Leinster are sick of the sight of La Rochelle - but will be cheering on Ronan O'Gara and his team on Saturday night following the announcement of the latest Champions Cup revamp.
Leo Cullen's Blues are licking their wounds for the third summer running after losing to La Rochelle in Europe in the 2021 semi-final, the 2022 final and again in the decider last month.
The new format will see four pools of six teams introduced - with eight clubs competing from each of the URC, Premiership and Top 14 - with the final taking place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25 next year.
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So if France's newest sensations can pull off a first ever Top 14 title win by beating big rivals Toulouse in the Grand Final on Saturday, Leinster will share billing with O'Gara's club, Munster and Saracens as one of four top seeds in next season's Champions Cup.
If not then Toulouse will join La Rochelle, Munster and Saracens in tier 1, with each club drawn into a separate pool from the outset, and with Leinster joining the other 19 clubs involved in tier 2 - and in an open draw to determine how the pools are filled.
Once again, none of the Irish qualifiers – Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht – can be drawn in the same pool.
There will also be no matches between clubs from the same league - so 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.
The four highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the last 16. The clubs ranked fifth in each pool will qualify for the Challenge Cup knockout stage.
The pool draws will be made at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday, June 21.
2023/24 Competing teams
URC: Munster, Stormers, Leinster, Ulster, Glasgow Warriors, Bulls, Connacht, Cardiff Rugby Top 14: La Rochelle, Toulouse, Racing 92, Bordeaux-Bègles, Lyon, Stade Francais, Toulon, Bayonne Premiership: Saracens, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints, Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Bath, Bristol Bears.
Fixtures
Round 1 – 8/9/10 December 2023 Round 2 – 15/16/17 December 2023 Round 3 – 12/13/14 January 2024 Round 4 – 19/20/21 January 2024 Round of 16 – 5/6/7 April 2024 Quarter-finals – 12/13/14 April 2024 Semi-finals – 3/4/5 May 2024 EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 24 May 2024, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Champions Cup final – Saturday 25 May 2024, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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