Champions Cup draw details & key dates

June 7, 2017 4:18 pm client

Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Exeter Chiefs, Scarlets and ASM Clermont Auvergne will be guaranteed top seedings when the pool draw for the Champions Cup takes place in Neuchâtel, Switzerland on Thursday (8th June).

This key event will get underway with the pool draw for the 2017/18 Challenge Cup at 1pm (Irish time), with the draw for the Champions Cup pools following immediately afterwards.

Both draws will be streamed live on epcrugby.com and on official tournament Facebook channels.

Twenty clubs from the Premiership, Guinness PRO12 and TOP 14 have qualified on merit for the Champions Cup.

The clubs will be divided into four tiers of five and a preliminary draw will be conducted to establish Tier 1 with two of the three second-ranked clubs – Wasps, Munster Rugby and RC Toulon – joining the Premiership winners, Exeter Chiefs, Guinness PRO12 champions, Scarlets, and Clermont who were crowned French champions on Sunday, in the top tier.

Once Tier 1 has been established, the remaining three tiers will fall into place. Tier 2 will include Leinster Rugby as well as the other third-ranked clubs from the Premiership and TOP 14, Saracens and La Rochelle, as well as the second-ranked club which was not drawn into Tier 1 and the fourth-ranked club from the same league as the club which was not drawn into Tier 1.

Tier 3 will include the two clubs ranked fourth which are not in Tier 2 as well as the three fifth-ranked clubs from each league – Bath Rugby, Montpellier and Ulster Rugby.

Tier 4 is complete and contains the sixth-ranked clubs from each league – Harlequins, Glasgow Warriors and Castres Olympique – as well as Benetton Rugby and the winner of the Champions Cup play-offs, Northampton Saints.

You can guarantee a place at Leinster Rugby’s three home Champions Cup pool matches by getting your 2017/18 Season Ticket at leinsterseasontickets.ie.

Prices currently start from €259 for adults, €109 for juniors, €129 for students and €709 for families.

Make sure you act fast as the Early Bird offer on Season Tickets ends this Sunday, 11th June, at 11.59pm!

Click here to see a full Season Ticket price list

Pool draws – key principles

The 20 clubs are divided into four tiers based on their qualification position from their leagues. This will be done where necessary by a draw.
The 20 clubs will then be divided into five pools of four clubs each.
Each pool will have at least one club from each of the three leagues.
Each of the five pools will have one club from each of the four tiers.
There will be no more than two clubs from the same league in a pool.
No pool will contain two PRO12 clubs from the same country.
Clubs from the same league will be kept apart until the allocation of the Tier 4 clubs.

EPCR key dates – 2017/18 season

Round 1: 12th/13th/14th/15th October
Round 2: 19th/20th/21st/22th October
Round 3: 7th/8th/9th/10th December
Round 4: 14th/15th/16th/17th December
Round 5: 11th/12th/13th/14th January 2018
Round 6: 18th/19th/20th/21st January 2018
Quarter-finals: 29th/30th/31st March – 1st April 2018
Semi-finals: 20th/21st/22nd April 2018