“An exciting Champions Cup draw” - Pat Lam

An intriguing draw sets up an immediate showdown with club legend Joe Joyce and former Forwards Coach John Lumdoon, who made switches to Connacht this summer, and Semi Radradra's Lyon, as well as a mouthwatering clash against Bordeaux-Begles, who Pat Lam's side have faced twice in the past four seasons.

And the Director of Rugby is relishing the opportunity to take on two 'new' teams in another instalment of this prestigious competition.

“It’s a really exciting draw for us. It’s great to be drawn against two clubs that we haven’t played against before in Lyon and the Bulls and obviously, we’ll be up against some familiar faces at Connacht and Lyon.

"It feels pretty inevitable that we’d be facing Joycey (Joe Joyce), Mul (John Muldoon) and Semi (Radradra) so soon after they have left us.

“It’s an exciting draw and a tough draw, but all of the pools are tough but it’s going to be exciting. We always want to challenge ourselves against the best sides in Europe and that’s what the Champions Cup is all about. It’s going to be a great tournament again this season and we’re relishing it.”

During the pool stage, each club will play four matches against four different clubs which are not from the same league either home or away.

The fixture schedules for both tournaments with dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage will be announced as soon as possible. Fixtures will be determined using an algorithm which will take into consideration the pool draws, league calendar restrictions, individual club calendar restrictions and broadcast requirements.

2023/24 weekends
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