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Holders Leinster will be given a stern test of their credentials after being drawn Pool 1, with the four teams having 11 Champions Cup trophies between them.
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Four-time winners Leinster were the top seeds and will come up against two-time winners Wasps, four-time winners Toulouse and 1998 winners Bath.
Leinster beat Wasps 32-17 in the 2017 quarter-finals at the Aviva, while their last match against Toulouse was in the 2011 semi-final which they won 32-23. Bath will have the inside track on Leinster, they’ve hired their attack coach Girvan Dempsey.
“The way the new format of the competition has gone, the pools are incredibly difficult. We made a presentation to Girvan (Dempsey) at the end of the season so we knew we were destined to draw against Bath.” Leinster Director of Rugby Leo Cullen said.
“Anyone that has been part of the team here, when they move somewhere else you always wish them the very best but you hope they don’t come back to haunt you on some of the days.”
“Wasps, who we had a couple of very tough outings against in the pool stages a couple of years ago, so we know how tough a team they are.”
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“Toulouse have won the tournament four times so they know how to do it. All the teams in our pool have won the tournament before. As always, it’s an incredibly tough pool. The guys are back at it today so they’re looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young also reflected on the draw.
“It’s a very difficult draw, but that’s what you expect when you’re playing against the best 19 other teams in Europe,” Young said.
“It’s exciting to be drawn with the defending champions and Toulouse who have also won the competition several times – they will be great match-ups.”
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CONFIRMED: Our 2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup pool is…
Leinster
Wasps
Toulouse
Bath#ChampionsCupDraw pic.twitter.com/bkWyfLwMAp— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) June 20, 2018
Premiership champions Saracens, who won the tournament in 2016 and 2017, face Glasgow Warriors, Lyon and Challenge Cup holders Cardiff Blues
🏆 | Saracens will face @GlasgowWarriors, @cardiff_blues and @LeLOURugby in @ChampionsCup Pool 3.
More to follow.#TogetherSaracens 🔴⚫️ pic.twitter.com/nyZJ5TBh5S
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) June 20, 2018
Top 14 champions Castres, who finished a disappointing third in their pool last season, will come up against Munster for the second year in a row. They will also play Premiership runnners-up Exeter Chiefs and Challenge Cup runners-up Gloucester Rugby. Gloucester’s new recruit Gerbrandt Grobler will face his former side Munster.
We welcome Top 14 champions @CastresRugby, Premiership runners-up @ExeterChiefs & Challenge Cup finalists @GloucesterRugby to Thomond Park in next season's Champions Cup.
Full details | https://t.co/y0jo7kMaLv#ChampionsCupDraw #SUAF🔴 pic.twitter.com/C2ENVcLzIq
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) June 20, 2018
Pool 4 also looks intriguing, it has last years beaten finalists Racing 92 and beaten semi-finalists Scarlets, with Leicester Tigers and Ulster Rugby completing the line-up.
Three-time champions Toulon and Top 14 runners-up Montpellier will be the opponents for Newcastle Falcons and Edinburgh Rugby.
The Heineken Champions Cup final takes place in Newcastle on May 12th.
In the Challenge Cup Paddy Jackson will return to Ireland to play quicker than anticipated. His Perpignan team have been drawn to face Connacht in Pool 3 of the Challenge Cup. Jackson was acquitted of all charges after a high profile rape trial in Belfast. He was subsequently sacked by Ulster Rugby after a review by the club and the IRFU into text messages and social media revealed in court
Jackson signed a two-year contract with Perpignan, who are returning to the French Top 14 for the first time in four years. He had been strongly linked to a move to Premiership club Sale Sharks, a team he’ll also face in Pool 3.
2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup pools
Pool 1: Leinster Rugby, Wasps, Toulouse, Bath Rugby
Pool 2: Castres Olympique, Exeter Chiefs, Munster Rugby, Gloucester Rugby
Pool 3: Saracens, Glasgow Warriors, Lyon, Cardiff Blues
Pool 4: Scarlets, Racing 92, Leicester Tigers, Ulster Rugby
Pool 5: Montpellier, Newcastle Falcons, Edinburgh Rugby, RC Toulon
2018/19 Challenge Cup pools
Pool 1: Northampton Saints, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Dragons, Timisoara Saracens
Pool 2: Pau, Ospreys, Worcester Warriors, Stade Français Paris
Pool 3: Sale Sharks, Connacht Rugby, Bordeaux-Bègles, Perpignan
Pool 4: La Rochelle, Zebre Rugby Club, Bristol Bears, Enisei-STM
Pool 5: Benetton Rugby, Harlequins, Agen, Grenoble
Comments on RugbyPass
We dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
1 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
4 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
7 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to commentsOne tough SOB!
16 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
7 Go to comments