Munster face two trips to France

European champions Munster face two trips to France in the pool stages of next season's competition after being drawn with Clermont Auvergne and newcomers Montauban this morning.

The two-time winners will also have to face English Premiership side Sale Sharks, who were fifth in their domestic league last season.

The most daunting prospect is undoubtedly Clermont, who finished level on points with Munster in their pool last year and were ultimately eliminated when a valiant second half display from Declan Kidney's side procured a bonus point in defeat in France.

The French powerhouses, who topped the French championship and face Perpignan in the semi-finals this weekend, were only ranked in the third tier in today's draw because of the new ranking system based on four-years in the competition. Clermont were first involved in 2005/2006 when they finished bottom in Pool 3.

Two teams were always going to face a second French side because Montauban were the seventh in the hat, and with only six pools, the maths was never going to add up for one pair of unfortunates.

Speaking after the draw in Dublin Munster chief executive Garret Fitzgerald said: "I don't think it is a very good reward for winning the competition.

"I think it's a very difficult pool, as a lot of the other pools are. It's an unusual situation with two French teams, which is something we haven't had before.

"But they're the challenges of winning it and we look forward to the competition next year.

"Clermont are as good a side as I've seen in the competition. We considered ourselves very lucky to get a point out of our visit to France this year," added Fitzgerald. "It's one the squad look back as a reason maybe why we won the competition.

"I genuinely feel they have the ability to win the French championship . . . and I wish them the best in it, but hopefully they will be happy with that."

Having failed to make it out of the pool stages last year, Magner's League winners Leinster will again have a job to do when they face Wasps, Castres and Edinburgh.

Wasps were second in the Premiership last season, while Castres are an experienced European outfit but it will be Edinburgh, billed as the weakest team in the pool, that may worry Michael Cheika most after the trouble they have repeatedly caused Leinster in Murrayfield.

"It's a tough draw, but there are a lot of good teams in this tournament," Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson said afterwards.

"We bought into the new system, so we will just go ahead and deal with what we've got. There are four very competitive teams in the pool and we know how hard it is to win in Edinburgh.

"Any French team is going to be hard to beat, while Wasps have had huge success in the Heineken Cup.

"They have won it twice and beat us convincingly in the quarter-finals in 2007 on their way to winning the title again at Twickenham. The real challenge, though, is going to be getting out of this pool."

Ulster, champions in 1999, were in the third tier this time round and will have to overcome French powerhouse Stade Francais, Welsh side Llanelli Scarlets and Harlequins.

Leicester have been drawn against Perpignan, Welsh entertainers Ospreys, with Ireland wing Tommy Bowe on board, and Italian minnows Treviso in Pool Three.

This season's defeated Heineken Cup finalists Toulouse are in Pool Five alongside Challenge Cup winners Bath, Newport Gwent Dragons and Glasgow.

In Pool Six, Gloucester appear to have a strong chance of qualifying from a group which also includes French side Biarritz, quarter-finalists Cardiff and Italy's Calvisano.

Heineken Cup Pools

Pool 1
Munster
Sale Sharks
Clermont Auvergne
Montauban

Pool 2
London Wasps
Leinster
Castres
Edinburgh

Pool 3
Leicester Tigers
Perpignan
Ospreys
Treviso

Pool 4
Stade Francais
Llanelli Scarlets
Ulster
Harlequins

Pool 5
Toulouse
Bath Rugby
NewPort Gwent Dragons
Glasgow Warriors

Pool 6
Biarritz
Gloucester
Cardiff Blues
Calvisano