Heineken Champions Cup pool draw: Holders La Rochelle to play four-time winners Leinster in rematch of last year's final
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Updated 06/07/2023 at 09:46 GMT+1
The draw for the pool stage of the Heineken Champions Cup has been made, with a revised format for the 2023/24 campaign. Holders La Rochelle and four-time winners Leinster will meet in a mouth-watering rematch of their epic final from last season. The two sides will also face Premiership duo Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks, while three-time winners Saracens were handed a favourable draw.
Gregory Alldritt, left, and Romain Sazy of La Rochelle lift the trophy after during the Heineken Champions Cup Final match between Leinster and La Rochelle at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Image credit: Getty Images
Premiership duo Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks face an uphill battle to reach the knockout stage of the Champions Cup after being drawn alongside reigning champions La Rochelle and last season's beaten finalists Leinster in this season's pool draw.
In a departure from last season's set up, 24 teams from England, France, Ireland, Wales and South Africa have been placed into four pools, each containing six club sides.
The four highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the Round of 16 and the clubs ranked number five in each of the pools will qualify for the knockout stage of the EPCR Challenge Cup.
South African giants DHL Stormers and Stade Francais complete Pool 4.
Elsewhere, newly-crowned Premiership champions Saracens have been handed a favourable draw as they look to win the competition for the first since 2019.
Three-time winners Saracens are the top ranked side in Pool 1, with Bordeaux-Begles, Connacht, Lyon and Premiership rivals Bristol Bears completing the six-team line up.
Harlequins join Bath in Pool 2, with the West Country giants making their return to Heineken Cup rugby after a season away.
Record winners Toulouse join Quins and Bath in Pool 2 alongside French three-time runners-up Racing, Ulster and Cardiff.
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Three-time Heineken Cup winners Toulon return to the top table of European rugby as EPCR Challenge Cup champions
Image credit: Getty Images
Pool 3 sees Challenge Cup winners Toulon return to the top table of European rugby.
Three-time winners of the Heineken Champions Cup between 2012 and 2015, Toulon will face Munster, Glasgow Warriors, Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints - with Top 14 rivals Bayonne completing the group.
New tournament rules means no two teams from the same country can play each other, with sides scheduled to face four different opponents home or away.
Both the Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup will be played over eight weekends with four pool stage rounds and four knockout stage rounds culminating in the London 2024 finals, which will be staged at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next May.
The draw for the pool stage of European club rugby's second-tier competition took place before the Heineken Champions Cup.
Newcastle Falcons will play Ospreys, Perpignan, Emirates Lions, Benetton and last season's Heineken Cup quarter-finalists Montpellier after being placed in Pool 2.
The other English representation is in Pool 3, where Gloucester were drawn against Top 14 duo Clermont and Castres, alongside Edinburgh, Scarlets and one other yet-to-be-decided club.
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