Toulousains Sofiane Guitoune and Romain Ntamack find Ulster, whom they had beaten (36-8) in the quarter-final of the previous European Cup, on September 20, 2020 at the Ernest-Wallon stadium.
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Frédéric Scheiber / AFP
Poured into Pool A of the Champions Cup, Stade Toulousain will attack its European campaign on Friday night in Belfast against Ulster.
Called to also meet the English Exeter, defending champions, the Red and Black have inherited very strong opponents.
Driven by the health crisis, the organizers have devised a very special formula for this 2020-2021 edition.
The joke is signed Ugo Mola, on the occasion of the presentation of the special Champions Cup jersey of the Stade Toulousain, Monday at the Cité de l'Espace: "These are cross matches, I will pass you the details because it could be difficult the evening.
“The stadion manager evokes the new formula of the European Cup, that his team, almost complete, will release this Friday evening in Belfast, against Ulster.
𝟙𝕖̀𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕠 𝕖𝕦𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖́𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕖 ⭐️
Find the starting XV Stadiste for the 1st match of @ChampionsCup 20-21!
#ULSST
✈️ @UlsterRugby
🗓 Friday 12/11
⌚️ 9 p.m. (HF)
Go to the Stadium!
🔴⚫️ #GoST pic.twitter.com/omTVxtGqE6
- Stade Toulousain (@StadeToulousain) December 10, 2020
Born by the Covid-19 epidemic, this competition brings together 24 clubs divided into two groups, against 20 teams divided into five groups so far: eight come from the Top 14, eight from the English Premiership and eight from the Pro12 (former League Celtic).
So far nothing really rocket science.
But this is where the unusual comes in: each team will play only four regular phase matches, against only two opponents, back and forth.
These opponents are necessarily from another championship (the Irish from Ulster and the English from Exeter for Toulouse).
"This new tournament format owes a lot to pragmatism, it guarantees us a thrilling action during the days of December and January", launches the English Simon Halliday, necessarily excited as president of the EPCR, in charge of the organization of the Champions Cup and its little brother, the European Challenge, also revamped.
The novelty of the round-trip quarter-finals
“In the group stages, it sorts even faster than before,” notes Antoine Dupont, the international scrum half from Toulouse.
Maybe that brings a little more fairness to the final stages.
So far there was really an advantage for the home team.
"At the end of this" sprint "(dixit Ugo Mola), the first four of each group will indeed play the quarter-finals in round-trip matches (an innovation) before the semi-finals in a dry match and the final scheduled for May 22, 2021 in Marseille.
"With 15 points, you are qualified and there is a pool that will probably be played at 12 or 13 points", calculates Mola.
Three minimum victories are therefore necessary, with if possible some offensive or defensive bonuses grabbed here and there.
Probable equality of points will be decided.
In this case, "it will be played on the general goal-average, on the number of tests and then on the discipline", decrypts the sports boss of the Stade Toulousain.
No room for error
Very prosaically, the quadruple winner of the event can find himself on the verge of elimination on Friday evening, if he leaves Belfast empty-handed.
Even before the reception of Exeter, reigning European champions, on December 20.
Only seventh in the Top 14 at the time of last season's frost in the spring, during the first wave of coronavirus, the Reds and Blacks found themselves in the fourth and last hat at the time of the draw.
They therefore inherited very dangerous opponents encountered - a little nod of fate - barely two and a half months ago, when the previous edition of the Champions Cup was completed (everything is normal, it's rugby) : victory in the quarter-final against Ulster (36-8), defeat in the semi-final at Exeter (28-18).
This new formula will lighten the calendar of teams that will not cross the regular phase (four games instead of six so far), less that of future finalists (eight instead of nine).
But it will especially delight lovers of complicated regulations.
Oh yes, we were going to forget: the clubs ranked 5 to 8 in Pool A and Pool B of the Champions Cup will not be done with Europe, since they will participate in the knockout stages of the European Challenge.
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