Eight teams from four different nations are still in the hunt for the trip to Cardiff next month for the EPCR European Finals weekend at Principality Stadium.
And among the squads are two current Welsh international forwards – Bath’s Archie Griffin and Racing 92’s Will Rowlands.
Griffin was a try scorer for his club in their big quarter-final win over Gloucester in the EPCR Challenge Cup. That set up a trip to The Hive Stadium to meet Edinburgh in the semi-final on Saturday 3 May (kick-off 3.00pm).
Rowlands helped Racing 92 to pip No 1 seeds Connacht 43-40 in an 11 try thriller in Galway in the last eight. The Parisians will now face Lyon, who overcame the Ospreys in the last round, in an all-French semi-final on Sunday 4 May (kick-off 12.30pm).
In the Investec Champions Cup, there are three former winners in the final four – and three of them have played in a final at Principality Stadium before.
Toulouse were inaugural finalists in 1996 in the Welsh capital when they beat Cardiff after extra-time. Their captain that day was Emile Ntamack, the father of the current Toulouse and France outside half Romain.
Their head coach, Ugo Mola, is also hoping to return of that great victory 30 years on having been a used replacement during the match. They also reached the final in Cardiff in 2008, when they were beaten by Munster.
Reigning champions and six-time champions Toulouse beat Dan Biggar’s RC Toulon 21-18 in the quarter-finals to set-up a final four shoot-out with Begles-Bordeaux at the Matmut Atlantique Stadium in Bordeaux on Sunday 4 May (kick-of 3.00pm).
Begles-Bordeaux have yet to reach a European final in either tournament and after 21 rounds of the Top 14 were five points behind league leaders Toulouse in second place. They beat Toulouse 32-24 at home in their most recent encounter in the Top 4 in March.
Toulouse took the title for the sixth time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year with a 31-22 win over Leinster. The Irish side, who currently lead the way in the URC table, have won the Champions Cup four times and will host last season’s English champions Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the other semi-final on Saturday 3 May (kick-off 5.30pm).
The two teams met in the 2011 final at Principality Stadium when a dramatic second half turn-around saw Leinster win the title for the second time 33-22. Saints had beaten Munster at Twickenham Stadium in 2000 to win their first European crown.
EUROEPAN FINALS WEEKEND IN CARDIFF
FRIDAY 23 MAY – EPCR CHALLENGE CUP FINAL – Principality Stadium (kick-off 8.00pm)
SATRUDAY 24 MAY – INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP FINAL – Principality Stadium (kick-off 2.45pm)
Tickets for both European finals are currently on sale and full details can be found HERE