THE EPCR HAS decided to discontinue the two-legged Round of 16 ties in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
The last-16 games will be played as one-off games from 31 March to 2 April, with the quarter-finals the following week.
Tournament organisers announced the news after confirming the provisional dates for the 2022/23 edition of the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup. Both competitions will be played over eight rounds rather than the nine next season.
The competitions will begin in December with two consecutive weekends of pool stage games, and the next pool stage rounds will take place over consecutive weekends in mid-January of 2023.
The knockout stages will start on the weekend of 31 March/1/2 April with the Round of 16 matches followed by the quarter-finals on 7/8/9 April.
The semi-finals get underway on the last weekend of April with the Finals taking place on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 May 2023.
The formats of both competitions are currently being finalised and an announcement is expected ahead of this season’s showpiece matches in Marseille on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 May.
“We are coming to the climax of what has been a challenging season for European club rugby, and have been able to welcome fans back to stadia from the recommencement of our competitions at the beginning of April,” EPCR Chief Executive, Anthony Lepage, said after the announcement.
“We have seen the very best EPCR competitions have to offer and are building towards what will no doubt be a sensational weekend of rugby for our Finals later this month.
“As we look ahead to next season, we are pleased to announce the dates of our competitions and we will be announcing the formats in the coming weeks.”
2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup weekends
Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022
Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022
Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023
Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023
Round of 16 – 31 March/ 1/2 April 2023
Quarter-finals – 7/8/9 April 2023
Semi-finals – 28/29/30 April 2023
EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 19 May 2023
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023
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