Defending champions Leinster joined rival Irish province Munster in qualifying for the quarter-finals of the European Cup after notching up a hard-fought 23-16 victory over Glasgow on Sunday.
Leinster, on 20 points in Pool 3 after four victories and a draw, will now face Montpellier at home in the final round of pool matches next weekend to book themselves a home tie in the knock-out phase.
“I am delighted to get the result today even though there were imperfections in the performance. But the players deserve to be proud of what they did,” said Leinster coach Joe Schmidt.
“It was every bit as tough as I expected. We knew it was going to be a battle of attrition and that’s how it turned out.
“We wanted to up the tempo if we could but it was difficult on a heavy pitch. I knew they would go hard in the collision area and they were very good in that area – they made life very difficult for us and it was fairly brutal at times.”
English champions Saracens all but assured themselves of a berth in the last eight, new England call-up Owen Farrell nailing five crucial penalties to help see Biarritz off 20-16.
Saracens now have 18 points and travel away to Italian club Treviso next week, while Biarritz host Ospreys in a far trickier fixture.
In Glasgow, Duncan Weir and Leinster counterpart Jonny Sexton and then Fergus McFadden traded first-half penalties.
Leinster opened the second-half with a Rob Kearney try, the full-back latching onto a kind bounce from a Sexton cross-kick to cross the line, McFadden adding the extras.
Weir claimed a third penalty to keep his team in the hunt, but McFadden stretched the lead again with his second three-pointer.
Replacement scrum-half Colin Gregor then bundled over in the corner and Weir hit the tricky touchline conversion to draw the scores level at 16-16.
But Leinster hit back with a crucial turnover in Warriors’ territory, and Kiwi-born Ireland international scrum-half Isaac Boss spun over from close range for a try under the posts.
With five minutes remaining, Leinster flanker Sean O’Brien was yellow-carded, but the Irish team rebuffed a revitalised Glasgow side to hold on for the win.
In the day’s late game, five Farrell penalties proved decisive, allied with an early Ben Spencer try.
But the game could have gone either way with evergreen scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili scoring all Biarritz’s points, including an opportunistic charge-down try.
Saracens captain Steve Borthwick said he was “very pleased with the win”, turning his thoughts immediately to the away trip to Italy next weekend.
“Treviso are a very good side and have challenged every team they’ve played,” he said. “It’s going to be a good challenge.”
Two-time champions Munster reached the quarters for the 13th time on Saturday with a battling 26-10 win over Castres.
Four-time champions Toulouse clinched a four-try, bonus-point 24-3 win over Connacht which gave them a two-point lead at the top of Pool Six over Harlequins who defeated Gloucester 20-14.
In Pool Two, Cardiff Blues beat London Irish, the win moving Cardiff to 17 points, the same as Edinburgh who had needed a last-minute drop goal from replacement fly-half Phil Godman to secure a 27-24 win over Racing Metro on Friday.
Cardiff face Racing in their final match next weekend as they look to reach the knock-out stages for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Dublin Dave
Guest
Actually, with four of the six groups now decided it is looking a bit clearer although there are still a few things to be finalised in Sunday's matches. Whatever happens, following a stunning away win at Northampton, Munster are top seeds for the quarter finals with Leinster guaranteed to be second seeds. With Ulster guaranteed to be one of the two best runners up this means that there will be one all-Irish quarter final, most likely Munster v Ulster at Thomond Park, Limerick. Saracens are almost certain to be third place seeds assuming they can get a bonus point victory at Treviso. The Italians did shock Biarritz at home earlier in the tournament but you'd have to fancy the English side to do the business. The fourth seed, will almost certainly come from group 2 and will be either Cardiff or Edinburgh with the runner up taking the other best-second spot. Both Celtic teams are level with each other at the moment and play at home in their last games which each should win. If they each get the same number of match points then Cardiff will win the group by virtue of their superior head to head record against Edinburgh. A bonus point win for the Scots, and a failure by Cardiff to do likewise, will see Edinburgh play at home in teh quarters with Cardiff qualifying as a best second. If either side loses, then they will probably slip out of the best-second qualifying spot, leaving Biarritz with a chance to take that place. Should both sides lose, then Cardiff would still qualify but would not get a home quarter final and would slip behind Clermont Auvergne and Toulouse in the qualifying stakes. Most likely q final line up is then: Munster v Ulster Leinster v Edinburgh Saracens v Toulouse Cardiff v Clermont Auvergne. A likely alternative lineout would be as above but with Cardiff and Edinburgh switching places.
Derm
Roar Guru
The qualifiers are ranked 1-8 based on match points from the pool winners, and two best runners up. This final ranking decides the format for the quarters - 1 v 8, 2 v 7, etc. At the moment, based on Round 5, the order looks like this: 1. Leinster (q) 20 points 2. Munster (q) 20 points 3. Ulster 19 points 4. Toulouse 18 points 5. Saracens 18 points 6. Cardiff 17 points 7. Edinburgh 17 points 8. Clermont 16 points Leinster should do enough against Montpellier and gain another 4 points with a finish of 24 points. I think Saints will do Munster and leave them stuck on 20 points Ulster won't beat Clermont but might do enough to get an LBP leaving them and Clermont on 20 points each with Clermont the winner. Toulouse will beat Gloucester and take 4 more to leave them on 22 points Saracens should murder Treviso and take 5 points moving them to 23. Cardiff will take Edinburgh and move to 21 points Quins should beat Connacht In Galway and get at least 4 points to bring them up to 20 points in second spot. That could mean a revised order of: 1 Leinster 24 points 2 Saracens 23 points 3 Toulouse 22 points 4 Cardiff 21 points 5 Munster 20 points 6 Clermont 20 points 7 Quins 20 points 8 Ulster 20 points That would give an all-Irish, all- English, all-French and a Celtic set of quarters. Fascinating.
Derm
Roar Guru
Try http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/matchdaytv/ They have a hi lights package I think. A few of the pools are going down to the wire. The Ulster/Clermont match will be a cracker to decide winner and a runner-up spot for one of the teams. Clermont should win it, but if Ulster can nick a LBP they could qualify for knockout stages for second year in a row. Three Irish provinces in the quarters for the first time would be a great return. Although Leinster and Munster weren't exactly on fire at the weekend, Toulouse are looking the most comfortable, and Saracens looking like a tough side to beat whoever they meet up with. Should be a good weekend next week with lots of Heineken and Amlin cup places up for grabs.
onor
Guest
does anybody have a link to the highlights?
Colin N
Guest
Clermont play Ulster so if there is going to be a best runner-up from that group it will be Ulster. If Ulster win, Clermont are out. Also, Quins have a winnable game against Connacht next week and could/should get through. Toulouse also go to Gloucester and, although on paper Toulouse should win (lets face it, on paper,Toulouse should beat everyone), remember they're French and they're playing in front of the Shed.
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
If they could manage a home quarter, that would do great things for Edinburgh rugby and Scottish rugby generally. i still think that Murrayfield is far to big a stadium to be playing in. They should be playing in one of the Edinburgh SPL teams stadium. 20K capacity. that way they should be aiming for 10K averages, which would create a good atmosphere. Also, Glasgow are an outside chance of also qualifying.
kovana
Guest
Actually i think it will turn out like this A - Munster B - Edinburgh... Could this be a catalyst for increased crowds at Murrayfield? C - Leinster D - Ulster E - Sarries F - Toulouse Next best 2 Cardiff and Clermont So 3 Irish teams, 1 Scottish, 1 English, 2 French and 1 welsh.
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
So who will the quarter finalists be? is this a fair call........... Pool A - Munster B - Cardiff C - Leinster D - Ulster E - Saracens F - Toulouse Next two best runners-up: Edinburgh, Clermont