The draw will be staged in Lausanne, Switzerland where the tournament’s governing body, the EPCR’s headquarters are.

It will be streamed live on HeinekenChampionsCup.com and will include the winners of the three domestic leagues involved in the competition – Top 14 and Champions Cup holders Stade Toulousain, Gallagher Premiership winners Harlequins and Pro14 winners Leinster.

The draw will consist of eight teams from the three leagues mentioned above, as it did last season.

The teams who have qualified from the three leagues will be listed from one to eight for the draw, with number one being the champions.

The clubs will first be placed into four tiers based on their rankings, before being drawn into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B.

Clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool.

Tier 1 will have numbers one and two on the qualifiers in it with Tier 2 having numbers three and four.

Tier 3 will have numbers five and six while Tier 4 will have numbers seven and eight.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 4 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away during the pool stage.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 sides that are in the same pool but not from the same domestic league will do the same.

For example, Champions Cup and Top 14 double winners, Stade Toulousain, will be in Tier 1 and drawn against either Bath Rugby or Wasps, and against either Cardiff Rugby or Glasgow Warriors from Tier 4.

Similarly, Bristol Bears in Tier 2 will be drawn against either Pro14 qualifiers Scarlets or Ospreys, and against either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Stade Francais from Tier 3.

Once the draw is concluded, clubs will know their pool stage opponents and EPCR will begin work on the fixture schedule with an announcement of exact dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage following as soon as practicable.

The 2021/22 tournament will be played over nine weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in December when Stade Toulousain begin the defence of their title.

The eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the knockout stage which will consist of a Round of 16 on a home and away basis, quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the final in Marseille on 28 May 2022.

2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup qualifiers

Gallagher Premiership: 1 Harlequins, 2 Exeter Chiefs, 3 Bristol Bears, 4 Sale Sharks, 5 Northampton Saints, 6 Leicester Tigers, 7 Bath Rugby, 8 Wasps
Guinness PRO14: 1 Leinster Rugby, 2 Munster Rugby, 3 Ulster Rugby, 4 Connacht Rugby, 5 Scarlets, 6 Ospreys, 7 Cardiff Rugby, 8 Glasgow Warriors
TOP 14: 1 Stade Toulousain, 2 Stade Rochelais, 3 Racing 92, 4 Union Bordeaux-Bègles, 5 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 6 Stade Français Paris, 7 Castres Olympique, 8 Montpellier Hérault Rugby

Pool Draw tiers

Tier 1: Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Leinster Rugby, Munster Rugby, Stade Toulousain, Stade Rochelais
Tier 2: Bristol Bears, Sale Sharks, Ulster Rugby, Connacht Rugby, Racing 92, Union Bordeaux-Bègles
Tier 3: Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers, Scarlets, Ospreys, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Stade Français Paris
Tier 4: Bath Rugby, Wasps, Cardiff Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby

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The draw will take place at 9 pm on Wednesday, July 21st and is staged in Lausanne, Switzerland.

It will be streamed live on HeinekenChampionsCup.com and will include the winners of the three domestic leagues involved in the competition – Top 14 and Champions Cup holders Stade Toulousain, Gallagher Premiership winners Harlequins and Pro14 winners Leinster.

The draw will consist of eight teams from the three leagues mentioned above, as it did last season.

The teams who have qualified from the three leagues will be listed from one to eight for the draw, with number one being the champions.

The clubs will first be placed into four tiers based on their rankings, before being drawn into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B.

Clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool.

Tier 1 will have numbers one and two on the qualifiers in it with Tier 2 having numbers three and four.

Tier 3 will have numbers five and six while Tier 4 will have numbers seven and eight.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 4 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away during the pool stage.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 sides that are in the same pool but not from the same domestic league will do the same.

Once the draw is concluded, clubs will know their pool stage opponents and EPCR will begin work on the fixture schedule with an announcement of exact dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage following as soon as practicable.

The 2021/22 tournament will be played over nine weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in December when Stade Toulousain begin the defence of their title.

The eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the knockout stage which will consist of a Round of 16 on a home and away basis, quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the final in Marseille on 28 May 2022.

2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup qualifiers

Gallagher Premiership: 1 Harlequins, 2 Exeter Chiefs, 3 Bristol Bears, 4 Sale Sharks, 5 Northampton Saints, 6 Leicester Tigers, 7 Bath Rugby, 8 Wasps
Guinness PRO14: 1 Leinster Rugby, 2 Munster Rugby, 3 Ulster Rugby, 4 Connacht Rugby, 5 Scarlets, 6 Ospreys, 7 Cardiff Rugby, 8 Glasgow Warriors
TOP 14: 1 Stade Toulousain, 2 Stade Rochelais, 3 Racing 92, 4 Union Bordeaux-Bègles, 5 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 6 Stade Français Paris, 7 Castres Olympique, 8 Montpellier Hérault Rugby

Pool Draw tiers

Tier 1: Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Leinster Rugby, Munster Rugby, Stade Toulousain, Stade Rochelais
Tier 2: Bristol Bears, Sale Sharks, Ulster Rugby, Connacht Rugby, Racing 92, Union Bordeaux-Bègles
Tier 3: Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers, Scarlets, Ospreys, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Stade Français Paris
Tier 4: Bath Rugby, Wasps, Cardiff Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby

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Europe’s elite club rugby tournament is set to return with a highly competitive schedule of 71 matches for the upcoming season.

The 2021/22 Champions Cup season will begin in December when Stade Toulousain begin the defence of their title.

The competition will once again be competed for by 24 clubs across Europe’s top three leagues – the Pro14 (now United Rugby Championship), the Premiership and the Top 14.

Each league will be represented by eight teams who have qualified based on their position in the 20/21 league tables.

The clubs will be divided into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B – using a draw and the tournament will be played over nine weekends with four of those rounds of matches in the pool stages.

The eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the tournament’s knockout stage, consisting of a Round of 16 on a home and away basis, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a final.

The final will be held at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on May 28th, 2022.

The draw for the pools will be carried out the same way as last season’s draw with the 24 clubs separated into four tiers based on their 20/21 league position.

Clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool.

The number one and two ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the number three and four ranked clubs will make up Tier 2, the number five and six ranked clubs will be in Tier 3, and the number seven and eight ranked clubs will occupy Tier 4.

The Tier 1 and Tier 4 clubs which have been drawn into the same pool but are not from the same league will play one another on a home and away basis during the pool stage.

The same process will occur for Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs that are drawn into the same pool but are not from the same league.

The pool draw will be live-streamed on HeinekenChampionsCup.com and the date of the event and further details will be communicated shortly.

As previously announced, EPCR is finalising a new shareholder agreement and discussions to finalise the Challenge Cup format and future Champions Cup and Challenge Cup seasons.

These future plans include the South African URC sides.

2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup qualifiers

Premiership: 1. Harlequins, 2. Exeter Chiefs, 3. Bristol Bears, 4. Sale Sharks, 5. Northampton Saints, 6. Leicester Tigers, 7. Bath Rugby, 8. Wasps

Pro14: 1. Leinster Rugby, 2. Munster Rugby, 3. Ulster Rugby, 4. Connacht Rugby, 5. Scarlets, 6. Ospreys, 7. Cardiff Blues, 8. Glasgow Warriors

Top 14: 1. Stade Toulousain, 2. Stade Rochelais, 3. Racing 92, 4. Union Bordeaux-Begles, 5. ASM Clermont Auvergne, 6. Stade Francais Paris, 7. Castres Olympique, 8. Montpellier Herault Rugby

2021/22 Key Dates

Round One – 10/11/12 December

Round Two – 17/18/19 December

Round Three – 14/15/16 January 2022

Round Four – 21/22/23 January 2022

Round of 16 (1st leg) – 8/9/10 April 2022

Round of 16 (2nd leg) – 15/16/17 April 2022

Quarter-finals – 6/7/8 May 2022

Semi-finals – 13/14/15 May 2022

Challenge Cup Final – Friday 27 May 2022; Stade Velodrome, Marseille

Champions Cup Final – Saturday 28 May 2022; Stade Velodrome, Marseille

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24 clubs, including eight each across the Top 14, Gallagher Premiership and Pro 14, will compete in this season’s instalment.

All four Irish provinces will begin their 2021/22 seasons in the Champions Cup.

The sides are ranked as the top four sides from the Pro 14 as the qualification is based on the 2020/21 Pro 14 season.

The 2020/21 Pro 14 Rainbow Cup standings do not affect the European qualification process.

The competition will once again begin with four rounds of the pool stage.

The format will likely be the same as last season’s controversial setup which had two pools of 12 with teams facing off against two sides from other leagues.

These teams are expected to face each other twice and the top eight in each pool will progress to the round of 16.

The round of 16 will be a two-legged round and will take place over two weekends.

However, the quarter-finals and semi-finals will remain as a one-and-done fixture.

Both finals will be held in Marseille’s Stade Velodrome in the south of France.

The 2020/21 finals were originally scheduled to be held at the venue.

2021/22 EPCR Weekends

Round 1 – 10/11/12 December

Round 2 – 17/18/19 December

Round 3 – 14/15/16 January 2022

Round 4 – 21/22/23 January 2022

Round of 16 (first leg) – 8/9/10 April 2022

Round of 16 (second leg) – 15/16/17 April 2022

Quarter-finals – 6/7/8 May 2022

Semi-finals – 13/14/15 May 2022

Challenge Cup Final – 27 May 2022

Champions Cup Final – 28 May 2022

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