H Cup Semi final draw

RuggieBear

it will be a munster/leinster semi if both teams win with munster at home in the RDS (?)

munster/ospreys vs leinster/quins

cardiff/toulouse vs bath/leicester

Climate Expert

I reckon it would have to be Thomond.

It would be brilliant if we had an all Irish semi final again but I don't see it happening.

RuggieBear

on the plus side for munster they avoided all the big guns...all the teams in the other side of the draw have been to a final lol

nellybelly

I thought it had to be a neutral venue, in the home country, with a capacity greater than 20,000.. I guess that means it would have to be a GAA stadium: Croker? Páirc Uí Chaoimh? Semple Stadium? Is that possible?

Peter B

Ruggie,

Where did you get this from? Can't find it on ERCrugby.com

Royale with Cheese

Where is it played if it's Ospreys v Leinster? Cardiff?

nellybelly

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Where is it played if it's Ospreys v Leinster? Cardiff?

Millennium Stadium?

Climate Expert

Its a neutral venue with greater than 20K capacity and in the same country. Exceptions can be made which they will be in this case unless the GAA does something but that won't happen. So Leinster would probably concede that Thomond is the only venue.

carlowguy32

i thought it had to be a neutral venue for the semi final, if the 2 irish teams quailfy they will have to play it in england, cos lansdowne wont be finished, please correct me if im wrong

Daysha

carlowguy32 wrote: »

i thought it had to be a neutral venue for the semi final, if the 2 irish teams quailfy they will have to play it in england, cos lansdowne wont be finished, please correct me if im wrong

Nope. Its a stadium in the same country as the "home" side, but it can't be the same stadium that home side played their pool games in.

Cuchulain

Nevermind

carlowguy32

but there is no stadium in this country over 25,000 available, which is the critera for the semis

Brewster

BBC site seem to have a page highlighting draw.. Not sure what would happen, some people saying game could be played in RDS but that is Leinsters ground. So if Munster cant play in Thomond even though they are home team, how could it be played in Leinsters home gound?! Who knows... Not sure the rule book thought of this scenario!!

Crash

Its a non-home side registered ground - which would rule Thomond out of it. Basically unless some sort of deal is done, its the RDS as the rules stand. Whether or not that'd happen, who knows.

Climate Expert

It won't be the RDS because its too small. Compromises will be made on the rules and Thomond will win out because its a nice new Irish rugby stadiium with a good capacity.

Crash

Semi's is 20,000 capacity, RDS is currently about 1,500 off that, and its long been said it can be changed to fit that.

To be honest, I do find it kinda funny that its in this position

bleg

where does it state in the rules that it has to be a neutral venue? all i can find is that it will be a venue appointed by the ERC.


1(b) Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final
(i) the Semi-Finals will be played at a venue designated by ERC, with the opponents
in each match determined by a draw conducted by ERC. The Final will be played
at a venue designated by ERC.

RuggieBear

Peter B wrote: »

Ruggie,

Where did you get this from? Can't find it on ERCrugby.com

from a mate who says he saw it on ercrugby.com but there appears to be an error with the page...

Crash

Looking on the ERC site thats all I can find as well bleg - afaik thats only a small snippets of the rules they have up there though. the ERC site is awful for info.

duffman08

Croker, would surely attract 40k + to the game. problem solved!!!

Climate Expert

bleg wrote: »

where does it state in the rules that it has to be a neutral venue? all i can find is that it will be a venue appointed by the ERC.

Each of the two semi-final venues are in the country of the first team out of the hat when the draw is made. For example, in 2004, Munster v Wasps was played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, while Toulouse v Biarritz was played in Bordeaux.[5] However, the neutrality requirement is satisfied simply by the designated home team playing outside of its normal stadium. Both 2005 semifinals were held in the host's home city; Leicester Tigers v Toulouse was held at Walkers Stadium in Leicester, not far from Leicester's normal home of Welford Road,[6] while Stade Français v Biarritz was played at Parc des Princes in Paris, across the street from Stade's normal home field. The semifinal venue must also meet the following additional criteria; it must have a capacity of at least 20,000[7] and it must be in the same country as the designated home team.
However, the European Rugby Cup, which organises the competition, may allow exceptions, such as with Biarritz, located in a city less than 20km from the Spanish border, being allowed to host their 2006 semi-final across the border at Estadio Anoeta in Donostia-San Sebastián (which is the nearest stadium to Biarritz with a suitable capacity).[8] A similar exception was made for Bourgoin when they hosted Munster in Switzerland at Stade de Genève, Geneva. The final is held at a predetermined site

From wikipedia.

If all the rules are followed they would have to call off the game as no suitable ground exists.

Crash

As stated, temporary seating can bring the RDS up to suitable capacity.

Wonder when the venue have to be named actually? as in, how much time will there be allowed for sorting all this ****e out :P

Cuchulain

Would Croker ever be a possibility. Surely would get a full house which means big pay day for GAA, Leinster and Munster.

bleg

i remember last year they had the potential venues announced with the semi final pairings. i'd say that's why there's no official news yet...

Oafley Jones

duffman08 wrote: »

Croker, would surely attract 40k + to the game. problem solved!!!

It's unavailable. There are a few GAA grounds around the country that have more than enough capacity if they could be gotten. Pairc Ui Chaoimh has about 44k but I'm not sure what condition it's in.

Harpy

Going Waterforward wrote: »

Semi's is 20,000 capacity, RDS is currently about 1,500 off that, and its long been said it can be changed to fit that.

To be honest, I do find it kinda funny that its in this position

yeah i read this article last week and apparently the RDS can fit the extracapacity

link to the article

Podge_irl

I imagine there is a decent chance of the game being moved abroad, all the more so if Leinster come through their quarter. Munster are unlikely to concede to having the game in the RDS

Edit: Also, ****

Noopti

Oh well, was hoping there was the possibility for an all Irish final!

dangerfield_75

dessie 59 was right,
its a "home" venue, i.e. irish,
but not their own home pitch,

they do a draw for the semi's,
so if munster come out of the hat first they are at home, but not their own venue, so match is at RDS
if leinster come out of hat first they are at home but not their own venue, so natch is at Thomond

according to sports section of Tribune at wend, and no it wasnt Neil Francis!

Oafley Jones

Harpy wrote: »

yeah i read this article last week and apparently the RDS can fit the extracapacity

link to the article

Even so, that's 6500 paying punters less than Thomond Park. This will all boil down to whichever venue can deliver the biggest payday.

Dubliner28

Leinster wont win

bleg

munster won't play a home game in the RDS. any suggestion of this is nonsensical. croke park is an option but probably a non-runner.

ospreys and quins on easter sunday to come first though. i'd say the 12:30 masses will be fairly empty:D

Podge_irl

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Even so, that's 6500 paying punters less than Thomond Park. This will all boil down to whichever venue can deliver the biggest payday.

The game can't be played in Thomond Park as it is Munster's registered ground. The decision is not up to Munster or the IRFU, but the ERC. The RDS is the only available ground with sufficient capacity in Ireland so its either going to be there or abroad somewhere.

dangerfield_75

who was at home for semi in lansdowne a few yrs ago?
leinster?

anyway the way leinster are playing, it wont be a prob, unfortunately!

Podge_irl

Leinster, but only by dint of an administrative loophole. Their home ground was registered as Donnybrook, so despite playing two pool games in Lansdowne they were allowed play the semi there as well.

bleg

leinster were the "home" team. both sides got a 50:50 split of the tickets after a certain amount taken by the ERC

Crash

dangerfield: Leinster were at home, yes. Except at the time they were registered to play their home games at donnybrook, so landsdowne was therefore a neutral venue.

Climate Expert

Podge_irl wrote: »

The game can't be played in Thomond Park as it is Munster's registered ground. The decision is not up to Munster or the IRFU, but the ERC. The RDS is the only available ground with sufficient capacity in Ireland so its either going to be there or abroad somewhere.

It will be up to the two teams, they will be consulted with.

The RDS does not have sufficient capacity as it stands and even at 20K it would be a very small venue for a semi. As a Leinster fan I'd be more than happy to have it in Thomond and I'd say plenty others would feel the same.

One place the game won't be played is abroad, you can be sure of that.

Micky Dolenz

Noopti wrote: »

Oh well, was hoping there was the possibility for an all Irish final!

you'll be half right:D

bleg

agreed. there's already too much money going abroad

Oafley Jones

Podge_irl wrote: »

The game can't be played in Thomond Park as it is Munster's registered ground. The decision is not up to Munster or the IRFU, but the ERC. The RDS is the only available ground with sufficient capacity in Ireland so its either going to be there or abroad somewhere.

The prospect of extra money can work wonders. Personally, I feel that even Thomond may be too small.

juvenal

The reality is that this scenario won't arise unless both Munster and Leinster win their respective quarter-finals.

Considering that Leinster will be underdogs in London against a strong 'Quins team, and Munster will host an erratic, but potentially a banana-skin, Ospreys team, in Thomond, the chances of both teams qualifying are not especially great.

Not to say it's not impossible, but I think there are a few hurdles to cross before this happens. I think there's a better chance than one of the teams going through and the other not, and then having to play their semi-final in Dublin (in Munster's case), or away in Cardiff (in Leinster's case).

I think should both teams win their quarter-finals, the GAA will take a long, hard look at the semi-final, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them open Croke Park given the unique situation. I can't see Munster agreeing to play the match in the RDS tbh, or either Leinster or Harlequins agreeing to play it in Thomond.

Crash

To be honest, if it comes to a Munster Leinster semi, anything smaller than Lansdowne will be too small, and even thats pushing it.

Micky Dolenz

If it happens, which I doubt. The venue will be Croker. The GAA would love a slice of that money pie.

Munster_Gal

I think it will be played in the RDS. If they can facilitate the extra seating then I think that's where it will be unless the GAA would be kind enough to let us use one of their stadiums - which is highly doubtful.

Anyway, as someone mentioned before, if Leinster had gotten the home advantage the match would be played in Thomand park. The important thing to take out of all of this is that Munster got the home advantage

Bring on Edinburgh 09 and Munster for the win!

Podge_irl

The venue is decided before the quarter final takes place I believe, so that leaves a "wait and see" approach out of the question.

I can't see the ERC allowing Munster to play in Thomond for the sake of 5,000 extra seats. Once a ground reaches the minimum capacity then that is good enough. The RDS can qualify as an acceptable stadium, Thomond can not.

Steviemak

It seems a bit bizarre that Leinster are defaulted into a home draw in the semi-finals because they were drawn away and Munster are penalised.

I can see a deal be done similar to the Munster Leinster semi in Lansdowne Rd.

GAA stadiums are a no go.

Podge_irl

Steviemak wrote: »

I can see a deal be done similar to the Munster Leinster semi in Lansdowne Rd.

There was no deal done. Lansdowne wasn't Leinster's registered home ground, ergo it counted as a neutral venue (and lest people forget, Munster had played their home quarter final there 3 weeks previously!).

bleg

can't see it being played in RDS. munster branch wouldn't do it to the fans.

Podge_irl

bleg wrote: »

can't see it being played in RDS. munster branch wouldn't do it to the fans.

As touching and all as that is, its not up to them.

Micky Dolenz

Steviemak wrote: »

GAA stadiums are a no go.

Don't be so sure

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2009/01/08/story81415.asp