With the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup pool rounds concluded, the five South African franchises now know exactly who they will face in their playoff matches in 10 weeks’ time in the European showpieces.
The round of 16 matches will all take place on the weekend of 31 March to 2 April, but dates and kick-off times must still be confirmed.
The Cell C Sharks will host Munster in Durban and the DHL Stormers welcome Harlequins to Cape Town, while the Vodacom Bulls will face Stade Toulousain in France in the Heineken Champions Cup round of 16.
The Toyota Cheetahs, meanwhile, will go up against Toulon in France in their EPCR Challenge Cup knock-out match, while the Emirates Lions will host Racing 92 in Johannesburg.
These fixtures were confirmed following a successful weekend for the Challenge Cup teams in which the Emirates Lions defeated the Dragons 30-25 in Wales and the Toyota Cheetahs edged Section Paloise 9-6 in Italy to finish in the top six in Pool B.
South Africa’s three Heineken Champions Cup teams had a mixed bag of results though, with the DHL Stormers being the only domestic side to win their match as they registered a 30-16 victory against ASM Clermont Auvergne in Cape Town.
The Cell C Sharks went down 39-29 against Harlequins in London, while the Vodacom Bulls suffered a disappointing 31-7 defeat against Lyon in France, but despite this, they both finished in the top eight on their respective logs to advance to the playoff stages.
