Champions Cup Last 16: Full Knockout Fixtures Confirmed

The final round of Champions Cup pool stage fixtures is complete which means the knockout rounds are locked in and in sight as we head into the business end of the club rugby calendar.

The competition are continuing the same format introduced last season, with 4 pools of 6 teams in which the top four in each pool will progress to the Champions Cup Round of 16.

The 16 teams that progress are then seeded from 1-16 based on where they finish in their pool, with pool winners seeding between 1-4, runners up 5-8 and so on. The top 8 seeded sides will host their Round of 16 matchup while the top 4 will host a potential quarterfinal as well if they progress that far. The fifth place sides in each pool will also drop down to the Challenge Cup.

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There will be Irish involvement in the knockouts with all three of Leinster, Munster and Ulster qualifying from their pools - though the draw looks likely to be kinder to Leinster than their provincial counterparts.

Sunday saw the pool stages draw to a close, with all eight last-16 matchups now locked in, and the path to the final ahead of each team now complete.

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Champions Cup Last 16: Knockout Fixtures Confirmed

Leinster have guaranteed a home route in the knockouts stages after their 47-21 win over Bath meant they topped their group ahead of La Rochelle, who surprisingly lost to Benneton in their final pool stage match.

Leo Cullen's Leinster are second seeds and will host Harlequins in the last 16, with the game expected to take place at Croke Park. As the second overall seeds, Leinster are guaranteed to play at home in every knockout round up to and including the semi-final, should they progress that far.

Meanwhile Munster will have to do it the hard way as after their bonus-point defeat away at Northampton they have slipped to third in Pool 3 following Castres' dramatic win at Saracens on Sunday.

Munster are now set for a huge reunion with Ronan O'Gara in the last 16, with a trip to La Rochelle on the horizon.

Ulster's mega win over Exeter on Friday night, combined with Bordeaux's dominant victory over the Sharks on Sunday afternoon, means they have snuck in as the final team through to the knockout stages.

However, they have been rewarded with the scary prospect of taking on the electric Bordeaux away from home.

The teams qualified for the Champions Cup knockout stages

Toulon are still to play against Sale on Sunday evening, and could overtake Leinster as second seeds with a big win. As it stands, these are the rankings of the 16 teams through to the knockouts.

Group winners: Bordeaux (1st), Leinster (2nd), Northampton (3rd), Toulon (4th)
Runners-up: Toulouse (5th), Castres (6th), Glasgow (7th), La Rochelle (8th)
3rd-placed teams: Munster (9th), Leicester (10th), Benetton (11th), Sale Sharks (12th)
4th-placed teams: Saracens (13th), Clermont (14th), Harlequins (15th), Ulster (16th)

Full Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 fixtures and kick-off times confirmed

All kick-offs are listed in Irish time