This Wednesday was the draw for the Champions Cup for the 2021-22 season.
A draw where 8 Top 14 clubs each pulled a Premiership and Pro 14 opponent, in view of group matches.
Stade Toulousain, recent winner of the same Champions Cup this season, is putting its title back on the line and will face the Wasps and the Cardiff Blues in Pool B. Positioned in hat 1, the recent Top 14 champions receive two opponents from the hat 4, necessarily weaker.
A draw that seems accessible for the men of Ugo Mola.
From hat 1, Stade Rochelais will face two clubs from hat 4: a Premiership team and a Pro 14 team. It will therefore be Bath and the Glasgow Warriors in Pool A for home and away matches during these group stages.
Racing 92 and Union Bordeaux-Bègles, both from hat 2, will meet two Premiership and Pro 14 opponents from hat 3. Namely for Racing 92 the Northampton Saints and the Ospreys.
UBB will take on the Leicester Tigers and the Scarlets.
Stade Français and ASM Clermont Auvergne present in hat 3 will face teams in hat 3: Bristol Bears and Connacht Rugby for the Parisians and Sale Sharks and Ulster Rugby for the Auvergnais.
Finally, Castres and Montpellier, the least well positioned of the Top 14 teams in hat 4, will they have to face the strong opponents of hat 1: Exeter and Leinster for the CO, Harlequins and Munster for the Héraultais.
The 2021-2022 Champions Cup season will span nine weekends, including four group stage days starting in December.
The eight best-ranked clubs from each pool will advance to the knockout phase with a round-of-16 back and forth, then quarterfinals, semi-finals and a single-match final, with the final scheduled in Marseille on May 28. 2022.
The draw for the 2021-2022 European Cup:
POOL A
Stade Rochelais (FRA), against Bath (ENG) and Glasgow Warriors (SCO)
Exeter Chiefs (ENG), against Montpellier (FRA) and Glasgow Warriors (SCO)
Leinster (IRL), against Montpellier (FRA) and Bath (ENG)
Montpellier (FRA), against Exeter Chiefs (ENG) and Leinster (IRL)
Bath (ENG), against Stade Rochelais (FRA) and Leinster (IRL)
Glasgow Warriors (SCO), against Stade Rochelais (FRA) and Exeter Chiefs (ENG)
Racing 92 (FRA), against Northampton Saints (ENG) and Ospreys (WAL)
Sale Sharks (ENG), against Clermont (FRA) and Ospreys (WAL)
Ulster (IRL), against Clermont (FRA) and Northampton Saints (ENG)
Clermont (FRA), against Sale Sharks (ENG) and Ulster (IRL)
Northampton Saints (ENG), against Racing 92 (FRA) and Ulster (IRL)
Ospreys (WAL), against Racing 92 (FRA) and Bath (ENG)
POOL B
Stade Toulouse (FRA), against Wasps (ENG) and Cardiff (WAL)
Harlequins (ENG), against Castres (FRA) and Cardiff Blues (WAL)
Munster (IRL), against Castres (FRA) and Wasps (ENG)
Castres (FRA), against Harlequins (ENG) and Munster (IRL)
Wasps (ENG), against Stade Toulouse (FRA) and Harlequins (ENG)
Cardiff (WAL), against Toulouse (FRA) and Harlequins (ENG)
Bordeaux-Bègles (FRA), against Leicester Tigers (ENG) and Scarlets (WAL)
Bristol Bears (ENG), against Stade Français (FRA) and Scarlets (WAL)
Connacht (IRL), against Stade Français (FRA) and Leicester Tigers (ENG)
Stade Français (FRA), against Bristol Bears (ENG) and Connacht (IRL)
Leicester Tigers (ENG), against Bordeaux-Bègles (FRA) and Bristol Bears (ENG)
Scarlets (WAL), against Bordeaux-Bègles (FRA) and Bristol Bears (ENG)