The Ospreys will travel to the south of France to face Biarritz in the Heineken Cup quarter-final.
The French side, Heineken Cup runners up in 2006, topped Pool 2 with 23 points to secure the second seeding and a home draw against the Ospreys who were seeded seventh as the best runner-up following Saturday’s win over Leicester Tigers at the Liberty Stadium.
The Ospreys have also been handed a home draw in the semi-final, should they progress, against the winner of the Munster V Northampton Saints tie.
The quarter-final matches, to be played the weekend of 9 / 10 / 11 April, 2010, will be:
Munster (1) v Northampton Saints (8)
Biarritz Olympique (2) v Ospreys (7)
Toulouse (3) v Stade Français Paris (6)
Leinster (4) v ASM Clermont Auvergne (5)
The winner of the all French tie between Toulouse and Stade Francais will have home advantage in their semi-final, against Leinster or Clermont Auvergne
Currently sitting in sixth place in the T14, Biarritz have won their domestic league on five occasions, three times during the last decade. Defeated by Munster in the 2005/06 final, they have made the knockout stages on seven occasions, most recently in the 06/07 season, and reached the semi finals on three consecutive occasions between 2004 and 2006.
Speaking about the draw, Head Coach Sean Holley said:
“We are delighted to be involved in the last eight of the competition, to get 20 points from such a difficult group is very satisfying. Clearly there are no easy fixtures in the latter stages and as we are away it is going to be a difficult and yet exciting proposition. We have yet to play Biarritz in our short history so we are thoroughly looking forward to the trip South. They are a very proficient side with real quality throughout their squad. However we are full of confidence from our recent performances and have the added incentive of a possible semi final in our homeland.”