having an excellent season on both fronts after a disappointing 2024/25 campaign; Rob Baxter's side picked up two wins and a draw from their four pool games to secure home advantage in the Round of 16, while they are fourth in the Premiership table.
These teams have played each other five times before, all in the Challenge Cup, with two home wins apiece, as well as one draw at Sandy Park back in October 2018.
If Munster win, they will either travel to Benetton or host Cardiff next week.
Exeter Chiefs: Olly Woodburn; Paul Brown-Bampoe, Henry Slade, Will Rigg, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; Harvey Skinner, Steve Varney; Scott Sio, Jack Yeandle, Jimmy Roots; Dafydd Jenkins (capt), Andrea Zambonin; Tom Hooper, Ross Vintcent, Greg Fisilau.
Replacements: Joseph Dweba, Ethan Burger, Bachuki Tchumbadze, Rus Tuima, Finn Worley-Brady, Tom Cairns, Will Haydon-Wood, Campbell Ridl.
Munster: Ben O'Connor; Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Lee Barron, John Ryan; Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Jack O'Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Michael Milne, Michael Ala'alatoa, Tom Ahern, Ruadhán Quinn, Ben O'Donovan, Seán O’Brien, John Hodnett.
Referee: Jeremy Rozier (FFR)
Just a few weeks on from losing to the Ospreys in the URC, Ulster will have a chance at revenge against the Welsh side in Belfast with a place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals on the line.
Richie Murphy's side have hit some spotty form in what had been a good season before the Six Nations, with their last six games reading: won, lost, won, lost, won, lost.
The province secured the third seed after winning three of their four pool matches, albeit one of those wins was a bonus-point walkover after their clash with the Cheetahs in Amsterdam was cancelled due to a frozen pitch.
Ulster reached the semi-final of this competition in the 2021/21 season, losing to Leicester Tigers in the last four, while they were beaten in the quarter-finals by Clermont two seasons ago.
The last six meetings of these teams have gone the way of the home side.
If Ulster win, they will host either Newcastle or La Rochelle in the quarters.
Ulster: Ethan McIlroy; Werner Kok, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jake Flannery, Nathan Doak; Angus Bell, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole; Iain Henderson (capt), Cormac Izuchukwu; David McCann, Nick Timoney, Juarno Augustus.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Sam Crean, Scott Wilson, Charlie Irvine, Bryn Ward, Conor McKee, Jack Murphy, Zac Ward.
Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Luke Morgan; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Rhys Henry; Rhys Davies, Ryan Smith; Huw Sutton, Jac Morgan (capt), Morgan Morris.
Replacements: Efan Daniel, Steff Thomas, Tom Botha, James Fender, Harri Deaves, Kieran Hardy, Evardi Boshoff, Iestyn Hopkins.
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
FULL LIST OF FIXTURES, RESULTS AND STANDINGS
