Leinster secured top seeding for the Champions Cup knock-out stages after a comfortable victory over Benetton, while Northampton kept alive their hopes of qualification.
Champions Cup results
- Benetton 0-18 Leinster
- Lyon 24-36 Northampton
- Harlequins 19-26 Clermont Auvergne
- Ulster 22-15 Bath
- Exeter 33-14 La Rochelle
- Sale 7-45 Glasgow
Leinster seal top seeding
Leinster clinched top-seed status and a home Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final as they made it a record-breaking 16 wins in a row in all competitions this season with an 18-0 victory at Benetton.
It passes the previous record of 15 wins set by Leinster in 2001-02 for successive victories by a European club.
Leo Cullen's men had to battle hard against Benetton, with Caelan Doris and James Tracy tries in the second half helping them overcome the Italian side.
Leinster advance through the Champions Cup pool stages with a record fifth European crown very much in their sights.
Benetton - with just one win from Pool One - made life tricky for Leinster and began brightly at a dark and damp Stadio Monigo, but they failed to make their early pressure count.
A number of early penalties, all of which the hosts elected to kick for touch, kept Leinster on the back foot, with number eight Doris sent to the sin bin for taking a man out in the air at the lineout.
Despite multiple half chances, Benetton could not capitalise on the man advantage as the game looked set to be scoreless at the interval. But Leinster were able to assert some control, with Ross Byrne kicking a penalty in front of the posts five minutes before the break.
Benetton lost Irne Herbst almost immediately after the restart for a deliberate knock on and that seemed to shift the Irish province into gear as they turned the screw in the final quarter. The pressure soon paid off as the impressive Doris - buoyed by his recent call-up to the Irish squad for the Six Nations - collected Luke McGrath's smart, flicked pass and forced his way over for the game's first try.
Six minutes later Leinster added to their score with a well-worked rolling maul from the lineout, as replacement front-rower Tracy crossed in the corner. Byrne kicked the conversion and that was as good as it got for the visitors, who did enough throughout to keep Benetton at bay.
Saints still alive
Northampton kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages with a dramatic 36-24 win over Lyon at the Matmut Stadium.
The men from Franklin's Gardens crossed for tries from Mikey Haywood, Teimana Harrison, Cobus Reinach, George Furbank and James Fish while the French side turned in their best performance of the pool stages, with scores from Felix Lambey, Liam Gill and Charlie Ngatai.
Lyon prop Francisco Gomez Kodela was shown a yellow card in the 19th minute for a lineout infringement. Northampton kicked to the corner and powered the resulting lineout over the line for the opening try, with Haywood the beneficiary, but Dan Biggar's conversion attempt was off target.
Pierre Mignoni's side responded with their first try in the 25th minute. Scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne found a gap in the Saints defence and passed inside to Lambey, who scored unopposed at the posts, with Jonathan Wisniewski adding the conversion.
The hosts scored their second try in the 34th minute. Australian back-rower Gill took a quick tap penalty and drove over the line after a period of pressure inside the Saints' 22. Wisniewski was on target with his conversion to extend the lead to nine points.
In the second half, Northampton secured the lineout ball after kicking a penalty to the corner, and from the next phase Harrison showed real strength to power over the line for a try in the 46th minute.
Northampton went ahead in the 65th minute after Reinach outpaced Noa Nakaitaci to collect Biggar's kick upfield and run in at the posts.
Their lead was short-lived, however, as centre Ngatai evaded a couple of tackles to score, with Wisniewski kicking the conversion to restore Lyon's two-point lead.
Boyd's side went ahead again in the 72nd minute after full-back Furbank sprinted through a gap and rounded opposite number Toby Arnold to score.
Saints put the result beyond doubt when replacement hooker Fish crashed over from short range for the Premiership outfit's fifth score of the afternoon.
Parra kicks out Quins
Morgan Parra kicked 16 points as Harlequins suffered a 26-19 defeat at the hands of Clermont at the Stoop.
The scrum-half led his side from the off to help Clermont rubber-stamp their place at the summit of Pool Three with the victory.
A flying start saw Clermont take the lead inside three minutes when a perfectly weighted crossfield kick found Peter Betham and he touched down in the corner.
Parra added the extras with a pinpoint conversion, but parity was restored moments later when a powerful break saw centre Luke Northmore go over.
After some last-ditch tackling held Nick Abendanon up on the line, Quins were breached once more as the half-hour mark approached.
Again, the danger came out wide and a well worked move left Apisai Naqalevu free to score Clermont's second try before Parra made it 17-7.
Another setback triggered another Quins response and a well-worked driving maul saw Alex Dombrandt score to reduce the arrears to five points.
A sloppy start to the second period resulted in Quins coughing up a number of penalties and Parra duly added nine more points to his tally from the kicking tee.
Now boasting a 26-12 lead and with genuine breathing space to their name for the first time in the game, Clermont took their foot off the gas somewhat.
Doing so allowed Quins to hit back, closing the deficit to seven thanks to a superb solo effort from Brett Heron as he chased his own chip and scored in the corner before kicking the conversion.
Ulster see off Bath
Ulster secured the home win they needed against Bath to qualify for the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals for a second consecutive season.
It was all level at half-time, before Ulster turned the screw in the second period to seal a 22-15 victory.
It took only six minutes for Ulster to break the deadlock when, from an attacking five metre line-out, the forwards set up a driving maul.
The ball was dropped as it edged close to the line and Springbok number eight Marcell Coetzee picked up and powered over from close range with scrum half John Cooney adding the conversion.
Bath scored a try in the 18th minute thanks to Ruaridh McConnochie.
Following a sustained period of pressure in the Ulster 22 Freddie Burns put in a cross field kick, Jacob Stockdale misjudged the bounce allowing the winger to pick up and dive over the line with Burns landing the conversion from a tight angle.
Ulster got their second try a minute after the restart, Billy Burns offloaded out of a tackle to Will Addison who wrong-footed Gabe Hamer-Webb and drew the last defender before releasing winger Robert Baloucoune to dart over in the corner. Cooney added the extras.
Addison got Ulster's third try in the 47th minute as Jacob Stockdale put the full-back into space to dot down. Cooney failed with the conversion.
Bath set up a tense finish by scoring a second try with 15 minutes remaining. From a well worked five metre line-out replacement hooker Ross Batty was propelled over the line. Freddie Burns missed the conversion.
Lock Kieran Treadwell had a try disallowed for Ulster by the TMO in the 68th minute for a forward pass in the build up.
Batty was red-carded with eight minutes remaining for a no arms tackle on Cooney, Billy Burns slotted over the resulting penalty.
Exeter book home quarter-final
By Press Association
Exeter booked a home quarter-final in the Heineken Champions Cup by beating La Rochelle 33-14 at Sandy Park.
And it could mean a last-eight clash against holders Saracens later this season, depending on results in Sunday's final pool stage flurries.
The Chiefs were not at their best early on, but they ultimately cruised to a bonus-point victory and secured a first European quarter-final appearance since 2016.
Number eight Sam Simmonds led the way with two tries, while hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, flanker Dave Ewers and substitute scrum-half Stu Townsend also touched down, with Simmonds' brother Joe kicking four conversions.
La Rochelle claimed an early touchdown by wing Kini Murimurivalu, which Ihaia West converted, while they were also awarded a penalty try.
But Exeter were unstoppable in the second half, scoring 19 unanswered points to march into the last eight.
England prop Harry Williams returned after a two-week suspension for Exeter, while Dave Dennis and Jonny Hill also featured up front and scrum-half Jack Maunder replaced an injured Nic White.
La Rochelle, beaten at home by Exeter in November, suffered an early blow when their captain Romain Sazy went off injured and was replaced by Thomas Levault.
It was a disruptive opening to the game, and both sides struggled to settle as knock-ons and poor passing hampered progress, with much of the action revolving around halfway.
But Exeter struck from their first attack, punishing La Rochelle after a trademark close-range lineout drive, with Cowan-Dickie touching down and Simmonds converting for a seven-point lead.
La Rochelle were only behind for four minutes, though, responding impressively by attacking from a scrum and sending the powerful Murimurivalu over as he brushed aside three Exeter defenders.
West's conversion levelled the scores, yet Exeter hit back as more impressive work by their pack ended with Ewers scoring and Simmonds converting.
But La Rochelle were undaunted by the task in front of them, and they drew level again in the 24th minute after new Scotland captain Stuart Hogg was sin-binned.
Irish referee Frank Murphy brandished a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on by Hogg that blocked centre Geoffrey Doumayrou's pass to full-back Vincent Rattez.
And Murphy also decided that Hogg's illegal intervention had stopped a La Rochelle score, and he awarded the French side a penalty try.
The game remained a relatively even contest in terms of territory, yet Exeter were denied a third try on the stroke of half-time, with Joe Simmonds seeing his effort disallowed following obstruction by his team-mate Ian Whitten on West.
Exeter regained the lead after 47 minutes when Sam Simmonds proved unstoppable from just five metres out, and his brother's successful conversion made it 21-14.
The Chiefs now had momentum, and La Rochelle could not escape from their own 22 as Exeter cranked up the pressure through their forwards.
And the bonus-point try arrived when Exeter shunted the La Rochelle pack backwards in a scrum, and Sam Simmonds claimed his second touchdown.
La Rochelle were struggling to find answers, and they fell further behind in the 62nd minute as Exeter stunned them through a flowing 70-metre move.
Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds set the ball rolling before replacement centre Ollie Devoto made the telling contribution with a scything break, and Townsend took his scoring pass to finish things off.
Joe Simmonds converted, putting Exeter 19 points clear and making their early-game struggles a distant memory.
Glasgow keep hopes alive
By Press Association
Leone Nakarawa scored and was sin-binned on his Glasgow return as the Warriors kept their Champions Cup hopes alive following a dominant 45-7 triumph over Sale at the AJ Bell Stadium.
The Warriors dominated the opening period and deservedly went into the break 21-0 in front thanks to Nakarawa, Fraser Brown and DTH van der Merwe tries.
Sam Johnson then crossed the whitewash to seal the bonus-point before Jake Cooper-Woolley went over for Sale.
Glasgow were always in control, however, and added another two tries through Jonny Gray and George Turner to secure a comfortable win which saw Adam Hastings kick six conversions and a penalty.
The success moves them into the final best-placed runners-up spot but Dave Rennie's men will need for both Saracens and Gloucester not to win on Sunday if they are to reach the quarter-finals.
Having seen the Sharks field a weakened team, the Scotsmen started on the front foot and put their inexperienced opponents under duress.
They consistently got quick ball and it was not long until the Warriors had scored their first try when Van der Merwe broke down the left. Although the wing was hauled down, Nakarawa was on hand to score and provide the visitors with the lead.
Half-backs Ali Price and Hastings were dictating proceedings superbly and Sale were unable to cope. That pressure soon resulted in a yellow card as Jono Ross was sin-binned for leading with the forearm before it soon became a 14-point buffer.
Glasgow set up a maul, charged towards the line and the hosts failed to prevent Brown from crossing the whitewash.
The Sharks attempted to get back into the encounter, taking advantage of some Warriors ill-discipline to move into the away side's 22, but the Scotsmen were stout in defence.
Rennie's charges forced the English outfit into errors while the PRO14 team were clinical in attack and good hands allowed Van der Merwe to charge over the line.
Although Nakarawa was sin-binned for a series of team indiscretions, Sale were not able to capitalise and instead the visitors added to their score with the bonus-point try early in the second half. Price benefited from some further slack defence by the hosts to take a quick tap penalty and Johnson eventually touched down.
The game was over at that point but the home side responded with a well-worked effort. It started with Denny Solomona's break down the right touchline and, despite being taken down short of the whitewash, Cooper-Woolley rewarded the wing's good work by going over. Tom Curtis added the extras.
There was still a huge gulf in quality in the respective teams, however, and after Hastings had extended Glasgow's lead with a three-pointer, Gray and Turner touched down - the second a superb individual effort - to rubber-stamp a much-needed victory.
