The Ospreys, quarter finalists last season, have already qualified for the knockout phase, but could certainly do with picking up a third win when they visit Pau this weekend.
They currently sit in third place in Pool 2, tied on 10 points with Pau. A victory at Stade du Hameau would move them up into second place and guarantee a home tie in the Round of 16.
The four highest-ranked clubs in each of the three EPCR Challenge Cup pools will be joined by the fifth-ranked clubs from each of the four Investec Champions Cup Pools in the Round of 16.
All clubs will be ranked in descending order based firstly on their ranking in their Pool and subsequently on the number of match points they have accumulated, to create an overall ranking from 1 to 16.
The pool winners will be ranked 1 to 3, the second-placed clubs will be ranked 4 to 6, the two highest-ranked third-placed clubs will be ranked 7 and 8. Clubs ranked 1 to 8 will have home advantage in the Round of 16.
The qualifying Investec Champions Cup clubs will be ranked 9 to 12, the remaining third-placed club will be ranked 13, and the fourth-placed clubs will be ranked 14 to 16.
Kicking off what is set to be a tense and thrilling weekend of rugby will be the game between Cardiff Rugby and Connacht at the Arms Park. The Irish province are sitting pretty at the top of Pool 1 after three bonus point wins.
Cardiff need a win to secure their qualification, and a bonus point victory could put them in with a chance of a home Round of 16 fixture. However, they are only one point ahead of Perpignan in fourth and the Toyota Cheetahs in fifth so can’t afford slip up.
Perpignan head to bottom of the table Zebre and the Cheetahs have to visit top of the table Lyon in Round 4.
It is a similar story in Pool 2 for the Dragons, who are in Johannesburg to meet the Emirate Lions. Both teams are tied on five points, with Dragons’ superior points difference currently keeping them in fourth place.
It means the game is a straight winner-takes-all shoot-out for a ticket into the Round of 16. The Scarlets face a similar situation in their Round 4 clash with RC Vannes at Parc y Scarlets.
Currently sitting outside the qualification places in fifth one point behind the Top 14 outfit. Nothing other than a win will be good enough to keep Dwayne Peel’s team in the tournament.
