Champions Cup pool draw: Leinster to face La Rochelle again, Munster play Northampton
Leinster will meet La Rochelle again in next season's Champions Cup.
LEINSTER WILL FACE La Rochelle for the fifth consecutive season after the two clubs were drawn in the same pool for next season’s Champions Cup pool stages.
The 2024/25 Champions Cup will again consist of four pools of six teams, with each pool containing two clubs from the URC, Premiership and Top 14. Each club will play four pool matches against four different clubs home or away.
Leinster, beaten by Toulouse in this season’s Champions Cup final, were named in Pool 2 alongside Clermont Auvergne, La Rochelle, Bristol Bears, Benetton and Bath.
There will be no pool matches between clubs from the same league, so Leinster will play Clermont, La Rochelle, Bristol and Bath.
Munster are also set to face some familiar opponents, with Graham Rowntree’s team drawn with Northampton Saints in Pool 3.
Northampton won at Thomond Park in this year’s pool stages before beating the province at Franklin’s Gardens in the round of 16.
Munster will also face Stade Francais, Saracens and Castres, with the Bulls the other URC representative in Pool 2.
Ulster are in Pool 1 and will play Toulouse, Bordeaux-Begles, Exeter Chiefs and Leicester Tigers, with the Sharks also in Ulster’s pool.
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Pool 4 consists of Glasgow Warriors, Racing 92, the Sharks, the Stormers, Toulon and Harlequins.
In the Challenge Cup, Connacht have been placed in Pool 1 alongside Cardiff, the Cheetahs, Perpignan, Lyon and Zebre.
With EPCR keeping same-league clashes to a minimum in the Challenge Cup, Connacht will play the Cheetahs, Perpignan, Lyon and one of Cardiff or Zebre.
Next season’s Challenge Cup will consist of 18 clubs split into three pools of six.
Fixture details for both the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup pool stages will be confirmed at a later date.
The first round of pool fixtures will be played on the weekend of 6/7/8 December, with the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup finals set for Cardiff on 23 and 24 May 2025 respectively.
Pool 1:
Toulouse
Bordeaux-Begles
Sharks
Exeter Chiefs
Leicester Tigers
Ulster
Pool 2:
Leinster
Clermont Auvergne
La Rochelle
Bristol Bears
Benetton
Bath
Pool 3:
Northampton Saints
Munster
Bulls
Stade Francais
Saracens
Castres
Pool 4:
Glasgow Warriors
Racing 92
Sharks
Stormers
Toulon
Harlequins
Challenge Cup 2024/25
Pool 1:
Cardiff
Connacht
Cheetahs
Perpignan
Lyon
Zebre
Pool 2:
Montpellier
Pau
Newcastle Falcons
Dragons
Emirates Lions
Ospreys
Pool 3:
Vannes
Black Lion
Bayonne
Scarlets
Edinburgh
Gloucester