A date for the diary as Saints get set to discover Champions Cup opponents

Saints will discover their Champions Cup 2020/21 pool stage opponents when the draw is staged in Lausanne on Wednesday, October 28.
The pool stage draw takes place later this monthThe pool stage draw takes place later this month
The pool stage draw takes place later this month

The previously announced new tournament format will see 24 clubs made up of eight representatives from each of the Gallagher Premiership, the Guinness PRO14 and the TOP 14 drawn into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B.

The clubs ranked numbers one and two in their leagues will be in Tier 1 for the purposes of the draw.

The clubs ranked numbers three and four will be in Tier 2.

The clubs ranked five and six will be in Tier 3.

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And the clubs ranked seven and eight, which includes Saints, will be in Tier 4.

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

Once the two pools are constituted, the new format demands that clubs will only play against opposition which has been drawn into the same pool.

And, in addition, clubs from the same league will not play against one another.

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In order to create the fixtures, clubs in Tier 1 will play against clubs in Tier 4 and clubs in Tier 2 will play clubs in Tier 3.

Each club will have four pool stage matches – two home and two away - and the new format will include an expanded knockout stage with quarter-finals played over two legs on consecutive weekends.

Click HERE for a video explanation of the 2020/21 Heineken Champions Cup format

The top four clubs from each pool will secure their places in the quarter-finals with the clubs ranked fifth to eighth qualifying for the Round of 16 of the Challenge Cup.

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A video of the draw will be available on HeinekenChampionsCup.com and official social media channels.

The new Challenge Cup format does not necessitate a draw and the fixtures for the preliminary stage of the 2020/21 tournament will be announced in due course.

QUALIFIED CLUBS FOR 2020/21 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP

PRO14: 1 Leinster Rugby, 2 Ulster Rugby, 3 Edinburgh Rugby, 4 Munster Rugby, 5 Scarlets, 6 Connacht Rugby, 7 Glasgow Warriors, 8 Dragons

TOP 14: 1 Bordeaux-Bègles, 2 Lyon, *3 Racing 92, 4 RC Toulon, 5 La Rochelle, 6 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 7 Toulouse, 8 Montpellier

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*If Racing 92 win this season’s Heineken Champions Cup they will become the No 1-ranked club from their league.

Premiership: *Exeter Chiefs, Wasps; 3 Bristol Bears, 4 Bath Rugby, 5 Sale Sharks, 6 Harlequins, 7 Gloucester Rugby, 8 Northampton Saints

*The Premiership finalists, Exeter Chiefs and Wasps, will be in Tier 1 for the purposes of the pool draw.

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