The Pool stages of the 2011/12 Amlin Challenge Cup reach a climax this weekend as Worcester Warriors travel to Paris to face Stade Francais with a coveted quarter-final place on the line.
Given that calculators will be in hand at many grounds – including the Stade Charlety – here is a reminder of the quarter-final qualification process for the Amlin Challenge Cup and what should happen if Warriors and Stade Francais finish on the same number of points.
Clubs in the same Pool on level points:
(ii) if Clubs are equal on points and the Clubs are in the same Pool, then qualification / ranking will be based on the two matches played between the Clubs concerned:
(a) the Club which has earned the most number of match points from the two matches (four points for a win, two points for a draw and bonus points).
(b) the Club which has scored the most tries in the two matches.
(c) the Club with the best aggregate points difference from the two matches.
The five Pool winners will qualify for the quarter-finals and will be the clubs with the highest number of match points earned in each Pool. For the quarter-finals, the Pool winners will be ranked 1 to 4 and 8 in terms of the number of points earned.
The three next best Heineken Cup runners-up (the third, fourth and fifth best) will qualify for the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals. The top four Amlin Challenge Cup Pool winners will have home advantage with the quarter-finalists ranked accordingly:
1 ACC 1 (Top ranked ACC Pool winner)
2 ACC 2 (Second ranked ACC Pool winner)
3 ACC 3 (Third ranked ACC Pool winner)
4 ACC 4 (Fourth ranked ACC Pool winner)
5 Heineken Cup 1
6 Heineken Cup 2
7 Heineken Cup 3
8 ACC 5 (Fifth ranked ACC Pool winner)
The quarter-final pairings will be:
Club 1 v Club 8; Club 2 v Club 7; Club 3 v Club 6; Club 4 v Club 5
Quarter-finals – 5/6/7/8 April
Semi-finals – 27/28/29 April
Final – Twickenham Stoop, Friday, 18 May (8.00)