European Champions & Challenge Cup Pools revealed

Champions Cup and Aviva Premiership winners, Saracens, have been drawn in Pool 3 of the European Rugby Champions Cup following the Pool Draws for EPCR’s tournaments which took place on Wednesday, 29 June in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Saracens, who won the Champions Cup final last month in Lyon for the first time, will be up against RC Toulon (three-time tournament winners), Scarlets (the only Welsh region in the Champions Cup) and Sale Sharks, when the 2016/17 season kicks off in October.

The TOP 14 winners and Champions Cup beaten finalists, Racing 92, have been drawn in Pool 1 with Glasgow Warriors, Leicester Tigers and Munster Rugby.

Exeter Chiefs, the number two-ranked club from the Premiership, will clash with ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ulster Rugby and Bordeaux-Bègles in Pool 5.

Connacht Rugby, who were crowned PRO12 champions for the first time last season, were drawn in Pool 2 with Wasps, Toulouse and Zebre Rugby.

Leinster Rugby, the second-ranked Irish province from the PRO12, will face Montpellier, Northampton Saints and Castres Olympique in Pool 4.

Harlequins, the number-one ranked Premiership club in the Challenge Cup draw, will play Edinburgh Rugby, Stade Français Paris and Timisoara Saracens from Romania in Pool 5, while Cardiff Blues, the highest-ranked PRO12 representative, are in Pool 4 against Bath Rugby, Pau and Bristol Rugby.

Both pool draws were compered by Alex Payne (Sky Sports) and Matthieu Lartot (France Télévisions), and conducted by Ieuan Evans (Sky Sports) and Dimitri Yachvili (beIN Sports).

The draws, held in Neuchatel where EPCR has its headquarters, were covered on Sky Sports News, beIN Sports and Infosport+ and streamed live on www.epcrugby.com

2016/17 Champions Cup pools

Pool 1: Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors, Leicester Tigers, Munster Rugby
Pool 2: Connacht Rugby, Wasps, Toulouse, Zebre Rugby
Pool 3: Saracens, RC Toulon, Scarlets, Sale Sharks
Pool 4: Leinster Rugby, Montpellier, Northampton Saints, Castres Olympique
Pool 5: Exeter Chiefs, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ulster Rugby, Bordeaux-Bègles

2016/17 Challenge Cup pools

Pool 1: La Rochelle, Gloucester Rugby, Benetton Treviso, Bayonne
Pool 2: Ospreys, Grenoble, Newcastle Falcons, Lyon
Pool 3: Brive, Worcester Warriors, Newport Gwent Dragons, Enisei-STM
Pool 4: Cardiff Blues, Bath Rugby, Pau, Bristol Rugby
Pool 5: Harlequins, Edinburgh Rugby, Stade Français Paris, Timisoara Saracens

EPCR weekends – 2016/17

Round 1: 13/14/15/16 October
Round 2: 20/21/22/23 October
Round 3: 8/9/10/11 December
Round 4: 15/16/17/18 December
Round 5: 12/13/14/15 January 2017
Round 6: 19/20/21/22 January 2017
Quarter-finals: 30/31 March – 1/2 April 2017
Semi-finals: 21/22/23 April 2017

Finals Edinburgh 2017
European Rugby Challenge Cup: Friday 12 May, BT Murrayfield Stadium
European Rugby Champions Cup: Saturday 13 May, BT Murrayfield Stadium