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Bristol Post

Sport

John Evely

Key dates, format and clubs confirmed for 2023/24 Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup

Champions Cup Heineken Champions Cup Challenge Cup Rugby Bristol Bears Leinster Rugby Munster Rugby Premiership (Organization) the Champions Cup Bath Rugby

European rugby organisers EPCR have confirmed the widespread rumours next season's Heineken Champions Cup format will revert back to more traditional-looking pool stages.

From the West Country Bristol Bears, Exeter Chiefs and Bath Rugby have qualified for the Champions Cup with Gloucester just one of two Premiership sides competing in the Challenge Cup. Bristol were given a late promotion into the top tier competition after London Irish were suspended by the RFU last week after failing to show they had funds to finance the 2023/24 season with a takeover deal not materialising in time.

Here are the key facts:

24 clubs in the Champions Cup will be in four pools of six, and 18 clubs in the EPCR Challenge Cup will be in three pools of six
The leading eight clubs from each of the three leagues will compete in the Champions Cup
Two invited clubs will compete in the EPCR Challenge Cup
Each club will play against four different opponents home or away in the pool stages

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.

Heineken Champions Cup

The Champions Cup will be competed for by 24 elite clubs with eight representatives from the TOP 14, eight from the Gallagher Premiership and eight from the BKT United Rugby Championship (URC).

2023/24 CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIERS

TOP 14 – Stade Rochelais, Stade Toulousain, Racing 92, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Lyon, Stade Français Paris, RC Toulon, Aviron Bayonnais
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP – Saracens, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints, Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Bath Rugby, Bristol Bears
BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP - Munster Rugby, DHL Stormers, Leinster Rugby, Ulster Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Vodacom Bulls, Connacht Rugby, Cardiff Rugby

The clubs will be divided into four pools of six by means of a draw with Champions Cup winners, Stade Rochelais, League winners, Saracens and Munster Rugby, as well as the winners of Saturday’s TOP 14 final between Stade Rochelais and Stade Toulousain, making up Tier 1 with each club drawn into a separate pool at the outset.

If Stade Rochelais happen to win the TOP 14 title, then the Champions Cup final runners-up, Leinster Rugby, will be included in Tier 1.

The remaining 20 clubs make up Tier 2 and will be either drawn or allocated into the four pools by means of an ‘open’ draw with the following in-built key principles:

• There can only be a maximum of two clubs from the same league in each pool.

• Clubs from the same URC Shield cannot be in the same pool. Therefore, the Irish qualifiers – Munster Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Ulster Rugby and Connacht Rugby – will each be in a different pool, and similarly, the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls from South Africa will be kept apart during the draw.

• There will be no matches between clubs from the same league, so for the purposes of creating the fixtures, each club will play four matches against four different clubs who are not from the same league either home or away during the pool stage.

At the conclusion of the pool stage, 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.

Challenge Cup

The EPCR Challenge Cup will be competed for by 18 clubs with eight representatives from the URC, six from the TOP 14, two from the Premiership, plus two invited clubs which will be announced shortly.

2023/24 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS

BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP - Cell C Sharks, Emirates Lions, Benetton Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby, Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons RFC, Zebre Parma

TOP 14 - Castres Olympique, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Montpellier Herault Rugby, Section Paloise, USAP, Oyonnax Rugby

GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP - Gloucester Rugby, Newcastle Falcons

INVITED – Two clubs to be confirmed

The clubs will be drawn or allocated into three pools of six with two TOP 14 clubs in each pool. Clubs from the same URC Shield and from the Premiership, as well as the two invitees, will be kept apart during the draw.

Clubs will play four different opponents home or away with same-league matches being kept to a minimum, and only impacting clubs from the URC. The four highest-ranked clubs from each of the pools will qualify for the knockout stage.

When will the pool draws take place?

The pool draws for the 2023/24 tournaments will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday 21 June and will be broadcast live on EPCRugby.TV. Further details and timings will be communicated shortly.