Four of the Weekend's Must-See European Champions Cup Clashes

The pick of the weekend’s matches as the penultimate round of  European Champions Cup pool phase takes centre stage

Leinster v Montpellier (Saturday, January 14, 3.45am HKT)

It’s a tale of two rugby styles, as speedy, canny Leinster face relentless, direct Montpellier. Sure, the three-time European champions from Dublin can bring the muscle, but the Top 14 outfit under Jake White have taken this part of the game to a whole new level. It’s win or bust for the French, who are five points behind their opponents going into this penultimate round of pool matches, so it’s a safe bet they will up the power ante at the RDS. The loss of hooker Sean Cronin to a hamstring injury is a blow for Leinster in the lead-up to this weekend’s match – but head coach Leo Cullen will be urging his side to keep their discipline and up the tempo as they look to counter the visitors’ brute force.

Wasps v Toulouse (Saturday, January 14, 11.15pm HKT)

A thunderous, rumble-in-the-jungle encounter at the Stade Ernest Wallon in the second round of pool matches ended 20-20, with Wasps surviving an hour of near-overwhelming forward power before making the most of the growing gaps as Toulouse’s monster pack finally ran out of steam. It wasn’t quite Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope stuff, but it wasn’t far off. Expect another titanic smash-up at the Ricoh Arena, as Dai Young’s men look to steal a march on the four-time European champions in the closest of the five pools. Three of the four sides are tied on 13 points, and with Connacht at home to nil-point outfit Zebre, whoever wins here will be in pole position for the knockout phase. All points could be vital as, next week, Wasps are in Italy, while Toulouse entertain the Irish province.

Glasgow Warriors v Munster (Sunday, January 15, 1.30am HKT)

When the Champions Cup fixture list was revealed, this bleak midwinter clash did not pique much in the way of interest among neutrals. And, yet, several months later, here we are waiting with collective breaths appropriately bated for what is arguably the must-see tie of the weekend between two sides that have played some truly entertaining, attacking rugby. If Munster win, they will secure a quarter-final place and have home advantage firmly in their sights. If Glasgow take the spoils, that decision will be delayed until next weekend’s final pool matches – with both sides deservedly highly likely to qualify for the knockout phase. Few were predicting that in October.

Bordeaux v Clermont (Sunday, January 15, 9pm HKT)

Chances are, Clermont scrum-half Morgan Parra still has occasional nightmares about last season’s decisive European Champions Cup encounter between the two Top 14 sides. A moment of madness – he took a quick tap penalty in front of the Bordeaux posts late in the game, when a kick would have taken them into losing bonus territory – cost them the single point they needed to qualify for the last eight. It was an extraordinary moment at the end of what had been an extraordinary game. Expect him to be out for some form of redemption as the Top 14 leaders look to overcome the recurring bouts of travel sickness that have plagued their season so far to secure what would be a deserved last-eight berth with a game in hand.