As European rugby returns this weekend it is direction France for five Guinness PRO14 teams, with a further three hosting sides from the Top 14. Munster and Ulster are in Heineken Champions Cup action, the former in must-win territory away to Racing 92, while the latter can seal a quarter-final spot with victory in Clermont. And in the Challenge Cup, the Dragons can take a giant step towards the quarter-finals in Castres, with Edinburgh also hoping to overhaul French leaders Bordeaux-Bègles and Zebre away to Top 14 strugglers Stade Français. With that in mind, we have picked out five notable victories for Guinness PRO14 teams in France over the past five seasons (well six so we could squeeze in one of the more remarkable ones). 2018⁄19 – Toulon 17-28 Edinburgh Let’s start with the most recent edition of the competition and Edinburgh’s momentous success in Toulon last season. While it was largely a down year for the French giants, it is worth remembering that they had only previously lost one home game in Europe’s top competition. In Round 5 Edinburgh travelled to the Stade Félix Mayol in control of their group, but knowing a win would be needed to keep themselves in the hunt for a home quarter-final. Toulon enjoyed the better of the first half, leading 12-8 with tries from Guilhem Guirado and Facundo Isa. Darcy Graham’s score kept Edinburgh in touch, and in the second half they cut loose with 20 unanswered points. We still can't quite believe this Viliame Mata offload...😲 Superhuman levels of dexterity from @EdinburghRugby's talisman and how about that take from @Jimmy_J90 ⁉️ A little drop of #Heineken #ChampionsCup magic ✨ pic.twitter.com/SGr9mr6cxD — Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) June 7, 2019 Blair Kinghorn put them in front with a second try before Bill Mata produced a stunning offload – even for him – to send James Johnstone over for try number three. While Julian Savea struck late for the hosts, Edinburgh ran out 28-17 victors. 2017⁄18 – Montpellier 14-23 Leinster At first glance this might not seem like the most impressive Leinster victory in France, there have been a fair few after all. But in 2017⁄18 Montpellier were an exceptional team at home, going unbeaten there in the Top 14. In Europe they were narrowly beaten by Exeter Chiefs, but still a tough nut to crack in Round 6 when Leinster travelled to the Altrad Stadium in search of a win that would seal the number one seed. Montpellier still had an outside chance of a quarter-final spot and led 14-8 at the break thanks to tries from Bismarck du Plessis and Yacouba Camara, both from attacking lineouts. Ross Byrne had crossed for a try in the first half, and in the second, Leinster flew out of the blocks with 15 unanswered points. First Robbie Henshaw got over before a Byrne penalty put Leinster back in front. And just to show they could also score through their maul, Sean Cronin grabbed a third to seal the win. That top seed proved invaluable as Leinster saw off Saracens and the Scarlets in the quarters and semis before edging out Racing 92 in the final in Bilbao. 2016⁄17 – Racing Métro 14-23 Glasgow Warriors The same scoreline as the game above but a very different encounter as Glasgow Warriors turned over a star-studded Racing 92 team. That side included Leone Nakarawa – now back at the Warriors, as well as Dan Carter, and was crucial in the Warriors reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. Juan Imhoff had given Racing an early lead, converted by Dan Carter, before Finn Russell – who has since replaced Carter at the French side – hit back with a pair of penalties. Russell then put Alex Dunbar over for the first Glasgow try, giving them a 13-7 half-time lead.
