ACC, qf preview: Stade Francais' last chance to rescue another under-achieving season

French clubs fill five of the eight quarter-final berths in the Amlin Challenge Cup, but realistically only two of those harbour serious ambitions to lift the trophy - Stade Francais and Clermont Auvergne.

For Stade Francais winning this competition now offers their only route into next season's Heineken Cup after yet another disappointing league campaign in Top 14.

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The capital under-achievers have no hope of reaching the Top 14 play-offs and thus must treat Friday's home game with Montpellier as their most important game of this season to date.

Home advantage undoubtedly boosts their chances - as does the fact Montpellier have opted to rest their major players in this competition - but their Mediterranean visitors have consistently played at a higher level than Stade this season, and have their recent 29-23 victory in the league (two weeks ago) to reflect on.

Montpellier are not yet guaranteed a top six finish in Top 14, but that is where their true focus remains - on making the league play-offs and securing Heineken Cup qualification at the same time.

That should all help Stade's cause, but it is impossible to predict how the Parisians will go as their season has again been littered with inconsistency. Will it be the Stade side which thrashed Stade Toulousain 31-3 in January, or the one which has lost four of its last five league games, including a 38-10 rout in Toulon at the weekend?

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One can only believe that the incentive of Heineken Cup rugby will drive them on to lift their game, and set up a possible semi-final against Clermont Auvergne, who travel to take on Top 14 strugglers La Rochelle on Thursday night.

Clermont, like Montpellier, are not yet sure of their Top 14 play-off status, but the Michelin-backed club have twice before lifted this trophy (in 1999 and 2007) and have the resources to compete on two fronts - unlike Montpellier.

Having failed to make it through in the Heineken Cup they are one of three sides which dropped down to the ACC for the quarter-final stages - along with Munster and London Wasps. The defending French champions would love to add more silverware to their cabinet and the ACC represents just such a chance.

Taking on the side which has lost six of its last seven games and is currently placed 13th in Top 14 should provide no problems in theory, but Clermont will be wary of La Rochelle for three reasons: (1) 'The Maritimers' might see this as their last shot at glory before descending back down to ProD2; (2) they beat Clermont on this very ground 22-14 back in November, and (3) Clermont have lost their last nine away games in Top 14.

That last statistic is truly astounding for the defending champions of France, and Vern Cotter's team obviously need to address that if they're to win either this competition or Top 14 this season. But I would still back them to emerge victorious on Thursday, paving the way for their possible semi-final showdown with Stade Francais.

The fifth of the French teams in action is Brive, who are at home to the mighty Irish side Munster - two times winners of the Heineken Cup.

Brive should be flying with confidence after back-to-back home wins against Bourgoin and La Rochelle have all but secured their Top 14 survival. It has been a tough and testing season for the Limousin club, so this game can be viewed as something of an added bonus. That could make them dangerous opposition for Munster, who will have to make do without injured captain Paul O'Connell.

I would still expect the Irish side to triumph, however, given their huge talent pool and vast European experience.

The remaining quarter-final is an all-English affair pitting Harlequins at home to London Wasps, thus guaranteeing the Aviva Premiership at least one representative in the ACC semi-finals.