Leinster confirmed as one of three top seeds for Champions Cup

Leinster's RaboDirect Pro12 victory has guaranteed Matt O'Connor's sidea place amongst the three top seeds for next Tuesday's European Rugby Champions Cup draw in Switzerland.

They will be joined by Heineken Cup winners Toulon and losing finalists Saracens, based on their finishing positions in the Top 14 and English Premiership respectively.

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) have outlined a number of key principles ahead the draw, including that none of the five four-team pools will contain more than two Pro12 clubs from the same country.

The 20 participating clubs will be divided into four tiers ahead of the draw, with two of the second-ranked sides – Northampton, Castres and Glasgow – joining the three top-ranked sides.

The other four tiers will then be formed using the following principles

• Each of the five pools will have at least one club from each of the three leagues.

• Each of the five pools will have one club from each of the four tiers.

• There will be no more than two clubs from the same League in a pool.

• No pool will contain two Pro12 clubs from the same country.

• Clubs from the same League will be kept apart until the allocation of the Tier 4 clubs.

Rank  Premiership   Top 14                         Pro 12
1          Saracens           Toulon                          Leinster
2          Northampton   Castres                        Glasgow
3          Leicester            Montpellier                   Munster
4          Harlequins       Racing Metro               Ulster
5          Bath                   Clermont Auvergne    Ospreys
6          Sale Sharks      Toulouse                      Scarlets
7          Wasps                                                      Treviso

Connacht are among the fourth-ranked sides in the Challenge Cup draw along with Bayonne and Newcastle. Both draws will take place at noon Irish time on Tuesday and will be broadcast live on TG4.