Standings in the Heineken Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup have been updated following the decision by tournament organisers regarding postponed fixtures in the opening rounds.
Leicester Tigers have nine points from the opening two rounds of the Heineken Champions Cup and sit in third place in Pool B ahead of the remaining two rounds of fixtures.
Pool leaders Harlequins and Munster also have nine points, with the top eight teams from each of the two pools progressing to the start of the Champions Cup knockout rounds in April.
Racing 92 currently top Pool A as the only team with maximum 10 points at this stage, with Ulster on nine points, and Sale Sharks and La Rochelle completing the top four on six points.
The second phase of pool fixtures begins this weekend when Tigers make a Round 3 trip to Ireland to face Connacht before hosting Bordeaux-Bègles at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday, January 22 (3.15pm). Tickets for that match are on general sale now.
Click here for the revised pool standings.
EPCR announced on Tuesday that the postponed fixtures in Round 2 are now cancelled with points shared equally by the competing teams.
The statement said: “The EPCR Executive has decided that the appropriate solution is to record the results in each of the five Heineken Champions Cup and two EPCR Challenge Cup fixtures in question as 0-0 draws with two match points awarded to each club.
“The Round 2 matches were initially postponed following the unforeseen introduction of new travel measures between the UK and France. The options of modifying the tournament formats and/or rescheduling matches were deliberated in great detail by all parties, however, in an increasingly complex fixture calendar due to Covid-19, it was regrettably decided that the only choice in the circumstances was to cancel the matches.
“On the basis that none of the clubs involved were in a position to play once the EPCR Board had postponed matches due to the new restrictive travel measures, the only option open to the EPCR Executive under the provisions of the Match Result Resolution Matrix was to record the results as 0-0 draws and to award two match points to each club.
“A distinction should be drawn between the decisions in respect of the Round 2 matches in question and other tournament fixtures which were previously cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreaks or forced isolations affecting player availability. Those previously cancelled fixtures could not have been played as scheduled under any circumstances, whereas the clubs involved in the Round 2 matches in question were all cleared and available to contest the matches.”
