Leinster will play their Heineken Cup quarter final against Biarritz at Lansdowne Road, it was announced this afternoon.
After a week of meetings between coach Matt Williams, Leinster officials and the ERC, the decision was made to switch the clash from their Donnybrook home to IRFU headquarters with the huge demand for tickets, along with the financial rewards of the vastly increased capacity, ultimately making the decision for the branch.
Williams, who was originally in favour of keeping the tie at the 7,000-capacity Donnybrook, will now be hoping the match - on April 12th at 3.35 p.m. - can attract the 30,000 plus spectators needed to generate the kind of atmosphere Leinster have become accustomed to on Heineken Cup nights.
"The reason we all decided to play in Lansdowne Road is our belief we can get the biggest provincial attendance in the history of Irish rugby," explained Williams. "The team have done their job to date, we are happy that our backroom team can now achieve the goal of a huge Leinster support."
"We salute the fans who support us in Donnybrook - the vast majority with no chance of a stand ticket, they are on the wet and windy terraces giving us their fantastic backing. We are now in a position to accommodate all our loyal fans and also to, at last, give many more fans the opportunity to see and support Leinster, the number one ranked team in the Heineken Cup after the pool stages."
Leinster could now be crowned European champions without leaving Lansdowne Road as they were drawn for a 'home' semi-final against Llanelli or Perpignan if they overcome the challenge of the French champions.
Teams' actual home grounds are ruled out for semi-final games, but venues must be 20,000-plus, with Lansdowne Road the obvious choice.
The ground had already been chosen to stage the Heineken Cup final in late May.
Meanwhile, Williams has made just three changes from the side that condemned Bristol to a European exit for tomorrow nights inter-pro clash with Ulster in Belfast.
Emmett Byrne's place in the front row will be filled by St Mary's prop Peter Coyle while Peter McKenna and Nathan Spooner start on the wing and at out-half respectively.
Leinster: G D'Arcy, D Hickie, B O'Driscoll, S Horgan, P McKenna, N Spooner, B O'Meara; R Corrigan, S Byrne, P Coyle, A McCullen, M O'Kelly, E Miller, K Gleeson, V Costello. Replacements: AN Other, G Hickie, A Kearney, B Gissing, B Willis, M Leek, D Quinlan
Ulster: B Cunningham, J Topping, S Stewart, A Larkin, R Constable; D Humphreys, N Doak, R Kempson, M Sexton, S Best, G Longwell, J Davidson, A Ward (cap), N McMillan, T McWhirter. Replacements: J Fitzpatrick, P Shields, M Blair, R Nelson, K Campbell, S Coulter, S Young