Were Leinster to reach the Grand Final of the BKT URC on Saturday, June 14th, the province are understood to have plans in place to host the match in Croke Park.
Although Leinster have won this title eight times in its previous iterations, they have never reached a final of what is now the URC, having lost three successive semi-finals.
Leinster have reached the forthcoming knock-out stages as top seeds, thereby earning themselves a home quarter-final against the Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday week (kick-off 3pm), and the carrot of a home semi-final and final were they to keep progressing.
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As the Scarlets beat Leinster by 35-22 only four weeks ago, the province are unlikely to tempt fate before that game by announcing their provisional intentions for a final. Were they to win their quarter-final Leinster would host Glasgow or the Stormers a week subsequently, most likely on Saturday, June 7th in the Aviva Stadium.
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However, as there is then only a seven-day turnaround before the final, for logistical reasons prospective finalists would need to make a decision regarding their choice of venue for the Grand Final prior to the semi-finals.
While the RDS is being redeveloped, Leinster had agreed upon a set number of matches at the Aviva and have hosted a dozen games there this season with the potential for a couple more. They have also played twice in Croke Park, the URC match against Munster last October in front of 82,300 and the Champions Cup Round of 16 tie against Harlequins in early April, which drew 55,000.
Meanwhile, Munster have confirmed they will host a Champions Cup pool fixture at SuperValu Páirc Ui Chaoimh for the first time next December. Munster announced their intentions to do so on March 29th in the immediate aftermath of their playing Connacht in Castlebar and last weekend they qualified for next season’s Champions Cup by beating Benetton.
Munster will move December’s home game from Thomond Park to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, which has drawn 40,000-plus attendances for matches against South Africa in 2022 and the Crusaders last February. It will be the first Champions Cup match in Cork since Munster beat Viadana at Musgrave Park in December 2002.
Munster’s chief operating officer, Philip Quinn, said: “Based on our forecasts, we believe we will achieve a significant financial uplift from hosting this December pool fixture in Páirc Uí Chaoimh compared to Thomond Park, as well as providing a fantastic opportunity to grow our support base, not just in Cork but right across the southern part of the province.”
