Take an in-depth look at Sunday’s European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-final against Stade Francais at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Match Facts
Sunday, 2 April
Kick-off: 17:45, Principality Stadium (Cardiff)
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant Referee 1: Tim Wigglesworth (Eng)
Assistant Referee 2: Peter Allan (Eng)
TMO: Sean Davey (Eng)
Citing Commissioner: Alberto Recaldini (Ita)
- This will be the fifth meeting between the clubs, but the first in the Challenge Cup. Both sides are unbeaten at home in the previous games with Stade Français winning both on French soil and Ospreys winning the first on Welsh soil in 2005/06.
- In their first Challenge Cup campaign, the Ospreys became the first club in the history of European competition to come out of the pool stage with a maximum 30 points. Their six wins were by an average margin of 38 points.
- The Welsh region reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup three times, but lost all three away from home.
- Stade Français have lost both of their previous two Challenge Cup games against Welsh opposition, with Newport Gwent Dragons doing the double in the 2014/15 pool stage.
- The beaten finalists in 2011 and 2013 have won three of their last four Challenge Cup quarter-finals, although they did lose their most recent match at this stage (v Harlequins in 2014).
- Ospreys topped the charts for points, tries, carries, defenders beaten and clean breaks during the pool stage, and they also averaged the most time in possession (20m 5s).
- The Welsh side won 93% of lineouts on their own throw in the pool stage, the best rate of any side.
- Dan Biggar is this season’s top scorer, notching up 67 points in just four appearances with three tries and 26 conversions.
- Dan Evans was one of just two players to make 500 + metres in the pool matches (531, also Matthew Morgan of Cardiff Blues, 564).
- No player made more clean breaks than Keelan Giles in the pool stage (13, same as Matthew Morgan). Giles is also the top try scorer, crossing seven times in just four appearances.
How they qualified
Tied Challenge Cup quarter-final
If the scores are tied at the end of full time, then 20 minutes (two periods of 10 minutes) of extra time will be played. If at the end of extra time the scores are still level, then the winners will be team which has scored the most tries in the game, including extra time. If the teams are level on points and tries at the end of extra time, then the winners will be determined by a place kicking competition as follows:
Each team each team will be asked to nominate THREE goal kickers. The kickers need not to be predetermined, but they must come from the players on the pitch at the final whistle. No substituted or dismissed player will be permitted to take part. The end at which the competition takes place will be determined by a toss of a coin. The team to kick first will also be determined by a toss of a coin.
Each kicker will have two kicks from designated positions on the 22 and 10 metre lines and after each team has completed their six kicks a winner will be declared. If the teams remain deadlocked, the competition will continue on a sudden-death basis.
