European Champions Cup draw: Leinster to face La Rochelle

That concludes the draw, wow even if there are four teams going through the pools, that’s one testing draw for Leinster there. An immediate rematch against La Rochelle. Plus Stormers, Leicester and Sale Sharks. A more generous looking group for Munster.

The Champions Cup kicks off on December 8th. The finals will take place in London next May.

POOL 1: Saracens, Union Bordeaux Begles, Bulls, Bristol Bears, Connacht, Lyon

POOL 2: Toulouse, Cardiff, Bath, Racing 92, Harlequins, Ulster

POOL 3: Munster, Aviron Bayonnais, Glasgow, Exeter Chiefs, RC Toulon, Northampton

POOL 4: La Rochelle, Stade Francais, Leicester Tigers, DHL Stormers, Leinster, Sale Sharks

Munster with new French team Aviron Bayonnais and Glasgow Warriors then. Wow, Leinster get La Rochelle!

The Champions Cup draw is starting now after a little montage.

The coverage has started, first up is the Challenge Cup, which doesn’t include any Irish teams.

CHALLENGE CUP

POOL 1: Invitee 1, Section Paloise, Dragons, Zebre Parma, Cell C Sharks, Oyannax Rugby

POOL 2: Ospreys, USAP, Newcastle Falcons, Emirates Lions, Montpellier, Benetton Rugby

POOL 3: Edinburgh, Castres Olympique, Clermont Auvergne, Invitee 2, Gloucester, Scarlets

The Champions Cup draw will begin at 12.50pm.

The biggest difference to the format of the Champions Cup this year is that the large pools of 12 have been cut into four six-team groups instead. Of those, four teams will advance to the knockout stages, the last 16. The fifth place team will be diverted into the Challenge Cup.

There will be no pool matches between teams from the same domestic league meaning the Irish teams will play against the English and French teams in their pool, with two home games and two away games.

There will also be just two tiers of seeds. As winners of their respective leagues, Munster, Saracens and Toulouse have earned top-seed status, along with defending champions La Rochelle. The remaining 20 teams will be in the second tier, including twice runners-up Leinster.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Champions Cup draw for 2023/24. All four Irish provinces are in the draw, with Munster in a tier ahead of Leinster this time thanks to their win of the United Rugby Championship. There are 24 teams in the draw, as follows:

FRENCH TOP 14 – La Rochelle, Toulouse, Racing 92, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Lyon, Stade Francais, RC Toulon, Aviron Bayonnais

ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP – Saracens, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints, Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Bath, Bristol Bears

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP – Munster, DHL Stormers, Leinster, Ulster, Glasgow Warriors, Vodacom Bulls, Connacht, Cardiff