Final countdown: the Heineken Cup semi-finalists are vying for a place at Twickenham on 19 May
The semi-finals of both the 2012 Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups take place this weekend and we’ve compiled 12 interesting stats and facts so you can impress your mates when watching the games…
1,298 The number of Heineken Cup points scored by Munster’s Ronan O’Gara – the only player to break the 1,000-point barrier and more than 400 ahead of the next best Stephen Jones (869)
3 The number of clubs to have won both the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cup titles – Wasps, Bath and Northampton
13 The number of European matches Leinster have gone unbeaten as they bid to become only the second team to win back-to-back Heineken Cup titles, after Leicester in 2001 and 2002
2012 The first year that England has had no representatives in the semi-finals of either the Heineken or Amlin Challenge Cups, aside from when they didn’t enter the competitions in 1998-99
Try time? Brian O'Driscoll
6 Unlucky it seems – no side has ever won the Heineken Cup after winning all six of their pool games. Munster continued the trend when being knocked out in this year’s quarter-finals after winning all six of their pool games
1 The number of tries Leinster centre Brian O’Driscoll needs to score to draw level with Vincent Clerc on 32 as the Heineken Cup’s top try-scorer – can he cross the line in Bordeaux against Clermont Auvergne?
11 The number of different countries represented by international players in Clermont Auvergne’s squad – a season record. They have Test players from Canada, Fiji, France, Georgia, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa and Wales
2 The number of players who have made more than 100 Heineken Cup appearances – John Hayes (101) and Ronan O’Gara (104)
17 The number of years Scotland have waited for a Heineken Cup semi-finalist – Edinburgh making the last four for the first time this season
1999 The year that Ulster last reached the Heineken Cup semi-finals – and that season they went on to lift the trophy
4 The number of Heineken Cup titles won by France’s Cedric Heymans – more than any other player. He was a European champion with Brive in 1997 and then Toulouse in 2003, 2005 and 2010
5,782 The number of tries scored in the 1,211 Heineken Cup matches to date – how many more will there be this weekend?
HEINEKEN CUP SEMI-FINALS
Sat 28 April Ulster v Edinburgh (5.45pm) Live on Sky Sports 1
Sun 29 April Clermont Auvergne v Leinster (3pm) Live on Sky Sports 2
AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP SEMI-FINALS
Fri 27 April Toulon v Stade Francais (7.55pm) Live on Sky Sports 1
Sat 28 April Biarritz v Brive (3pm) Live on Sky Sports 1