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Champions Cup draw: Permutations and potential 'pools of death'
The 2018/19 northern hemisphere seasons may feel as though they have only just finished, but the 2019/20 campaigns will be the focus of the rugby world on Wednesday, as the Heineken Champions Cup draw is made.
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The draw, which takes place in Lausanne, Switzerland, sees the top 20 sides in European competition last season separated into seven different seedings, which will then be used to organise the teams into four tiers, with each tier consisting of five teams. One team from each tier will then be drawn into the five pools.
Saracens, Leinster and Toulouse, as league winners, are automatically included in the top tier, where they will be joined by two of Exeter Chiefs, Glasgow Warriors and Clermont. One of these three will drop down into tier two, where they will join the three third-seeded teams, as well as the fourth-seeded team from the same league competition as the second seed who drops down.
For example, should Clermont not be included in the top tier, they will drop down to tier two with the third-seeded sides – Gloucester, Munster and Lyon – and that will ensure that La Rochelle, the fourth-seeded side from France, are included in tier two also.
The third seeds alongside La Rochelle are Northampton Saints and Ulster, with two of these sides then joining the fifth-seeded sides, Harlequins, Connacht and Racing 92, in the third tier. The fourth tier has already been decided, with sixth seeds Bath, Benetton and Montpellier and seventh seeds Sale Sharks and Ospreys making up the final tier.
Each pool will consist of at least one team from each of the three competing leagues, whilst the duplicate teams from the same league will not occur until the fourth and final tier is drawn. In regard to the Guinness PRO14, no team from the same nation will compete in the same pool in the Champions Cup.
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The process potentially creates some particularly appetising pools for next season, with the ever-popular ‘Pool of Death’ moniker certainly appropriate for some of the possible combinations.
Reigning champions Saracens could be drawn alongside Munster, Racing 92 and Montpellier, should the balls fall in the right order, creating a pool with zero scope for error or any possibility to take their feet off the gas.
Likewise, Leinster could find themselves in a pool with Clermont, Harlequins and Montpellier, with Montpellier one of the teams that other clubs will be eager to avoid in the fourth tier.
South African rugby fans may not yet be able to enjoy the Cheetahs or the Southern Kings taking part in the competition, but there will be plenty of interest for them in terms of players. Tier two sides Gloucester and Munster, who both boast plenty of South Africans, could face off against Sale Sharks or Montpellier in tier four, who have similar African influence.
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Inevitably, there are some sides which teams will be hoping to match up with, such as Benetton in tier four. The Italian side have come on significantly over the last few years, but they will still be viewed as an enviable draw in tier four, as could the Ospreys or Sale, who will be bedding in plenty of new players. Connacht could be on certain clubs’ wishlists in tier three, whilst Northampton Saints, still in their infancy under Chris Boyd, could be seen as a nice draw in tier two, should they end up there.
Toulouse could draw a group of Northampton, Connacht and Benetton or Ospreys should the tiers align, something which, whilst still testing, would probably be embraced by the recent French champions.
Rather appropriately, the three most successful sides in the competition’s history, Leinster (4), Toulouse (4) and Saracens (3), are all assured of their top tier status and will be kept separate throughout the pool stage. At the other end of the spectrum, the Champions Cup draw will unlikely put too many smiles on faces in Italy and Wales, with those nations only having one representative apiece and both of those teams guaranteed to be in the bottom tier of teams.
Champions Cup draw tiers and seedings in full:
Tier 1 and 1st seeds – Saracens, Leinster and Toulouse
2nd seeds – Exeter Chiefs, Glasgow Warriors and Clermont
Tier 2 and 3rd seeds – Gloucester, Munster and Lyon
4th seeds – Northampton Saints, Ulster and La Rochelle
Tier 3 and 5th seeds – Harlequins, Connacht and Racing 92
Tier 4 and 6th and 7th seeds – Bath, Benetton, Montpellier, Sale Sharks and Ospreys
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Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
20 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
7 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
72 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
20 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
7 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
20 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
20 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
20 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
2 Go to comments