There may be no regional representation in the quarter-finals this weekend, but 11 Welshmen will stake their claim for continental glory. Leigh Halfpenny became the latest to join the exclusive club when he won the battle with Jonathan Davies’ ASM Clermont Auvergne at Twickenham last year.
Five men from the Principality will take the field in an all-English affair at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday. Wasps, who have won 10 of their last 11 matches, welcome Exeter Chiefs. Former Wales captain and now Wasps director of rugby Dai Young, will be hoping to avoid a repeat of when the two sides met in the Premiership last year when Rob Baxter’s side romped to a 41-27 triumph.
Bradley Davies will be at the heart of a Wasps pack that could include Young’s son Thomas on the openside flank. The 23-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season, scoring five tries in 15 appearances this season. Hooker Edd Shervington represented Wales at Under-18, 19 and 21 levels, and will be pushing for a start this weekend.
The Wasps trio will be coming up against former Newport Gwent Dragon Phil Dollman, who has flourished at the Devon club. Tomas Francis is still serving a ban, but could return if the Chiefs march to the final in Lyon. And Davies is ready for a stern challenge.
He said: “We’ve played Exeter once and they did a number on us with the driving line-out and to be fair to them they’ve probably got one of the best driving line-outs in Europe at the moment. Every team in Europe is copying what they are doing.
“They scored four tries from driving line-outs against us but at one stage it was 30-30, so it goes to show how good our attack is. With the way we play you know as a forward if you do your job then the boys will take chances and score tries.
“It’s going to be a big occasion, a sell-out, with the carrot at the end of a semi-final against another English team.”
Halfpenny may be a week away from match fitness, but two of his international teammates are out to end his hopes of retaining his Champions Cup title. Wales lock Luke Charteris will pack down in the star-studded Paris fixture, while 99-cap former Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips is likely to partner Dan Carter.
George North’s try scoring exploits in a Wales jersey earned him a nomination for Six Nations player of the tournament. He will be hoping to continue his red-hot form to join fellow Welsh Northampton Saints Allan Bateman and Andy Newman in lifting the trophy. He will be coming up against Rhys Gill, who wants to emulate prop idol Gethin Jenkins, who also tasted glory with Toulon.
The final Welshman on show this weekend will be Leicester Tigers outside-half Owen Williams. The former Scarlet takes on Sergio Parisse’s Stade Francais for a semi-final spot against Raing 92 or champions Toulon.
