Home comforts.

Connacht will welcome Aviva Premiership high-fliers Gloucester to the Sportsground for their Challenge Cup quarter final. The western province won Pool 5, and finished third in the seedings overall.

Here are the full details for the quarter and semi-final stages.

The qualifiers for the 2017/18 Challenge Cup quarter-finals and their rankings at the conclusion of the pool stage are as follows:

1 Pau (winner Pool 3 – 29 points)
2 Newcastle Falcons (winner Pool 1 – 28 points)
3 Connacht Rugby (winner Pool 5 – 26 points)
4 Edinburgh Rugby (winner Pool 4 – 25 points)
5 Cardiff Blues (winner Pool 2 – 21 points)
6 Gloucester Rugby (best pool runner-up – 21 points)
7 Brive (second best pool runner-up – 17 points)
8 Stade Francais Paris (third best pool runner-up – 17 points)

The quarter-final matches to be played on 29/30/31 March / 1 April are as follows:

QF 1: Pau v Stade Francais Paris
QF 2: Edinburgh Rugby v Cardiff Blues
QF 3: Connacht Rugby v Gloucester Rugby
QF 4: Newcastle Falcons v Brive

Semi-final 1 – winner of QF 1: Pau v Stade Francais Paris will play the winner of QF 2: Edinburgh Rugby v Cardiff Blues

Semi-final 2 – winner of QF 3: Connacht Rugby v Gloucester Rugby will play the winner of QF 4: Newcastle Falcons v Brive

NB The format for the semi-final matches in the Challenge Cup recognises performances by clubs during the pool stage as well as the achievement of winning a quarter-final match away from home.

The following clubs will have home venue advantage in their respective semi-final matches:

Semi-final 1
If Pau (ranked No 1) and Edinburgh Rugby (ranked No 4) win their quarter-finals, Pau will have home venue advantage
If Pau (ranked No 1) and Cardiff Blues (ranked No 5) win their quarter-finals,Cardiff Blues will have home venue advantage
If Stade Francais Paris (ranked No 8) and Edinburgh Rugby (ranked No 4) win their quarter-finals, Stade Francais Paris will have home venue advantage
If Stade Francais Paris (ranked No 8) and Cardiff Blues (ranked No 5) win their quarter-finals, Cardiff Blues will have home venue advantage

Semi-final 2
If Connacht Rugby (ranked No 3) and Newcastle Falcons (ranked No 2) win their quarter-finals, Newcastle Falcons will have home venue advantage
If Connacht Rugby (ranked No 3) and Brive (ranked No 7) win their quarter-finals, Brive will have home venue advantage
If Gloucester Rugby (ranked No 6) and Newcastle Falcons (ranked No 2) win their quarter-finals, Gloucester will have home venue advantage
If Gloucester Rugby (ranked No 6) and Brive (ranked No 7) win their quarter-finals, Gloucester will have home venue advantage