Rugby:Leinster have wasted little time in switching their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leicester to the roomier environs of the Aviva Stadium. The move will not only allow up to 50,000 supporters to attend the highly-anticipated clash but will also boost the province's coffers to the tune of an extra €700,000.
Having been soundly beaten by the Tigers at the old Lansdowne Road when the sides last met at this stage of the competition in 2005, there had been a case to keep April’s match at Leinster’s more familiar RDS home.
But after consulting with the players and management team since they secured a home draw last Friday, the Leinster board made the decision to move the fixture down the road to the redeveloped home of Irish rugby.
Leinster have played just twice at the new arena since work was completed. In contrast to the November internationals, when thousands of tickets for the Ireland games couldn’t be given away, the province has priced seats competitively and the contests against Munster and Clermont (billed as the Fever in the Aviva) drew a combined gate of almost 100,000.
More importantly, from a rugby point of view at least, Leinster looked right at home and were impressive winners on both occasions. With another sensible ticketing policy, Leinster will hope to attract a full-house for the match against the English champions.
“We remain committed to our home in the RDS, but given the manner in which our Leinster supporter base has grown in recent years, we believe that we have a duty to cater for as large an audience as possible for special one off matches such as this, which will be a local and international event,” Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson said today.
“Over the coming days we will finalise competitive ticket prices, mindful of the difficult economic climate and the great commitment of our supporters, both at home and abroad, over recent seasons.”
Following their fifth pool success against Racing-Metro last weekend, Leinster have been installed as favourites to secure a second Heineken Cup trophy. Their last success came in 2009 when they edged out Leicester at Murrayfield.
Should they once again get the better of the Tigers, the winners of Biarritz and Toulouse will make the trip to Dublin to face Joe Schmidt’s men.
Ulster, meanwhile, have yet to learn whether their quarter-final away to the Northampton Saints is to be moved from Franklin’s Gardens to the 22,000 capacity Stadium:mk in Milton Keynes. The English Premiership leaders have a fortnight to reach a decision.
All of the quarter-finals will take place over the weekend of April 8th-10th. ERC, the tournament organisers, are due to confirm the dates and times in the coming days.
Heineken Cup quarter-finals
Leinster v Leicester
Biarritz v Toulouse
Ulster v Northampton
Perpignan v Toulon
Heineken Cup semi-finals
Leinster/Leicester v Biarritz/Toulouse
Ulster/Northampton v Perpignan/Toulon
