Champions Cup pool draw update

The pool draw for the 2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup will be staged in Lausanne, Switzerland next Wednesday (July 21) at noon (UK time).

The draw will be live-streamed on HeinekenChampionsCup.com when the 24 clubs who have qualified for next season’s tournament from Europe’s three leading professional leagues – including Leicester Tigers – will know their pool stage opponents.

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

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

Once the draw has been concluded, EPCR will work on the fixture schedule with broadcast partners. An announcement of dates, kick-off times and TV coverage will follow 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.

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 May 28, 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

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

The No1 and 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the No3 and 4 clubs will be in Tier 2, the No5 and 6 will be in Tier 3, and No7 and number 8 in Tier 4.