Harlequins gave themselves the chance of landing a home quarter-final by clinching a bonus-point 29-24 win over the Scarlets. Dean Richards's men ran in four tries - from Chris Robshaw, George Robson, James Percival and Tom Williams - in a dominant performance at The Stoop. The Scarlets caused Quins a brief scare with quick-fire tries in the second-half from the Wales internationals Morgan Stoddart and Matthew Rees.
And Gavin Evans earned the Scarlets a losing bonus point with a last-minute try under the posts. But Quins had already secured themselves maximum points and will now wait anxiously in the hope of being confirmed as one of the top four seeds for the knockout stages. Despite defeat in stormy Ulster last weekend, Quins were already confirmed as Pool Four winners by virtue of the Scarlets victory over Stade Francais. But they needed a bonus-point victory to maximise their chances of a home quarter final tie at The Stoop.
Ulster failed in their attempt to claim a first win on French soil, narrowly going down to Stade Francais 24-19 in a dead rubber at the Stade Jean-Bouin. With both teams' chances of qualifying for the tournament's quarter-finals from Pool Four already extinguished, only a second-placed finish in the group and a smidgen of pride was at stake. But Ulster, victorious against Harlequins last weekend, had been challenged by head coach Matt Williams to make another statement of intent ahead of next season's competition and they dominated the first half, going into the break 8-6 up thanks to Paul Steinmetz's try and Niall O'Connor's penalty.
But Stade woke up in the second half with Juan Manuel Leguizamon touching down and Lionel Beauxis kicking his third and fourth penalties to give the Parisian aristocrats the lead. Clinton Schifcofske landed his second penalty eight minutes from time to draw Ulster to within three points but Mark Gasnier's breakaway try clinched Stade the win, despite Nigel Brady's last-second consolation score. On Friday, the Cardiff Blues guaranteed their position as the No 1 seeds going into the quarter-finals and finished with a 100 per cent pool record for the first time with a 62-20 win over Calvisano.
But while their record-breaking nine-try victory was predictable, they were made to work by the enthusiastic Italian side. Meanwhile, Gloucester slumped to a 24-10 defeat at Biarritz which ended their slim hopes of reaching the last eight in Europe. The Cherry and Whites - who felt hard done by after Damien Traille's first-half trip on Iain Balshaw saw official Nigel Owens only banish a yellow card - needed maximum points in the south of France to stay in the competition.
* PA Sport
