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Twickenham to stage 2021 European club rugby finals

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Twickenham Stadium. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Twickenham Stadium. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Twickenham will host the European club rugby finals in May, it was announced on Friday, with organisers planning for crowds of up to 10 000 at both matches.

The home of English rugby will be the venue for the European Champions Cup final on 22 May. The second-tier European Challenge Cup final takes place the previous day.

Both fixtures had been scheduled to take place in Marseille but coronavirus restrictions meant not all ticket-holders could have attended the matches.

As a consequence, next year's finals will take place in the southern French city.

No English clubs are involved in the Champions Cup semi-finals, with Toulouse facing Bordeaux-Begles in an all-French contest and another Top 14 side, La Rochelle, facing Irish province Leinster this weekend.

Two English sides are in the last four of the Challenge Cup, with Leicester facing Ulster on Friday and Bath at home to Montpellier on Saturday.

Twickenham has a capacity of around 80 000 but social-distancing regulations mean far fewer supporters will be able to attend the finals, organised by European Professional Club Rugby.

Nevertheless, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: "We're looking forward to seeing up to 10,000 fans back at Twickenham again for these EPCR finals and are delighted to be chosen to host the fixtures."

The showpiece matches are set to return to London in 2023, when they will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Britain, which has rolled out a successful vaccination drive, is easing coronavirus restrictions in stages.

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