Heineken Champions Cup: Fixtures for last 16 confirmed

Josh van der Flier in action for LeinsterPA Media

Leinster won Pool A and were the only team to finish the pool stage with a maximum 20 points

The Heineken Champions Cup pool stage finished on Sunday and the eight ties to be played in the first knockout round have now been confirmed.

The list of qualifiers consists of five English teams, three each from France, Ireland and South Africa, plus one representative apiece from Scotland and Wales.

The last-16 ties, to be played from 31 March to 2 April, are as follows:

  • Leinster v Ulster

  • Exeter v Montpellier

  • Sharks v Munster

  • Saracens v Ospreys

  • Leicester v Edinburgh

  • Stormers v Harlequins

  • Toulouse v Bulls

  • La Rochelle v Gloucester

The ties will be settled as one-off matches rather than the two-leg format that was in operation for last-16 games last season.

Fixtures were allocated based on rankings at the end of the pool stage; for example, the top team in Pool A (Leinster) will play the eighth-placed side in Pool B (Ulster), second in Pool A (Exeter) will take on seventh in Pool B (Montpellier) and so on.

Teams that were ranked in the top four in their pool will have home advantage.

The final will be played at Aviva Stadium, Dublin on Saturday, 20 May.

Pool A

Qualified: Leinster, Exeter, Sharks, Saracens, Edinburgh, Harlequins, Bulls, Gloucester.

Leinster finished top of Pool A with a maximum 20 points from four games, with their victory over Racing 92 on Saturday eliminating the French club from the competition.

Leinster and Exeter will be at home in the last 16, as will Sharks and Saracens.

Ben Earl's late try against Edinburgh earned a losing bonus point that meant Sarries finished fourth in the table, while the Scottish side must travel to Leicester in the next round.

Premiership duo Harlequins and Gloucester secured last-16 spots with victories over Sharks and Bordeaux Begles respectively, but Lyon's win over Bulls on Friday was not enough for them to go through.

Bulls missed the chance to seal their own qualification, but results on Saturday confirmed their progression to the knockout stage.

Results from final round of pool fixtures:

Pool B

Qualified: La Rochelle, Toulouse, Stormers, Leicester, Ospreys, Munster, Montpellier, Ulster.

Defending champions La Rochelle and South African side Stormers secured home ties in the last 16 after victories on Saturday.

Toulouse finished second in Pool B after squeezing past Munster 20-16 on Sunday, with that result also confirming a home fixture for Premiership champions Leicester.

Ospreys won three of their four pool games, including a last-gasp success at Leicester on Friday but that was only good enough for fifth position.

Ulster beat Sale in what was effectively a knockout game on Saturday, to confirm the eight qualifiers from Pool B.

That result also sent reigning French champions Montpellier into the next round, before their draw at already-eliminated London Irish.

Results from final round of pool fixtures:

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