Rugby:All three Irish provinces were handed difficult assignments after the Heineken Cup draw for the Pool stages of next season's campaign was made in Cardiff today.
Leinster and Munster were seeded in the top tier for the draw but it offered little respite as they received tough draws, while Ulster, who were drawn as a third tier team, have arguably the easier draw of the provinces.
Last year’s champions Leinster were drawn in Pool 2 and will have a tough job getting out of the group as they face French Top 14 champions, Clermont Auvergne, second French side Racing Metro 92 and Guinness Premiership runners-up Saracens.
On a coaching level it offers an interesting match-up as former Clermont coach Joe Schmidt takes over at Leinster after Michael Cheika departed for Stade Francais.
Munster, the 2006 and 2008 champions, went into Pool 3 alongside newly crowned Magners League champions Ospreys, London Irish and Jonny Wilkinson's ambitious Toulon, who reached last month's Amlin Cup final.
London Irish defeated Leinster at the RDS in the pool stages of the last campaign and will be determined opposition against Tony McGahan’s side.
The 1999 champions Ulster were drawn in Pool 4 alongside Biarritz, Bath and new Italian franchise Aironi.
Champions Toulouse will face London Wasps, Glasgow and the Gwent Dragons in Pool 6 with the competition due to kick-off on the weekend of October, 8th-10th, 2010.
Today’s draw was made in Cardiff by ERC chairman Jean-Pierre Lux and chief executive Derek McGrath. The final will take place at the Millennium Stadium on the weekend of May 21st/22nd.
The draw was conducted using the merit-based ERC European ranking system compiled on the qualified teams' performances over the past four seasons in the Heineken Cup and knock-out stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup.
The 24 teams who have were graded into four tiers of six teams with each of the six Pools having one team from each of the four tier levels.
Heineken Cup 2010/11
Pool 1
Cardiff Blues
Northampton Saints
Edinburgh
Castres Olympique
Pool 2
Leinster
Clermont Auvergne
Saracens
Racing Metro 92
Pool 3
Munster
Ospreys
London Irish
Toulon
Pool 4
Biarritz
Bath
Ulster
Aironi Rugby
Pool 5
Leicester
Scarlets
Perpignan
Benetton Treviso
Pool 6
Toulouse
London Wasps
Glasgow Warriors
Newport Gwent Dragons
Heineken Cup 2010/11 Fixtures
R1 – 8/9/10 October, 2010
R2 – 15/16/17 October, 2010
R3 – 10/11/12 December, 2010
R4 – 17/18/19 December, 2010
R5 – 14/15/16 January, 2011
R6 – 21/22/23 January, 2011
Quarter-Finals – 8/9/10 April, 2011
Semi-Finals – 30 April/1 May, 2011
16th Heineken Cup Final – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff