The draw for the semi-finals of the 2006 / 2007 Heineken Cup will be made in London on Tuesday, 23 January, 2007.

The six Pool winners and the two best runners-up will be being ranked 1-8. The quarter-final line-up will be 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6, 4 v 5.

The format of the two best runners-up qualifying for the quarter-finals as the No 7 and No 8 ranked teams has been in operation since the 1999 / 2000 season – with bonus points coming into the equation in season 2003 / 2004.

Since then, no team has qualified as a best runner up with less than 19 points although in 2003 / 2004 Celtic Warriors discovered that even 20 points was not sufficient to make the knock-out stages.

The teams (with current names) to qualify as best runners-up have been:


 Season Team Wins  Bonus Pts  Pts 
 99/00 London Wasps  5  –  10 
  ASM Clermont Auvergne 4  –  8 
 00/01 Swansea 4  –  8 
  Pau  4  –  8 
 01/02 Munster  5  –  10 
  Llanelli Scarlets  4  –  8 
 02/03 Munster  4  –  8 
  Biarritz Olympique  4  –  8 
 03/04 Gloucester Rugby  5  4 (T 4)  24 
  Edinburgh  5  2 (T 2)  22 
 04/05 Northampton Saints  5  1 (T 1)  21 
  Leicester Tigers  4  3 (T 2; L 1)  19 
 05/06 Sale Sharks  5  3 (T 3)  23 
  Leinster  4  6 (T 4; L 2)  22