1
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
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
Nice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
8 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
8 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
8 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
8 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to comments