Bristol Bears will have five days to prepare for their vital Gallagher Premiership game in Round 21 of the Gallagher Premiership should they reach the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.
It might not sound like long, but is a minor victory for director of rugby Pat Lam who has been frustrated by EPCR, who organise the European competitions, scheduling his side to play this Friday night in the quarter-final against Dragons having also run out on Sunday against Wasps in their domestic competition.
He requested the quarter-final be played on Sunday, September 20, to allow him to field a stronger side against Wasps. Instead he was forced put out a second string side which lost 59-35 at the Ricoh Arena to put Bristol's place in the Premiership play-offs at risk as the club have dropped down to fifth.
The winners of the Bristol Bears v Dragons and Bordeaux-Bègles v Edinburgh Rugby quarter-finals will play one another on Friday, 25 September while the winners of the RC Toulon v Scarlets and Leicester Tigers v Castres Olympique quarter-finals will meet on Saturday, 26 September.
On an exceptional basis to facilitate the conclusion of the season, EPCR confirmed that the highest-ranked clubs from the pool stage will have home venue advantage in the semi-finals. That means if Bristol win their quarter-final they will play the semi-final at Ashton Gate.
That too is a boost as cutting out the travel time involved in an away fixture allows Bristol more time to prepare for their next fixture.
The five day turn around also means more of Lam's star players could feature in both 'must win' games.
The Bears boss will hope Leicester Tigers also progress to the semi-finals to put his side on an equal footing with the midlands club for the Premiership game with Bristol on September 30, needing five match points from the contest to stay in the hunt for a top four finish in the league.
Speaking about the congested fixture schedule Lam said: "All of these problems we face wouldn't be a problem if every team we faced had the same issues, but that is not the case and it changes your planning for it."
Friday 25 September
SF 2 : Winner Bristol Bears/Dragons v winner Bordeaux–Bègles/Edinburgh Rugby
Kick-off : 19.45 UK time or 20.45 French time
TV : BT Sport/beIN SPORTS
Saturday 26 September
SF 1 : Winner RC Toulon/Scarlets v winner Leicester Tigers/Castres Olympique
Kick-off : 20.00 UK time or 21.00 French time
TV : BT Sport/S4C/FR 4/beIN SPORTS
Semi-final 1
If RC Toulon (ranked No 1) and Leicester Tigers (ranked No 4) win their quarter-finals, Toulon will have home venue advantage
If RC Toulon (ranked No 1) and Castres Olympique (ranked No 5) win their quarter-finals, Toulon will have home venue advantage
If Leicester Tigers (ranked No 4) and Scarlets (ranked No 8) win their quarter-finals, Leicester will have home venue advantage
If Castres Olympique (ranked No 5) and Scarlets (ranked No 8) win their quarter-finals, Castres will have home venue advantage
Semi-final 2
If Bristol Bears (ranked No 2) and Bordeaux-Bègles (ranked No 3) win their quarter-finals, Bristol will have home venue advantage
If Bristol Bears (ranked No 2) and Edinburgh Rugby (ranked No 6) win their quarter-finals, Bristol will have home venue advantage
If Bordeaux-Bègles (ranked No 3) and Dragons (ranked No 7) win their quarter-finals, Bordeaux-Bègles will have home venue advantage
If Edinburgh Rugby (ranked No 6) and Dragons (ranked No 7) win their quarter-finals, Edinburgh will have home venue advantage
