Ulster Rugby v Racing 92

WELCOME MESSAGE FROM EPCR

Welcome to a brand-new year of action in the Heineken Champions Cup, as we bring in 2019 with the all-important concluding rounds of the Pool Stage which will 7;=bm; |_; ;b]_| 1Ѵ†0v ‰_o ‰bѴѴ u;l-bm om |_; uo-7 |o "| -l;vĽ -uh om ƐƐ -‹ĺ

The past 12 months have brought a whirlwind of success to the tournament, welcoming more than one million fans through the turnstiles during the calendar year and staging a successful European club rugby Finals weekend that took in Bilbao as a sensational new venue for the showpiece matches. At the turn of the year, 15 of the 20 participating clubs were still in contention for places in the knockout rounds and the three professional domestic leagues were all represented among the leaders of the five pools. The action has been both compelling and intense to date. In Pool 2, the four clubs all remained in contention heading into Round 5 with only four points separating Munster Rugby at the top from Gloucester Rugby at the bottom and whilst Racing 92, Saracens and Toulouse were the only sides to record four wins from four before the European festive break, none were guaranteed to lead their pool heading into the last round of matches. It’s that close! It’s a real shot in the arm for everyone involved in our sport that the Heineken Champions Cup has new and improved broadcast platforms this season and for all five domestic rightsholders to be present for the return fixture between Leinster Rugby and Toulouse in Pool 1 shows the allure of the clash of the two most successful clubs in European club rugby history. We would like to thank our broadcast partners BT Sport, Channel 4, Virgin Media, beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions for their continued, high-quality coverage, and wish

them the very best for their broadcasts across the continent in 2019.

They will not only give exposure to the tournaments but, thanks to EPCR’s new partnership with the My Name’5 Doddie

Foundation around the Newcastle Finals, we are also proud to help to grow the awareness of the battles against Motor Neurone Disease. I’ve known Doddie for a long time and it will be fitting to work with the Foundation around an event in Newcastle, a city where he is revered. As I watched Edinburgh Rugby win at Kingston Park with Doddie in Round 4, it also seems fitting that the Scottish clubs are so well-placed in Europe at the time we have such a partnership. Newcastle is proving a very popular attraction for Finals weekend, so make sure you stay across HeinekenChampionsCup.com to find out when tickets become available and have your chance to join the fun. On the road there, we thank our Official Title Partners Heineken for their unstinting support as well as Official Partner Tissot and Official Supporters Gilbert and Financial Times. Whichever clubs emerge through to the quarter- finals will have needed to be at their best on club rugby’s biggest stage. I hope that wherever you take in the action from the January rounds, that you enjoy it.

Yours in rugby, Simon Halliday EPCR Chairman