French side Racing made it a tough encounter before Leinster maxed out on 20 points with their fourth bonus-point win at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday and their reward is a home game versus Ulster in the last 16 of the Heineken Champions Cup.
Munster, despite a heroic showing against Toulouse in France in which they went down by 20-16, must travel to South Africa to play the Cell C Sharks in the last 16 of the competition, hoping they can upset the applecart and the odds against a very formidable opposition.
Ulster will buy such a scenario as a visit to Dublin after a miserable run in which they lost six out of seven matches in all competitions. They recovered to make it to the knockout stages thanks to a 22-11 win over Sale Sharks, which squeezed them into eighth position in Pool B of the competition.
Munster’s tie with the Sharks is fixed for the weekend of 31 March-2 April and they will go back a fortnight later for back-to-back BKT United Rugby Championship fixtures against the DHL Stormers and Sharks on April 15 and 22 respectively.
Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle, who beat Leinster in the final last year, will play Gloucester in the last 16, while the most successful side ever in the competition, Toulouse, face a home tie against the Vodacom Bulls.
Luke McGrath, pictured with his son Bobby, marked his 50th game with Leinster in the win over French visitors Racing 92. INPHO/DAN SHERIDAN
Saracens have home advantage against the Ospreys. Edinburgh make the daunting journey to face Leicester Tigers while the DHL Stormers host Harlequins.
In the Challenge Cup, Ireland’s fourth province Connacht must face Benetton away after losing to Newcastle at the weekend.
