Connacht keep quarter-final dreams alive

Connacht remain bang in contention for knock-out European action this season heading into the final round of Heineken Cup pool games this weekend.

The province’s win over Zebre at the Sportsground, and Toulouse’s victory over Saracens, means there is still a remote chance that Pat Lam’s men could qualify for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.

For that to happen, Connacht will need a win, and possibly a bonus point, away to Saracens this Saturday (1.35pm), and for results elsewhere in the other pools to go their way in order to finish as one of the top two runners-up.

One of those two slots will go to the runners-up in pool five, either Ulster or Leicester, and the remaining quarter-final place could go anywhere.

Connacht lies third in pool three, with a record 13 points, and Saracens are above them on 15 points, making this weekend a straight shoot-out between the two, with Toulouse on 19 and virtually guaranteed a place in the last eight.

Elsewhere, rivals for the final coveted quarter-final spot includes: Northampton on 13 points in pool one; Cardiff on 13 points in pool two; Harlequins on 12 points in pool four; Edinburgh on 12 points in pool six. The calculators will need to be at the ready to work out all the permutations, as it could go down to tries scored and points difference.

Qualification for the Heineken Cup is a long-shot, after not securing a bonus against the Italians, but more realistic is the chance of reaching the knockout stages of the second tier competition.

A win for Connacht at Allianz Park, north London – any sort of a win – would almost certainly guarantee a place in the quarter-final of the Amlin Challenge Cup, which would be rich rewards for the westerners’ European endeavours this season.

Connacht improvement is a must this weekend but the one huge positive is they’re still alive.