The European Rugby Champions Cup Round of 16 in early April 2025 delivered some of the most exciting moments of the European rugby season. Munster Rugby pulled off a narrow 25-24 win against La Rochelle, clinched by a dramatic late drop goal from Jack Crowley. Leinster, meanwhile, dominated Harlequins 62-0 in a statement performance at Croke Park, while Ulster bowed out after a hard-fought defeat to Bordeaux.

To understand how these key matches shaped media coverage in Ireland, we analysed data from the Trisolute News Dashboard, focusing specifically on the mobile News Boxes in Ireland. For this, we examined the period from April 4 to April 9, 2025. We identified the most-ranked keywords related to teams and fixtures and then analysed the visibility trends of the top Irish publishers.

Let’s take a closer look at which publishers led the conversation around the Champions Cup’s Round of 16 before the tournament heads into its decisive semifinal and final rounds!

The most prominent keywords on teams and fixtures

A look at the top keywords related to the Champions Cup shows a clear focus on Irish teams and the major matchups of the knockout stage. “munster” led the list by a wide margin with 21,354 rankings, followed by the broader tournament term “champions cup” with 10,885 rankings. Specific encounters generated strong visibility as well, particularly “munster v la rochelle” (5,556 rankings) and “leinster v harlequins” (3,344 rankings), showing how highly anticipated these matches were.

Munster’s prominence is reflected not only in the standalone keyword but also through variations like “la rochelle munster” (2,539 rankings) and “munster la rochelle” (2,010 rankings), suggesting ongoing media interest before, during, and after their match. Leinster also commanded significant attention with “leinster” (5,300 rankings) and “leinster harlequins” (1,152 rankings).

Ulster’s involvement in the round of 16 was visible through “ulster v bordeaux” (1,933 rankings) and “bordeaux ulster” (273 rankings), although the total volume was somewhat lower compared to Munster and Leinster. Other keywords like “glasgow” (530 rankings) and broader terms such as “champions cup fixtures” (375 rankings) hint at continued audience interest in the overall tournament schedule and upcoming games.

Altogether, the team- and fixture-related keywords generated more than 59,088 rankings during the examined period, underlining that attention was strongly tied to the key matches and tournament progression itself.

Let’s now have a look at the most visible publishers in Irish mobile News Boxes based on those keywords.

Most visible publishers on the Champions Cup

Most visible publishers in Irish mobile News Boxes on the Championship Cup

This analysis focuses on news publishers, which is why platforms like Twitter (1st place), YouTube (3rd place), and Facebook (10th place) were excluded. However, the official Munster Rugby website was included, as it publishes regular editorial content such as match reports and team updates and therefore functions similarly to a news publisher in this context. Let’s now take a closer look at the most visible Irish publishers during the Champions Cup knockout stage.

1. Irish Independent
   The Irish Independent emerged as the most visible news publisher in Irish mobile News Boxes during the Champions Cup coverage, securing 7.72% of the total visibility. Its performance was characterised by consistently high visibility, which peaked on 8 April at 10.8%. In total, the publisher generated 3,298 rankings, with “munster” standing out as the most-ranked keyword (903 rankings, accounting for 4% of all rankings for that term). The outlet’s most visible article, “Champions Cup round of 16: Munster power into the lead against La Rochelle“, highlighted Munster’s strong performance against French team La Rochelle.
2. Munster Rugby
   The official Munster Rugby website also played a major role in the coverage, achieving 6.54% of total visibility. After a dip on 6 April, its visibility soared, reaching 20.01%—the single highest daily visibility among all analysed publishers—on 9 April. Unsurprisingly, Munster Rugby’s content was heavily centred on its own team, with “munster” accounting for more than 80% of its 4,720 total rankings. Its most visible article was “Team News | Munster Side To Face La Rochelle“
3. Irish Examiner
   The Irish Examiner closely followed, with 6.23% of total visibility. Showing a steady course with a slight rise around 6 April, the Examiner generated 2,803 rankings overall. Nearly half of these were tied to the keyword “munster” (1,040 rankings), reflecting a strong editorial focus on the team’s performance. Their top article, “Bordeaux dazzle against Ulster to set up Carbery reunion for Munster“, linked the Irish narrative to upcoming tournament dynamics.
4. Irish Times
   The Irish Times reached 5.70% of total visibility, maintaining a consistent presence with a minor peak on 6 April. Out of 2,595 rankings in total, “munster” again dominated, though the Irish Times’ standout article, “Leinster 62 Harlequins 0 (FT): Cullen’s men put visitors to the sword in Champions Cup last 16“, shifted attention briefly onto Leinster’s emphatic win—showcasing how performance across different Irish teams drove coverage.
5. RTE
   Similarly to the Irish Times, RTE captured 5.67% of total visibility, with a sharp surge on 5 and 6 April that then remained stable. The publisher reached 2,497 rankings, heavily leaning on “munster” (730 rankings) as its top keyword. RTE’s most visible article, “Champions Cup recap: La Rochelle 24-25 Munster“, reflected the dramatic conclusion of Munster’s clash against La Rochelle.
6. The 42
   The 42 achieved 5.61% of total visibility, peaking on 6 April before dipping slightly and rising again towards 9 April. Out of 2,373 total rankings, “munster” once more dominated, emphasizing the team’s gravitational pull on Irish sports media. Their top article, “Munster down ROG’s La Rochelle on another unforgettable day“, captured the emotional resonance of the team’s victory particularly well.
7. BBC
   Finally, BBC (bbc.com) stood out as the only non-Irish site among the top performers, reaching 4.29% of total visibility. Unlike the Irish outlets, BBC’s visibility was stronger at the beginning of the observed period (4–6 April) before gradually declining. Interestingly, “champions cup” was its most ranked keyword (549 rankings), not “munster”—highlighting a broader, tournament-level reporting focus. Their most visible article, “Leinster 62-0 Harlequins: Four-time champions thrash Quins to reach last eight“, reflected the international significance of Leinster’s crushing win.

Key insights for publishers from the Champions Cup Round of 16

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