Today the 2019/20 European Cup rugby pool draws were made at the Centre de Congrès Beaulieu in Lausanne, Switzerland. 40 European clubs learnt who they would be facing in European competition, beginning in November.
The headline is a tough draw for champions Saracens who will face Munster and Racing 92 in Pool Four of the Champions Cup.
The full draws for the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup are as follows:
Heineken Champions Cup draw
Pool One
Leinster Rugby, Lyon, Northampton Saints, Benetton Rugby
Pool Two
Exeter Chiefs, Glasgow Warriors, La Rochelle, Sale Sharks
Pool Three
Clermont Auvergne, Ulster, Harlequins, Bath
Pool Four
Saracens, Munster, Racing 92, Ospreys
Pool Five
Toulouse, Gloucester Rugby, Connacht, Montpellier
So there we have it ?
The Pools for next season's #ChampionsCup are set in stone for all to see ?
Initial thoughts on the groups?
The toughest pool is _____ ✍️? pic.twitter.com/aO0cGcYenl
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) June 19, 2019
Pool Four is the obvious standout, with champions Saracens drawn against Munster and Racing 92. Even the Ospreys won’t be easy, in light of their draw with Saracens in this competition a few years ago.
Pool Five will also be interesting, with French heavyweights Toulouse and Montpellier pitted against Gloucester and Connacht. Meanwhile, Leinster will probably be the happiest of the top seeds, particularly given the tough group they faced last year.
European Challenge Cup draw
Pool One
Castres Olympique, Worcester Warriors, Dragons, Enesei-STM
Pool Two
Scarlets, Toulon, London Irish, Bayonne
Pool Three
Wasps, Edinburgh Rugby, Bordeaux-Begles, Agen
Pool Four
Stade Francais, Bristol Bears, Zebre Rugby, Brive
Pool Five
Cardiff Blues, Leicester Tigers, Pau, Rugby Calvisano
The #ChallengeCupRugby pools are set in stone ⚔️@DimitriYachvili and @BryanHabana doing a sterling job ?♂️
Stay tuned for the big #ChampionsCup draw up next ?
✨ https://t.co/gNzHxOkXun ✨ pic.twitter.com/FW0wncEJ42
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) June 19, 2019
This draw promised to throw up some exciting ties, given the amount of ‘big-name’ clubs in the draw. The likes of Wasps, Leicester Tigers, Scarlets, Castres and Toulon are not used to Challenge Cup action and some were always likely to feature in the proverbial ‘group of death’.
So it proved as Scarlets and Toulon, regular enemies in the Champions Cup, will face each other in Pool Two. The Dragons face another trip to Russia in Pool One whilst there will be tasty Anglo-Welsh derbies between Cardiff Blues and Leicester Tigers in Pool Five.
Main image credit:
Embed from Getty Images
