MUNSTER HAVE BEEN pitted against reigning champions Saracens along with familiar foes Racing 92 for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup pool stage after the tournament draw was held today.
Both sides will bring painful memories for fans for the southern province as they ended their Champions Cup hopes at the semi-final stage in the past two seasons.
On their return to the top tier of European competition, Connacht will renew their rivalry with Toulouse in Pool 5, with Gloucester also due a return to the Sportsground after their 2018 Challenge Cup quarter-final win.
“It’s such a tough draw but that’s why it’s called the Champions Cup,” said Munster head coach Johann van Graan, “and that’s why we want to be in this competition, it will be a very exciting challenge for us and it is one that we are looking forward to.”
Ulster will hope to again reach at least the knock-out stages after a pool phase against Clermont Auvergne, Bath and Harlequins.
In order to reach Marseille in May and a third consecutive final, 2019 runners-up Leinster have the much less foreboding task of navigating past Lyon, Northampton Saints and Benetton.
Head coach Leo Cullen, in a statement released by the province, reacted to the draw by saying:
“Today was the first day of pre-season for us in UCD so to now have the full Heineken Champions Cup draw confirmed, in addition to last week’s confirmed Guinness PRO14 conferences, it definitely sharpens the mind for the considerable task ahead this season.
“We have seen over the last few years just how difficult it is to compete in this competition and as always the first priority will be to get out of our pool and doing that in Pool 1 will not be easy.”
The seeding draw brought Exeter Chiefs and Clermont Auvergne into a tier one place, leaving Ulster and Glasgow Warriors in tier 2. Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle and Northampton Saints were selected from tier 3 (see why here).
Due to the World Cup, the opening four rounds of pool fixtures will be played across five weekends, kicking off on 15 November, with the closing rounds of the pool arriving in early January as normal.
Champions Cup pool draw 2019/20
Pool 1
Leinster
Lyon
Northampton Saints
Benetton
Pool 2
Exeter Chiefs
Glasgow Warriors
La Rochelle
Sale Sharks
Pool 3
Clermont Auvergne
Ulster
Harlequins
Bath
Pool 4
Saracens
Munster
Racing 92
Ospreys
Pool 5
Toulouse
Gloucester
Connacht
Montpellier
The Challenge Cup draw took place ahead of the Champions Cup and saw Scarlets paired with Toulon, two years on from their feisty encounters at the same stage of the Champions Cup.
Declan Kidney’s London Irish join them in Pool 2 alongside Bayonne, who are also newly promoted for the coming season after winning France’s Pro D2.
Challenge Cup pool draw 2019/20
Pool 1
Castres Olympique
Worcester Warriors
Dragons
Enisei STM
Pool 2
Scarlets
Toulon
London Irish
Bayonne
Pool 3
Wasps
Edinburgh
Bordeaux Begles
Agen
Pool 4
Stade Francais
Bristol Bears
Zebre
Brive
Pool 5
Cardiff Blues
Leicester Tigers
Pau
Calvisano
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