HEINEKEN CUP 2011/2012 QUALIFICATION

Stade Français Paris will automatically qualify for the 2011/2012 Heineken Cup tournament if they win the Amlin Challenge Cup final against Harlequins at Cardiff City Stadium tomorrow (Friday) night.
But if two English clubs win both ERC tournaments – Harlequins the Amlin Challenge Cup and Northampton Saints the Heineken Cup final against Leinster at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday – then Stade Français Paris will qualify for the 17th Heineken Cup tournament as the highest ranked club in the ERC European Rankings which has failed to qualify through their domestic tournament.
When the ERC European Rankings are updated after the tournament finals, with the Amlin Challenge Cup winner earning two ranking points and the runner-up one, Stade Français Paris will move above Perpignan in the rankings.
The possible qualification scenarios are:
HEINEKEN CUP
i) If Leinster win then Connacht Rugby will qualify for the 2011/12 Heineken Cup
ii) If Northampton Saints win then Harlequins (7th in the English Premiership) will qualify for the 2011/12 Heineken Cup
AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP
i) If Harlequins win they will qualify for the 2011/12 Heineken Cup as Amlin Challenge Cup champions
ii) If Stade Français Paris win they will qualify for the 2011/12 Heineken Cup as Amlin Challenge Cup champions
TWO CHAMPIONS FROM THE SAME COUNTRY
If Northampton Saints win the Heineken Cup and Harlequins win the Amlin Challenge Cup then Harlequins will qualify for the 2011/12 Heineken Cup as Amlin champions and Stade Français Paris, the highest ranked club in the ERC European Rankings which has failed to qualify through their domestic tournament, will qualify for the 2011/12 Heineken Cup as the 24th team.

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